Cash Management Strategies Amidst Inflation Changes

Julie should assess her financial goals before deciding whether to lock in high-interest rates or stay flexible with her cash.

### Managing Cash in a Changing Interest Rate Environment
* 💰 Julie inquired whether to move cash from high-yield savings accounts to **lock in current high-interest rates** or wait for potential rate cuts.
* 📉 The speaker noted that many individuals are currently enjoying **yields greater than 5%** on their cash accounts, a significant improvement from the **low rates experienced a few years ago**.
* 🔍 Daniel's recent analysis revealed that inflation has shown signs of **slowing down**, marking the **first month-over-month decline since 2020**, although uncertainties remain regarding future inflation trends.
* 📊 Analysts initially predicted multiple rate cuts for the year, but expectations have since shifted to **possibly only one or two**, highlighting the **unpredictability of the market**.
* 💳 For those looking to **lock in rates for the next three years**, options like CDs could be suitable, while others who prefer **liquidity** may choose to keep their funds in money market mutual funds.
* ⚖ The speaker advised that action should only be taken when the **7-day yield on money market accounts falls below what online banks offer**, ensuring optimal cash management.
* 📅 It's essential to maintain an **emergency fund of three to six months' worth of living expenses**, while those closer to retirement might consider **locking in higher rates with excess cash**.
* 💡 Ultimately, individuals should focus on their **overall financial strategies** rather than getting overly concerned with the nuances of interest rates, ensuring they **maximize their savings effectively**.

[Music] I do have a great question to start us off from Julie. She says, I saw Daniel's article on inflation slowing down over at moneyguy.com. Do I need to start moving my cash out of my high-yield savings account and lock in the high-interest rates, or should I wait for the rate cuts? What do you recommend moving it to? Yes, so I think a lot of people are wondering this. You know, it seems we all remember back a couple of years ago where cash was trash. It was paying nothing. Like, if you were getting a quarter of a percent or half a percent on your cash holdings, you felt like that was great. And now we've come to the season where a lot of folks are getting greater than 5% yield on their cash accounts, whether they're in high-yield savings accounts or money market mutual fund accounts. And it feels awesome, and we love seeing those monthly interest payments or monthly dividend payments coming in. And we've gotten so addicted to them that we want to figure out, okay

what can we do to make sure that that doesn't go away? Because if inflation slows down and then rates begin to fall, does that mean that I'm not going to be able to get that same yield on my cash? And does it mean that I need to start looking at locking in the rates where they are now instead of staying in the current high-yield type structure? Yeah, what I love is, first of all, Julie, thank you for referencing Daniel has what he writes for us. We call it Beyond Basic. It's incredible. If you haven't signed up, just go to money.com and check out. You can is when you sign up with your email. You also get access to our newsletters. And then do we have a separate sign-up for Beyond Basics? We do, don't we? We do. There's a little section on the website. If you click on articles, it will say Beyond Basics. And that's the whole deep dive newsletter that Daniel writes and curates for us. So what Daniel Des show, he sent out to everybody last week.

is that inflation? When you look at prices month over month, they actually came in down. This is the first time this has happened since 2020. I mean, so that's a pretty, that's four years different, you know, election administration, you know, president in office. There's lots of things that have changed since then. We were all, as Daniel laid out, we were in lockdown from the pandemic the last time this happened. So, a lot has changed. But then he's very quick to share, does this mean inflation has been conquered and vanquished, and we just don't know? I mean, and the context to let you know is Daniel has a great chart in there. It shows that most analysts and all the people who get paid probably large six-fig salaries to predict what's going on with inflation at the beginning of the year, they thought that there was going to be like six drops of rates. Now, I think people are saying one to two, so they don't really know either. And so, I'd be wary.

of just saying, Hey, this is my moment in the sand where I'm going to bet the farm on what's going to happen with inflation. But I do think it is probably the point where you can ask yourself if there's money that you know you want to lock up for, like, say, the next 3 years, and you like getting 5%. There's nothing wrong with looking at CDs or things like that. However, if you're one of these people—and this is I fall into this camp—is that I keep excess cash, but I like maximizing the moment, and I'm okay with just letting it go with where market rates are to a degree because I might need that money within that 3-year period. You never know what investment opportunity, real estate, or other things will come, so I'm going to keep my money in probably the money market mutual funds. But there will come a point once they start—the Federal Reserve starts cutting rates—that the online high-yield savings accounts might be better than

the money markets because those money markets are going to adjust immediately. As soon as they start cutting rates, they will start going down. But you don't have to take action until you actually see that 7-day Yi goes below what the online banks are offering, and that's when you'll probably want to take action. And I think for most accumulators, that's probably the best advice. If you're keeping your emergency fund and your emergency fund is somewhere between three to six months of living expenses, you want that to stay readily liquid and readily available, so that's a great strategy. I think the folks who maybe would be looking at CDs or some type of fixed income investment to try to lock in these rates, there's probably going to be folks at retirement, near retirement, or in retirement who have healthier cash cushions. Maybe they have that 18 to 24 months of cash. You know, you're going to keep 6 months to a year in liquid cash, and then the excess you might want to lock into the

higher rate. I think you need to be true to where you are in your financial journey, and I just wouldn't get too cute over it. I wouldn't try to focus on this if it's not a significant part of your financial life. I would rather you focus on how am I saving, where are my dollars going, am I building my armies of dollar, Army of dollar bills, and am I maximizing as much as I need to without wasting unnecessary calories.

Should I Move Cash from My HYSA Now or Wait for Lower Rates?

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Managing Cash in a High-Interest Environment

Many people are considering moving cash out of high-yield savings accounts as inflation slows and rate cuts loom.

Currently, cash accounts are offering over 5% yields, leading to a desire to lock in these rates.

The speaker recommends checking out Daniel's "Beyond Basic" newsletter for in-depth insights on managing cash in this changing environment.

Recent Changes in Inflation and Investment Strategies

Inflation rates have shown a month-over-month decline for the first time since 2020, despite ongoing uncertainty among analysts.

The prediction of future rate drops has shifted from six to one or two, indicating a lack of consensus.

Individuals with excess cash are considering different investment options, such as CDs or money market mutual funds, while waiting for the Federal Reserve to cut rates.

Strategies for Managing Cash During Rate Cuts

Money markets will adjust immediately when rates are cut, so wait for the 7-day Yi to go below online bank offers before taking action.

Keeping an emergency fund of three to six months' living expenses readily available is a smart strategy.

For those with a larger cash cushion, such as retirees, locking in rates with CDs or fixed income investments may be a good option.

It's important to be true to your financial journey and not overly focus on minor details.

Instead, concentrate on saving, tracking your expenses, and maximizing your income.

Building a strong financial foundation should be the priority, rather than getting caught up in insignificant factors.