Internet Savings Account - "High Interest"

[SLAG]

I consolidated / refinanced some loans - got my bank account out of the negative, I have tracked my past spending with mint.com and have dusted off the old XLS budget file that never got much sticking to in the past....

For some reason I am really excited about sticking to a budget, saving money and getting ahead.... anyway....

As part of my Budget I Need/Want to start saving an ER fund (appx 3 mo worth of income)

To do so I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with any of the Internet banking accounts.


I found this: http://www.google.com/advisor/ussavings

Any suggestions would be welcome

[BWillie]

I consolidated / refinanced some loans - got my bank account out of the negative, I have tracked my past spending with mint.com and have dusted off the old XLS budget file that never got much sticking to in the past....

For some reason I am really excited about sticking to a budget, saving money and getting ahead.... anyway....

As part of my Budget I Need/Want to start saving an ER fund (appx 3 mo worth of income)

To do so I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with any of the Internet banking accounts.


I found this: http://www.google.com/advisor/ussavings

Any suggestions would be welcome

Those are all f*cking terrible options. Get a account at Valley View bank. Get direct deposit, make 15 debit card purchases a month, and 1 online bill pay you get get 3.5% in your checking account...and it used to even be 5%.

[SLAG]

Those are all f*cking terrible options. Get a account at Valley View bank. Get direct deposit, make 15 debit card purchases a month, and 1 online bill pay you get get 3.5% in your checking account...and it used to even be 5%.

I don't live in KC anymore buddy
:(

[KC Jones]

Right now... you won't get shit for a decent return on savings. Still save what you can in an FDIC insured account. The rates on CD's aren't worth tying up the money. Normally you'd want part of your emergency stash in regular savings, and the other in laddered CDs (different maturity dates so that you are never that far out from getting to some of it.) However today I'd save in whatever insured savings you can find, and once you get to 3 months expenses saved, consider opening an investment account w/ 1/2 of it and putting it in a blue chip corporate bond fund. It's not zero risk, but the closest thing you can get to it and you should get a rate of return that beats inflation.

In a few years hopefully saving rates will be back up and you can move out of the corporate bond fund and then into the traditional laddered Cds.

I'm doing the same thing right now.

[Amnorix]

Right now... you won't get shit for a decent return on savings. Still save what you can in an FDIC insured account. The rates on CD's aren't worth tying up the money. Normally you'd want part of your emergency stash in regular savings, and the other in laddered CDs (different maturity dates so that you are never that far out from getting to some of it.) However today I'd save in whatever insured savings you can find, and once you get to 3 months expenses saved, consider opening an investment account w/ 1/2 of it and putting it in a blue chip corporate bond fund. It's not zero risk, but the closest thing you can get to it and you should get a rate of return that beats inflation.

In a few years hopefully saving rates will be back up and you can move out of the corporate bond fund and then into the traditional laddered Cds.

I'm doing the same thing right now.


+1. I'm going to cry when the last of my laddered CDs pop out later this year. But tying up money for 1% per year for 5 years is absurd.

There is no "good, safe" place for cash, currently, to be honest. At least not FDIC insured.

[Buehler445]

Yeah. You're not going to get rich off of savings. The fact is there are no good safe investments. That's one (of many) reasons why the interest rates are low. Your best bet is to find a MMSA account and do te best you can.

A local bank in Emporia was giving huge interest rates on checking account balances if you went paperless a few years ago but I really doubt anyone is doing that anymore.

[Saulbadguy]

Make more payments on your house and build up more equity. It might keep its value, and someday, might go up in value.

[Oz_Chief]

I consolidated / refinanced some loans - got my bank account out of the negative, I have tracked my past spending with mint.com and have dusted off the old XLS budget file that never got much sticking to in the past....

For some reason I am really excited about sticking to a budget, saving money and getting ahead.... anyway....

As part of my Budget I Need/Want to start saving an ER fund (appx 3 mo worth of income)

To do so I was wondering if anyone here had any experience with any of the Internet banking accounts.


I found this: http://www.google.com/advisor/ussavings

Any suggestions would be welcome

I bank with Charles Schwab and absolutely love it. Everything is free (checks, slips, cards, etc.) and interest rates are quite high. They were at 5% when I started but now they are down around 1% (2008 happened). Savings is higher than checking.

I have been banking with Schwab since 2008 and have zero complaints.

[El Jefe]

Right now... you won't get shit for a decent return on savings. Still save what you can in an FDIC insured account. The rates on CD's aren't worth tying up the money. Normally you'd want part of your emergency stash in regular savings, and the other in laddered CDs (different maturity dates so that you are never that far out from getting to some of it.) However today I'd save in whatever insured savings you can find, and once you get to 3 months expenses saved, consider opening an investment account w/ 1/2 of it and putting it in a blue chip corporate bond fund. It's not zero risk, but the closest thing you can get to it and you should get a rate of return that beats inflation.

