Bailout Tips for You!

This Bailout situation of Wall Street has the markets in an absolute mess and it is not about to get any better any time soon.

We don't like to think about it, but banks are failing and will continue to fail as all of this shakes out. Huge banks and institutions that months ago we never dreamed could be hurt have been destroyed in this horrible situation.

Bailout Tip #1: Find Your Money

Take inventory of your money, all of your money. Look at all of your bank and investment accounts and start a spreadsheet, if you don't already have one, with account numbers, rates for the account and your balances. Yes, it will perhaps be painful to think about looking at that 401K but it is really important that you do that and quickly.

This Bailout demands that if you have other investments keep a centralized list of account numbers, your online userid and passwords, balances, and returns. Make notes of what you are invested in, check the stocks that make up your investments. If the fund you are in is heavily invested in financials then you are going to lose a lot more than if you were in a fund more focused on transportation stocks. Look into the ability to move your money without penalty between the investment options.

Bailout Tip #2: Move Money if You Need To

For all of your bank accounts you need to know what your current bank balances are, if you are earning interest and how much each type of bank account is protected by FDIC. Remember that the FDIC currently only insures up to $100,000. If you are lucky enough to have over that in a single bank, you need to think about moving that money to another bank to guarantee that it is safe. There is the possibility that with the current Bailout Plan on the table, that may increase to $250,000.

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