Q.
Do I need to protect my savings and checking accounts, or am I covered?
A.
Whether you’re looking for a place to stash those funds or you already have one, make sure your savings account is FDIC-insured. As a part of the recent government bailout plan, the FDIC now insures savings and checking accounts of up to $250,000 per account-holder. This means if you have a joint account with your spouse, it can have up to $500,000 in it. Almost all banks are FDIC-insured, but if checking the status of yours makes you feel safer, there’s a quick lookup widget on the FDIC website.
Nestpert Pam Krueger, cohost of MoneyTrack on PBS and author of The MoneyTrack Method
-- Alonna Friedman
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