Well done, Seattle! On Saturday, July 4, we declared our independence from seriousness, at least long enough to get a Guiness World Record number of zombies out wandering the streets of Fremont. With 4,277 registered zombies, Seattle ate the brains right out of previous official-record holder Monroeville, PA.

Seriously, how do you “register” a zombie?

Zombies are all good fun, provided they move slowly and don’t work in packs, but when it comes to your finances, are you a Money Zombie?

Money Zombies put their money somewhere safe and utilitarian, like a coin jar or a savings account that isn’t earning interest, then just leave it there. Perhaps it doesn’t matter to you how much is holed up in your account, or how much better interest rate you could get in a different account. As long as your money is secure and easily accessed, you’re happy to just zone out and forget about it.

Sound familiar? You may be a Money Zombie. I admit it—I was one too. Just thinking about money had me wailing and groaning and wishing I had more brains. But it turned out making changes wasn’t as hard as I thought.

Six-feet-under savings

Savings accounts are great things for keeping money safe while earning some interest. I kept my savings there because it was earning modest interest, not having it in my checking account made it harder to spend, I didn’t have to tie it up in a CD or other long-term investment, and as a child, I’d always been taught that it was good to “save.”

Finally, when I swapped my accounts from my former bank to the credit union, the Personal Finance Rep. who helped me with the switch asked me why I didn’t put my savings in a money market account. The interest rate is higher, yet the money is still available at short notice. It made sense. In fact, it made more than cents, it actually made dollars.

How have you overcome your Money Zombie tendencies? Leave us a comment and let us know your suggestions for bringing your finances back to life!

Filed under: Money management tips by admin