In my life I've gotten a wide range of birthday presents. Sometimes it was a book, sometimes clothes, sometimes just cash. What all these presents have in common is although they are very nice, they are depreciating. I've read some stories on pf blogs, in which someone's children were given bonds or other assets. Such stories amused me, because I never knew anyone who gave their children appreciating presents.
This time my parents surprised me. They gave me €1,500 (about $2,000) put in a savings account. I think Russian high-yield savings accounts are somewhat similar to US certificates of deposit, because one can't take the money before a certain day. If one cashes it out early, he or she gets no interest. On the other hand, some accounts (like mine) allow depositing extra money. The terms are great, mine is a 2-year account with 7% non-taxed APY. As it was opened half a year ago, it matures in a year and a half, when I'll be graduating.
I would gladly add this money to my accounts, and then my net worth would boost to an amazing amount of $5,000! But the account is in my mother's name, because it was supposed to be a secret, so technically it isn't mine. I can't even check the account balance. So I probably wait a year and a half when this money will be legally mine. It will be a great graduation gift.
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5 comments:
I think that you've mentioned it before, but what is the rate of inflation in Russia?
7% is really nice, but the withdrawal restrictions make me nervous.
What a great present! It'll be a nice chunk of money to get once you graduate.
Last year the rate of inflation in Russia was 9%. So far it seems that this year it will be about 8-9%. So, when I get this money and buy rubles, it may turn out I'll have no gains, if the ruble/euro rate remains stable or decreases. On the other hand, if the ruble/euro rate increases, I'll beat our awful inflation. We'll see.
I received a necklace for graduation from my parents. That is a very thoughtful gift!
That is a really considerate gift. When I graduated from high school, my parents gave me a little money, which I combined with other savings to get a cd. I'm debating whether to give my brother a savings bond when he graduates. I'd like to give him a bit of money for the future, but I suspect he'd prefer to have the money in liquid form so he can use it to have fun right away.
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