Article 9:
My Money
"I am concerned about the money that I have earned. I keep it in the bank and I have some investments. Someone told me that there might be problems with this because of Y2K. Should I withdraw it all and keep it at home? Should I trust the bank? I am thinking of taking it all out just to be sure. What do you think?"
This question came to me and it does concern me greatly. There are many people who remember the problems banks had during the depression. If money was left in the bank then it may or may not be there the next day. We had in those days what would be called "a run on the bank." This would be a panic reaction of people withdrawing funds.
One elderly person mentioned that they were going to remove $40,000 from the bank in December and then after the 1st of January they were going to redeposit the funds. THIS IS FOOLHARDY! There will be all sorts of cheats, crooks and scam artist watching the banks to identify these people and then they will do all they can to get your money.
What will happen as we get closer to the Y2K date? Will our money disappear into a bank vault and never be seen again? Will we have problems?
Federal regulators to make sure they are Y2K compliant have checked the banks. They have also spent millions on upgrading systems and software to continue to function into the new millennium. If they can't comply then they will have no choice but to be phased out of existence.
Let's suppose that there happens to be a few computers at banks that are not compliant. Your account melts down into a pile of Y2K dust. There are no records of you ever being a client at all. What should you do? Are there things you can plan before hand to make sure your finances are safe?
You can take very simple steps to protect yourself. Keep your records. You get a statement every month from your bank that shows what you have in the account, interest, investments, etc. Keep these! I have a nice little file for each year with each month filed away. If the bank's computer will not acknowledge me, I have proof! They will see the DOCUMENTATION and will then make the corrections to their system.
I would also recommend that you keep DOCUMENTATION of your credit card bills (but wouldn't be nice if they lost track of you?) and utility bills. You will probably not need them but even now my wife and I go over these bills every month to check the accounting. A computer never makes mistakes but the people who enter the information do!
If you don't keep files of your bills then here is an idea for you. Get a shoebox. Put it near where you write your bills and every time you send out a payment put the stub into the box. Do this from now until the end of the year. It may not be neat and orderly but all the information will be in one place and if there is a problem you have the DOCUMENTATION.
At the bank I keep my funds the mother of the young man my daughter dates is one of the employees. When I go in I always stop and say hello. We chat about how well the kids are doing, and in some cases, how they are not doing well in the dating game. She knows me and I know her. When Y2K hits us the computer is not going to cancel her presence or memory. I will have someone there to assist me and make sure my money is safe if there is a problem.
Don't panic and approach the millennium with pleasant thoughts. Your money is safe and you want to keep it that way. KEEP YOUR $40,000 IN THE BANK.
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