December 2021

In March 2020, because of COVID-19, spending outside of normal upkeep was only done if absolutely necessary. Some years earlier, I setup all of my accounts in in the Microsoft Money Sunset Business version. I have 4 banks, PayPal and at any given time, several accounts associated with each bank, including checking, CDs and savings accounts. Today, I have 8 bank accounts, including the funds I maintain via PayPal.

All of my accounts are linked, in that I can easily transfer funds between external accounts if needed.

In 2020, I started handling all my mother's accounts. Mainly, because the trip to HR & Block was a trip she did not want to make at the time. My mother has 3 banks, however she is not a business owner, so I setup her financial data in the Microsoft Money Sunset version for personal use.

Before my father died, I used to do their taxes. Because of my own legal issues, I stopped doing my mother's taxes about 5 years after his death, then started again in 2020 because of the pandemic.

Quick frankly, my business does have assets, so mostly to avoid any legal issues where tax filings were concerned, in April 2021, I setup legal assurances to ensure everyone was protected.

I have always had my mother's permission to act on her behalf, as many of her household account organizations i.e., electric, phone, cable, etc. can attest to. I also set her up so she could pay bills online. She likes checks and the USPS.

Me, when I write a check, I use a form I created using Microsoft Publisher and blank checks I ordered from Amazon. I seldom write checks. The last, a redacted copy as rendered by Microsoft Publisher is shown below.

The check was deposited from my personal checking account to my business savings account before I linked all of my bank accounts.

I am very happy with Microsoft Money, in terms of cost to own, and the power it gives me to track everything to the penny for both me, my business and all of my mother's personal accounts. She has many.

Over the last 2 years, interest rates on CDs have not been great. I used to routinely, setup 12-18 month CDs at Synchrony (one of my banks) with rates well over 1%. The only CD I have now is a 5 year CD I setup in Sept. 2017 at my business bank. The rate is only .35%, however I set it up to ensure I avoided a $14.00 monthly maintenance fee on my checking account.

At the time, if I maintained $10,000 or more in combined accounts I could avoid the monthly checking and savings account fees. So I set up a CD for $10,000.

Since then, my business bank has revamped their charges (COVID impact), and now the fees are under $10 however I continue to maintain the combined balance to avoid maintenance fees, altogether.

CD rates are picking up again. Both my mother and I maintain too much is low interest bearing checking accounts and I have been researching ways to invest in CDs with higher rates. Why not stocks? I like more guaranteed returns on investments. When setting up savings accounts with the corporations I worked for, i.e., Boeing, GE, Rockwell, I always selected guaranteed returns though I could have invested in higher return options with less guarantees. I never gamble with money. Not mine, not my mother's.

When I setup the legal paperwork for handling financial planning, I was taking a real estate course and did quite a bit of research into the types of legal documents I needed to protect all parties.

I am told, I did a great job with the legal documents I created which were notarized in April 2021. Actually about 2 years ago, it was a customer service rep with BG&E who suggested this legal solution.

Why all of the transparency? You would not believe the legal issues I have had over the years, or maybe you would. I am owed an explanation from DOJ.

FBI, over the many years I have maintained my business (since 2004), I have noticed anomalies where my business banking is concerned. This is a legal notice of shorts. I am aware you have looked into some of these issues. I am hoping you are still looking into these issues.