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☕ DrinkCoffeeAndProfit
Smart money moves before breakfast
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Inspiration Quote for the Day
“The investor’s chief problem, and even his worst enemy, is likely to be himself.”
Benjamin Graham
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The Morning Ritual
The Safest Money on Your Statement Is Now the Worst Paid
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Here is a question worth asking before the Fed meets next week. What are you actually being paid to keep your savings within reach? Most of us never look. The number sits on the statement in small type, and for years it was the best deal in the house.
That stopped being true. On October 19 a three month Treasury bill paid 4.10%. A five year note paid 4.94%. Washington now pays you more for patience than for availability, and your bank statement said nothing about it.
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In One Sip
► Fed funds sits at 3.75% to 4.00% after the September hike, the first increase since 2023
► On October 19 the three month bill paid 4.10%, the five year note 4.94% and the ten year 5.15%
► The latest inflation reading was 3.7%, so short cash clears it by about a third of a point
► The Fed meets again on October 27 and 28, with another hike still on the table
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A word from a partner, then the arithmetic.
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
While everyone was distracted with the recent SpaceX IPO...
Elon Musk quietly filed a patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect what Jeff Brown believes will be his next breakthrough...
Something he called “the greatest tech invention in history.”
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Why It Matters for Your Money
Take $100,000 and leave it in three month bills. Roll it every quarter at today’s 4.10%. If that rate never moves, five years leaves you near $122,250.
Lock the same $100,000 into the five year note at 4.94%. You finish near $127,250.
That is about $5,000, and the only work involved was making a decision.
Now hold both against inflation. At 3.7%, the short bill clears it by four tenths of a point. The five year clears it by more than a point and a quarter.
I would not call the short end safe. I would call it short.
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
Millions of Americans still have virtually their entire retirement sitting inside a financial system they do not control.
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The Wealth Angle
Here is the argument against me, and it is a fair one. If the Fed hikes next week and again in December, short rates follow within weeks. Your money market reprices upward. The five year note does not.
So the real choice is narrower than it looks. A known 4.94% for five years, against an unknown average of the next twenty quarters.
My read: this is exactly why the ladder exists. You split the money across terms and stop needing to guess. Part of it reprices with every Fed move. Part of it is locked at today’s number. Neither half has to be right.
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☕ Key Insight:
The shape of the curve changed and your statement said nothing. For years the shortest money paid the most. Today it pays the least, and sitting short is a position rather than a pause.
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One more partner message before today’s move.
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· · · Partner Message · · ·
Accounts get frozen for all kinds of ordinary reasons, a flag, an audit, an institution having a bad week. Physical gold held in an IRS-approved retirement account does not depend on a login. Priority Gold’s free 2026 Wealth Preservation Guide explains the process, the rules, and what to know before moving anything.
Priority Gold endeavors to provide the most accurate useful information and helpful advice to the audience at its best. But there is no 100% guarantees of completeness, accuracy, usefulness or timeliness in or about the content. Any advice offered by Priority Gold are just our opinions and not to be relied on by anyone or any purpose. Seek your own legal, financial, tax, investment, and advice before opening an account with Priority Gold. All decisions regarding the purchase or sale of precious metals are solely at your decision only.
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Coffee Break Move
Pull up your savings or money market account and find the APY. Write the number down.
Hold it against 4.10%. If your bank pays less than a Treasury bill, that difference is going somewhere, and it is not to you.
If you are holding cash you will not touch for three years, look at a ladder instead of one decision. Most brokerages will build one in a few clicks.
If this money is your emergency fund, leave it exactly where it is. Reaching it on a Tuesday afternoon is worth paying for.
The curve moved last month. Your statement is still printing last year’s answer.
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