savings account(s)

Since I paid off my car I've been taking the amount that used to go to car payments off each cheque and putting it into a new savings account. After a couple months I noticed something. I was getting as much interest in the President's Choice savings account each month as I was getting in the TD savings account each month.

I use the TD account to save for bigger stuff I want to do or get in the future to avoid borrowing. Last year when I moved I used the TD savings to pay for it. Bigger stuff like that.

So I checked the rates and I was quite surprised. The TD pays 0.5% interest. President's Choice pays 1.5%. So three times the interest! I was annoyed at TD for being so stingy with their loyal customers. 1.5 is hardly anything special.

So this morning I arrived at the TD branch before work. There were like 5 of us there at the 8 AM open. I did the transfer using a bank draft. There was a $7.50 fee on the draft but it was better than taking the TD money as cash. Although unlikely stuff could happen on the trip between the TD and CIBC (President's Choice) branches such as car accident, heart attack, robbery. So it was worth $7.50 just to avoid carrying cash and having to worry about any of that. The amount isn't huge but enough to be really sad if it disappeared. But the bank to bank trip was uneventful between the strip malls and it's now in the PC account.

I left a token amount in the TD account and didn't close it. That account is still useful because it gives me branch access in walking distance from home with convenient hours. I still use the branch for rolled coins, and getting rolled loonies out for laundry. Plus I've been with TD and its predecessor Central Trust for like decades so it's good to still have a connection there.