Hark! Who Goes There?
Be Interested in Your Interest
There are different types of interest and it’s good to be able to identify what kind of interest you have and how it behaves. Know whom you’ve invited into your personal finance castle. Get to know about the interest being paid out to you on your savings.
Find out:
1) What’s the rate? (Usually shown as a percentage.)
2) What type of interest is it? (Simple Interest or Compounding Interest?)
3) How does it move? Does the interest stay the same or go up and down? (Fixed or Variable?)
4) When is the interest calculated? (Daily? Monthly? End of term?)
Know the rate (percentage) used to calculate interest being paid to you on things such as a savings account, certificate of deposit (CD), or money market account. You’ll find the interest rate you are receiving on your statement when you log into your account, or on the original paperwork you received when you opened your account. Can’t find it? Ask someone at the bank or financial institution.
What else do you want to know?
What type of interest is your interest?
There are other types of interest, but you will probably be dealing with two types of interest, simple interest or compound interest.
Simple interest calculates your interest only on the principal amount you put into your savings account or CD. Simple interest does not earn interest on your interest. You only get interest on the original amount you deposited or put into your account. Simple interest is sometimes called, “regular interest.”
When you take out a loan or borrow money, it is better if the interest is simple interest. With simple interest, the interest is calculated only on the principal amount you owe. You don’t want to have to pay interest on the interest generated by a loan. Paying interest on the interest you owe is an ouch to be avoided.
Compound interest is when you earn money on both the principal amount you put into your savings account or CD as well as on the interest you earn on that money. With compound interest, you earn interest on your principal and on your interest. Principal and interest keep getting combined and they grow bigger and bigger. This kind of organic growth is available to anyone. With extremely modest funds and often through a local credit union or high yield online savings account, a person (could be you) can open an account that provides the benefits of compound interest.
If you are receiving or being paid the interest, it is better for you if the interest is compounding interest. With compounding interest, you are earning money on your principal and also earning money on the interest you are making on that principal. Your principal is earning interest, plus your interest is earning interest. When you take into account compounding, you get what is called the effective interest rate.
When interest compounds, your money makes money and the money your money is making in interest is also making money —- it’s like a self-sustaining superbloom spreading across your financial landscape.
Know your interest. Ask yourself, “Is this simple interest or compounding interest?”
With interest, you also want to know if the interest rate is fixed (doesn’t change) or variable (moves up or down).
The last of the basics on interest is to know when your interest is calculated. As an example, even if the interest rate is exactly the same, your money will increase more with a CD with interest that’s compounded daily as vs. a CD that only calculates or compounds the interest when the CD matures or at a one-year mark.
Get to know about your interest on savings accounts, CDs, and other savings vehicles. Know how much the interest rate is, what kind of interest you are receiving, if the interest rate stays the same or fluctuates, and when your interest is calculated. Know these things so that you’ll better know how to manage and grow your finances.
Be interested in what type of interest you are involved with. Say, “Who goes there?” Be interested in your interest.
Mother acknowledges that sometimes things are really not that exciting to think or know about.
Sometimes, money stuff is big-yawn chair boring.
It’s okay. You still need to know the basics.
Even if they’re a bona fide snooze-a-palooza.
Knowing how to make toast isn’t all that exciting, but it’s still good to know how to make toast. None of us thinks about it very much. Such knowledge is basic knowledge.
Add basic knowledge about interest to your big, boring, handy-things-to-know file. Might as well. Might not seem so, but it’s information that’s easy to know, not so hard to understand, and important to your financial health.
And it’s right there in the word, “interest.” Verb your finances and show curiosity, concern, and attention to the interest you are being paid on your savings.
Mother is not a financial advisor. Mother is sharing knowledge with you that she has learned over many years. Do your own research and when it comes to interest, see what makes the best sense for you and your good financial health.
Now for a recipe to add to your home economics knowledge.
Today’s recipe is for cowboy caviar, a rootin’-tootin’ reliable favorite. Cowboy caviar is a simple make, and a nutritionally sustaining main or side dish.
Cowboy Caviar
For the Dressing
1/3 cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
4 minced garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Put the above items in a small to medium rinsed-out jelly jar or another type of container with a lid. Put the lid on. Shake-shake-shake the jar or container and set it aside.
For the Salad
Corn (8oz box frozen (thawed), or 4 ears, fresh, kernels carefully cut from the cob)
½ large red onion, diced so that each piece is about the size of a corn kernel or pinto bean.
1 bell pepper, diced so that each piece is about the size of a corn kernel or pinto bean.
1 jalapeno pepper, finely diced.
4 to 5 plum tomatoes or the equivalent, diced.
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (You can use fresh basil, mint, or a mix of the two if you don’t have cilantro.)
Optional: Up to 2 avocados, diced and sprinkled with the juice of ¼ to ½ of a lemon or lime.
For the Beans
1 (15oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15oz) can black-eyed, cannellini, or Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
Put the salad ingredients into a big bowl and gently mix together. (If adding in the optional avocado, gently mix it in at the very end or just before serving.)
Next, open, drain, and rinse the beans. Add the beans to the bowl with your vegetables and gently mix together.
Shake up your dressing – shake-shake-shake and add the dressing to your bowl of vegetables and beans, mixing well.
Gentle moves the spatula or spoon.
If you are using avocado, you can dice 2 avocados, spritz them with either lemon or lime juice and mix them in with your cowboy caviar at the very end. Your brain, gut, and mood will say, “thank you” if you are able to add avocado to your dish. If you tolerate and like avocados, try to make a serving of them a part of your daily num-num.
Avocados are a happy food.
Cover the mixture and place in your refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
Contemplate that you are the sort of person who is now keeping a big bowl of caviar in the fridge.
Prior to serving, mix well. If you have some chopped scallion and more cilantro, you can garnish the top of your bowl with one or both.
Serve the cowboy caviar with black corn chips or as the side to any summer meal. It’s great in a wrap or in a bowl as your main dish.
You can personalize this dish. Some people like a bit more vinegar or a squeeze of lime. Mother likes it best as long as it comes with friends and family.
Cowboy caviar doesn’t heat up your kitchen on a hot day. It’s pretty to look at, a great potluck item, picnic take-along, or a nice side or main dish at the end of a long day. Add deviled eggs, sliced mozzarella, and toasted baguette rounds to a platter and you have the beginnings of a festive party. No platter? Stack two pieces of heavy cardboard on top of each other and wrap in waxed, parchment, or butcher paper. Alternatively, wrap a cookie sheet in any food grade paper. You now have the base for a charcuterie board.
Enjoy your life.
Be among people who are kind and loving.
You matter.
Mother Loves you.
As always,
Love from Mother
Ps Okay, maybe making toast is a little bit exciting. :-)