10 years ago, I graduated Uni with no debt and about $1,000 net worth.
My first job (engineer) paid $100k/yr. After taxes & expenses, I saved $70k per year for 3 years.
With $200k net worth, I lived on $5k per year and for the past 7 years, I worked only 30% of the time – just enough to cover my expenses without dipping into my savings.
This year I sold bitcoin (bought for $7,000. sold for $1,000,000). My target to retire-retire was $800,000, so I’ve finally reached my goal.
The sell orders executed so fast that I don’t know where to put it. I already stuffed every US bank that I have to the $250k FDIC max, but my last sell order exceeds that. I’ve applied to open bank accounts with maybe 100 banks in the US, and I’ve only succeeded in opening 1. My requirements:
[1] No monthly fees
[2] No inactivity fees
[3] No phone or phone number required
[4] Online Banking with 2FA support (TOTP, Webauthn, or email)
99% of the banks that I’ve tried to open with auto-deny me. My credit is great. When I call and ask why, they say something about the information I gave them not matching their records. The ones that have an appeal process told me “the system” denied me, and there’s nothing they can do – even supervisors.
My long-term plan is to buy a small condo in a city and a lot of land in the country. But it’ll probably take me 6-24 months to find and finish those deals, and in the meantime I want to keep my money somewhere safe.
I’m also a bit worried about the USD tanking. I’ve looked into banks in Europe and Canada, but Canada requires a tax ID and I only speak English. Can anyone recommend a very stable bank abroad (with English language support) that a US American can open remotely that meets the above requirements?
Where would you put your money if you were in my situation?
Regarding the FDIC limits, I think the bank can help you open two or three different types of accounts, e.g. money market, savings, interest-bearing checking, that are materially similar but considered as individually insured to $250k by the FDIC. If your bank cannot help you, you could open an account at a large the bank that’s unlikely to fail. If there is difficulty opening the account, arrange a meeting with someone. They are generally interested in meeting with people with $1M net worth and are interested in putting $250k in a deposit account.
The risk of a banking crisis or the USD tanking during the next 24 is very remote. USD is the reserve currency for the world. I think this is like planning for a meteor devastating the planet. It has happened; it will happen again, but the risk of it happening in the next 24 months is too low to consider. You are more likely to have an accident that puts you into a coma or something, so it’s more important to have a financial and medical power of attorney set up. These are all remote risks that I would not worry about.
If you want to invest the money but want to avoid businesses with practices you disagree with, just invest in individual stocks, or invest in local real estate or a local business you understand and approve of. If you’re going to use most of the money for your primary residence within 24 months, forget about investing, and just put it in a good bank. Focus on getting the property you want for a fair price and on engineering, and don’t worry much about very unlikely perils.