Here's an update on the Hurricane Charley aftermath. I'm on the Atlantic Coast of Florida, east of Orlando where so much damage was done, and the other side of the state from where the hurricane first made landfall. It was the worst hurricane we've seen in this part of Florida in 44 years, bad enough to be noteworthy.
The town is full of electrical contractors from other states, working on the restoration of power. Most people have power back, but not all. I've seen license plates on electrical and other service vehicles from Georgia, West Virginia, and Tennessee, to name a few.
Some of these are tree expert trucks, some are vans with a ladder on the roof and the name of an national insurance company on the door. These last are driven by adjustors who are here to settle claims; if the damage is not too great and the insuree agrees, a check will be written on the site once the adjustor has clambered up to view the damage on a roof.
I went to my bank during lunch hour today to roll a CD. When I asked about rates the agent reached under her blotter and extracted a spreadsheet in a plastic sleeve.
"We have a special offer that just came out," she said in a voice just above a whisper. "I can give you 2% on a 5-month CD, and you can close it out at any time after seven days with no penalty for early withdrawal".
I asked her "how come?".
"Many people are getting insurance settlements and they might not be spending the money right away", she told me. "Maybe they are going to shop around first before they buy a new car or whatever."
Yeah. Or maybe they are going to move back "up North" before there is any more crazy weather. Still, the CD is a good deal, considering interest rates today. If you've a pile of spare cash you're not planning to use for a couple of months, get in touch.