It really does not pay to be a rate chaser right now. For those of you who do not know, a rate chaser is someone who is continuously looking for a better rate. This can be
- a lower rate on credit cards and other types of debt
- a higher rate on savings
Rate chasers look for these rates and move their assets and liabilities all around to take advantage of the best rates. Now while it is great to do your homework when it comes to rates sometimes we can take it too far.
With all of the online banking institutions lowering their rates it is becoming more and more difficult to get the best rate for a long time.
People are moving their money every two weeks because of rate drops in online banks. I think that right now with all the uncertainty it is just not worth it to keep shuffling your money in between banks just to try to take advantage of the higher interest rate….which may be the lower one in the next two weeks.
Just leave your money in one area and let it work for you there. I decided to keep my money in ING and I love it. I am not running all over the place looking for a better deal. When the interest rate market settles down then I will think about getting a different account if it offers rates that are higher than ING.
It is not worth refinancing your mortgage unless the rate drops more than 1% only then will the benefits outweigh the costs