I've already had a bit of a winge about the old credit card situation over here. Selling me a prepaid debit card as 'a low risk credit card with no fees!' was pretty transparent. But, we played along and it actually didn't take too long to build enough of a credit reputation in the US in order to be trusted with a grown up credit card. If you're in the same situation, do it - its hard for a Brit to swallow their pride when faced with an American bank teller scoffing at your excellent UK credit rating, but its totally worth it.
So, onto the next question - where should I put my money to get the best interest rates? The answer: anywhere outside the US. I'm thinking of throwing my money off the top of the Coit Tower - I'm pretty sure I'll get a better return than any of the banking options.
There are no accounts that offer more than 1.03% interest on savings. Which is LAUGHABLE. And, again, not something that we're used to. But I think the system for managing your money in the US is very different. Salaries are generally paid fortnightly, people seem to use rewards-based credit cards for everything and investment is something for the average Joe. I'm not sure whether its the influence of capitalism on us plebs, but everyone seems to have stock options (it makes so much more sense that the smart phones all come with a stocks app now!)
Its a bit daunting, especially for a risk-averse Brit, but the american approach is different. Take big risks, get big wins. You will, obviously, run the risk of a financial loss, but this is the nation built on immigrants who took a risk on a better life in a remote new land, and thats panned out quite well for them in the long run.
There are even ways that you can introduce yourself slowly to this with apps like Acorn, which rounds up your credit card bill to the nearest dollar every time you use it and invests your spare change. It seems like a pretty smart idea, and an easy way to see that smart investment is definitely the way to earn the sort of 'free money' that we see in the UK in the form of interest. The big difference is that the investment choices are in our hands, rather than the banks, which, for a Brit that innately trusts the Bank Manager, the Doctor and the Insurance man to make our decisions for us, is a LOT of responsibility. Its cool - I'm getting used to all this responsibility. I'll be administering my own injections and undertaking my own smear tests from now on. I look forward to claiming the costs back from my insurance company for that.
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