Mailbag Monday: Dealing With a Financial Windfall
My daughter and her fiancé are about to receive about $75,000 from family in England. They want to set up a joint account to have the money wired into. Do you know anything about First Trade Union Bank? Apparently it’s an Internet bank. I know that it is FDIC insured, but what else should we be concerned about?
— Ann
Nothing I can think of, Ann. First Trade Union Bank isn’t just an Internet bank – although many of its customers may do business with them over the Internet. It’s one of the nation’s many community banks. Like many other community banks, it seems to have a very consumer friendly approach including a steady record of making SBA (Small Business Administration) loans for its customers and, as of mid-last year, rebating an unlimited number of monthly ATM surcharges.
If you want to focus on something, rather than the choice of bank, I’d encourage your daughter and her fiancé to understand what an opportunity that $75,000 can be. It could be the down payment on their eventual home, a jumpstart on a college fund for a future child or a substantial leap into retirement savings for them. The mistake many people make when they get a windfall is taking action too quickly. Advise them to sit on the funds for at least six months to a year until they have a plan of attack.
