Economic Woes

The economy has been much in the news lately, but I haven't been personally affected a whole lot by the downturn. I don't own a house, nor do I have a mortgage, so the major concern of the day does not pertain to me. If anything, the house-related activity I'm nearest to is purchasing one, so the downturn is good for me in that houses are getting cheaper. The decreased availability of mortgages may be a concern, but that's all a few years off. Also, my credit score probably isn't bad, although I haven't spend the $8 necessary to find out what it is.

The stock market has dropped over the last 6 months or so, which has affected my IRA, but I won't need that for 40 or so years, so no big deal. Like the housing price drop, this is rather good for me, because stock market downturns are great buying opportunities (as long as one maintains a diversified portfolio, of course)

Also, I haven't lost my job or anything. There is, however, one area where the economic situation has affected me, and it's this:

When I opened this account, that number up there was 5.05%, which is pretty good for a savings account. The current number is still high compared to the interest rate of your average brick-and-mortar bank, but that's not saying much. The interest rate drop is not so much due to the economy itself as it is due to the measures taken to help the economy, i.e. interest rate cuts. While the cuts are good for restoring confidence, spurring investment, etc., they are bad for my savings.

All things considered, though, I guess I can't complain too much.