Ok, I got mixed up. I actually was only reading DL notarized copies.
So now I am totally with you. Why are any of you (not you personally) trying to play a game with notary “wantabe’s”? This area in life is to important. Go to a registered Notary. Period… IMO
I’m personally not qualified for your NextDoor invitation code. My nearest neighbor is closed to a mile away. But I guess we could be interested in each other’s business. 
The notaries at notarize.com obviously are registered and legitimate notaries. My notary was in Florida.
… and here I thought that I was the tin foil hat guy!
The worst one I remember outside of politics was someone asking for a recommendation for a financial advisor. And people piled on with their BofA, Wells Fargo, and Edward Jones “advisors”. “This guy is amazing, my returns were x% last year!” (never mind that those returns weren’t that great for last year). Why would you recommend something you clearly know nothing about? It grinds my gears, I tell ya.
Isn’t it interesting when you get junk mail with that phony name on it? You know exactly who sold your data.
Hasn’t happened yet. Pretty sure utilities aren’t supposed to sell my data. But I also don’t always change my name with every sign up like I change my email address, so I wouldn’t know exactly who sold it. I do sometimes add a middle name specific to the sign-up 
.
I’m impressed with your utilities. Two different cable companies sold my data, or were hacked. Even though I haven’t had TWC since they were TWC, once every couple of months, I get a piece of junk mail with the erroneous spelling. Oddly, the junk mail is generally limited to outdoors - landscapers, weed/mosquito killers, arborists, etc.
At the risk of returning this thread to its stated topic:
An excellent write up today from Ken regarding CD strategy:
I want to be as clear as I’m able to be:
I know of no reason anyone would want to open an add-on CD account today. The interest rates are horrible. However:
Please bear in mind, as always, that is only my opinion and I could be in error. Hence I will now enter “I report, you decide” mode and offer you this regardless what I believe. The following is, generally speaking, stolen from Ken’s website:
There are seven financial institutions today offering add-on certificates of deposit. They are:
Thank you, and you’ve been clear. I agree with your assessment, but greatly appreciate the list of add-ons, and may throw a minimum at them, to get the account open and have options, just in case the regime figures out a way to hide Jimmy Carter’s bane (among many).
Thanks, again. A couple of hundred bucks (at a seemingly low rate) in a multi-year cd is a very small insurance policy should uncle Joe decide to rig everything else.
This is posted on Ken’s website, copied and pasted for your convenience here. Credit for this goes to ejappel:
Metro Phoenix Bank in Phoenix AZ is currently offering a 5 year CD with a 1.51% APY. Although they don’t have an online application, it is still possible for non-AZ residents to open an account.
The process is a bit involved but not difficult. Call and ask them for an Account Request Form. Fill it out and send it back with copies of your ID. You will want to talk with them about how to fill out the request form, as it is designed primarily for business accounts and doesn’t list CD as one of the available account types; however, this didn’t prove to be a problem.
if you wish, they can also send you an ACH authorization form in order to fund the CD from a different bank account.
And here are your links:
Link to the bank’s contact page
Note:
This bank is, at present, effectively operating on PDST. However in November, without changing their clocks, they will revert to MST.
AZ is such a quirky state! 
But if you want to telephone them on that toll-free number, you must keep the above in mind.
People are excited about locking up 5 years for 1.5% ? Yikes.
At least it’s the whole state. IN has some counties that follow DST and some that don’t.
I think resigned is the correct word, not excited.
Bit of a setback today for us CD aficionados regarding our hope for an interest rate climate more favorable than the present:
Jobs report disappoints — only 235,000 positions added vs. expectations of 720,000
Groan
This mitigates against the Fed offering us relief any time soon. However, the July and June jobs numbers were revised upward, which is a good thing. And a single month’s outcome is not determinative and does not alone cause policy to be set. It appears though that, as happened to us in 2020, the virus is putting a lid on the economy, with the delta variant being a principal trouble causer, especially as vaccinations age.
This jobs number isnt low because there are no jobs, it’s low because there’s no one to fill new jobs.
Am I the only one bracing for a huge jobs gain in September?
Ratings Reminder
This is for CD fans who care about the health of financial institutions where their CDs are parked. And not all CD fans do care, of course, but you caring people know who you are. 
I expect the Q2 2021 ratings to be published shortly . . . . certainly before the end of September. Keep a weather eye. And in fact:
Upon checking I find Bauer has ALREADY gone up with their Q2 star ratings for banks. So Ken, who is usually first, is just a bit behind this time. It is still rather early and I don’t know how Bauer accomplished that. I didn’t bother to check Weiss because they are always last.
Bottom line, if you care about financial institution ratings, be on lookout. They are coming very soon for Q2 2021.
I’m thinking about adding a 1% 18 mo CD. USAlliance Fin CU is offering this option. This is an old account that I kept open with a couple $’s.
I realize many folks have Keesler HIMMA Plus accounts offering a better rate. What are the prospects of this continuing after each 6 months period?
Comments please…
It’s really anybody’s guess. Up until this last employment report (see up thread) I thought interest rates were pointing steady to higher. Steady to higher interest rates would mitigate in favor of continued availability of HIMMA Plus.
However, if interest rates instead tack lower, that would be generally an unfavorable outcome for those of us wishing for HIMMA Plus to remain available.
If it were me, I would opt for HIMMA Plus over any 18 month CD at just 1% APY. But remember, you never should take my advice on anything.
You need to decide for yourself.
I think rates have pretty much bottomed out. So the haircut you take by going with 1% now isnt going to net you much more on the back half of the CD term, even if the HIMMA is no longer available. And if rates do start to turn upward, you’ll be stuck at 1%.