I posted a while ago if anyone has a cd ladder. I got some excellent responses and it was correctly pointed out that the interest I would get on the money market checking would be more than what I could get at a cd ladder. I thought about it long and hard but I went ahead and did the illogical thing and set up a one year ladder, a very simple one year ladder with a cd maturing each month.

I finished it last week. Even though it will not earn as much interest now, I figure that going forward, as rates rise, it will earn more . But that was secondary; the real reason I did it was to get that money out of the system of what I consider available to spend, and to add to my feeling of security. It's like I heard Bob Brinker say last week about paying off your house--it yields "psychic income." Well, the cd ladder yields psychic income, too.

I have wanted to do this for about 20 years, ever since reading YMOYL. I am SO HAPPY I did it-- best of all, this money is earmarked for emergency fund only, as in I can't spend it on anything else, and it feels wonderful to have a little buffer between me and the world of emergencies. It also means I am finally through Dave Ramsey's Baby step 3, for those of you who follow Dave Ramsey.

So seriously, if you have a big emotional need for security, as I do, or you are frequently having to come up with money for family, as I sometimes am, consider a cd ladder. I'm thrilled to finally have one.