National Savings Day is an obviously commercial “day”, founded by Capital One in 2017 during the 15 years when “savings” was a cruel myth. I guess Capital One hoped to bring in more deposit money without paying for it.
This year, for the first time since 2008, Savings Day is NOT a cruel joke. Banks have resumed paying interest. About six months ago USBank offered an allegedly interest-bearing account. I knew it would be safe but doubted that it would pay, so I moved part of my existing “savings” into the new as an experiment. Today I looked at the account, and amazingly it has been paying 4% interest, giving me $100 a month that I didn’t have before! That’s meaningful, since I live on about $1200 a month. And it’s more meaningful than the interest on bonds, since I can use this money immediately.
A real wealth effect.
4% is the historical “expected” interest for a bank account, so this part of the economy has now returned to the “expected” normal.
Thanks, Jerome Powell! After 15 years of futility, Savings is a meaningful word again!
Polistra's Mill 