So I get a message from Citibank saying that they're nerfing my OCM account. Basically, the interest goes down from 5.5% p.a. to 4.75%p.a., unless I've got $100,000 or more. They've created another type of account now, though, which is a $5 monthy fee, and it's got the old 5.5%p.a. interest rate. It's also got unlimited transactions, so that's still pretty good (it figures out at $1100 to get $5 back in interest per month, so if you can keep this much money in your bank account, it's like paying nothing for unlimited transactions).
Unfortunately for me, because I don't use that many transactions, this means I have to find a cross-over point for when the extra percentage is worthwhile. Here's a conversation I had with my computer:
octave:1> 5.5-4.75
ans = 0.75000
octave:2> 0.75/12
ans = 0.062500
octave:3> x=0.75/12
x = 0.062500
octave:4> 5/x
ans = 80
WTF?
octave:5> 80*x
ans = 5
Oh yeah, 5 percent
octave:6> x/100
ans = 0.00062500
octave:7> x=x/100
x = 0.00062500
octave:8> 5/x
ans = 8000
OK, so I need to have (and keep) $8000 in my account to make back the $5 from the difference in interest. Considering I get taxed on the interest, I don't know if it's worth the trouble to make such small gains, so I guess I'm sticking with my lowbie account. I'd make an
awesome accountant.