In a few years hopefully saving rates will be back up and you can move out of the corporate bond fund and then into the traditional laddered Cds.

I'm doing the same thing right now.


QFT.

[talastan]

As long as the Fed keeps rates down the banks won't be paying squat. The focus is on credit markets in this economy, not on savings.

[Oz_Chief]

If you are looking for a relatively high interest rate combined with liquidity you should look into a Money Market account. I have not looked at them for a few months but they are usually around 4%. They also allow you get access to them very rapidly (~24 hours) with no penalty for withdrawal.

[Amnorix]

Make more payments on your house and build up more equity. It might keep its value, and someday, might go up in value.


This advice is ONLY useful if you intend to stay in the house for the entire length of the loan. If you sell early, then all you have done is given the bank your money interest free from the time of the early payment until the time that you sold the house. No benefit to you whatsoever for having done that.

[Amnorix]

As long as the Fed keeps rates down the banks won't be paying squat. The focus is on credit markets in this economy, not on savings.


Well stated. And note that the Feds have announced they intend to keep interest rates low through 2014.

[Amnorix]

If you are looking for a relatively high interest rate combined with liquidity you should look into a Money Market account. I have not looked at them for a few months but they are usually around 4%. They also allow you get access to them very rapidly (~24 hours) with no penalty for withdrawal.


Find me one at a decent institution and I'll be sending some money there immediately. Don't think you can find anything much above 1% these days. Be glad to be proven wrong.

[talastan]

Well stated. And note that the Feds have announced they intend to keep interest rates low through 2014.

Exactly, this is first time in history that I have found them stating a timeline in their rate decisions. They know that this economy isn't recovering anytime soon IMO.

[Amnorix]

Exactly, this is first time in history that I have found them stating a timeline in their rate decisions. They know that this economy isn't recovering anytime soon IMO.


Right. They did that once before I think, but that was only last year, or maybe 6 months ago. They're REALLY trying to impress on everything that the Fed will exert maximum power to ensure that money is cheap, so PLEASE LEND/SPEND some!!!

[Saul Good]

This advice is ONLY useful if you intend to stay in the house for the entire length of the loan. If you sell early, then all you have done is given the bank your money interest free from the time of the early payment until the time that you sold the house. No benefit to you whatsoever for having done that.

It's not even useful then. Actually, it's harmful. It's only beneficial if you're refinancing and want to reduce the loan amount.

Thre reason I say it's harmful is this: If shit hits the fan, and you can't make your mortgage payment for a period of time, the bank is more likely to work out a plan with you if you don't have much equity. They don't want to foreclose because they aren't going to recover the full loan amount. If you have 25%+ equity in your house, they know that they can easily sell it for enough to recoup the loan amount, so they have no qualms about foreclosing.

[DaFace]

I've used ING's online savings for a few years now. It's not great, but it's easy to use and gives you a lot better return than you'll get in a normal bank's savings account. Right now, it's an 0.8% APY. Again, not great, but that's better than the 0.1% I was getting at my brick and mortar bank.

https://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=OrangeSavingsAccount

[DaFace]

Oh, if ING happens to be appealing, let me know. If I refer you, you'll get a $25 bonus and I'll get $10.

[Amnorix]

It's not even useful then. Actually, it's harmful.

Well, not in all circumstances. Hypothetically, if someone overpaid the principal regularly and stayed in the house for 20+ years, they could save themselves years of interest payments at the back end.

BUT, note also that they are losing the mortgage interest tax deduction, and they may not be able to itemize as a result.

I would say that under most circumstances, prepayment of the mortgage isn't very beneficial.

It's only beneficial if you're refinancing and want to reduce the loan amount.


You could be referring to two different circumstances. I'll address them separately.

Situation 1. You are refinancing. You have $200K on your existing balance. You are refi'ing to a lower rate and have extra money lying around. You decide to throw in $25K of the extra money and ReFi at the lower rate and have only $175K of principal instead of $200K. THAT IS GREAT!!! DO THAT!!! YES!!!

Situation 2. You are steadily paying down your mortgage by overpyaing the principal by $100 per month. After a few years, you decide to ReFi. Your new mortgage is now lower because of the years of monthly prepayments you made.

Yes, true, but you are worse off than you would have been if you had taken the $100/month, invested it in something safe that actually made interest, and then thrown extra cash WHEN you ReFi'ed.

CAVEAT: Some people have to live by a budget to control their spending. If you are the type that can put $100/month into the mortgage, but if it was sitting in the bank and turned into $5K after 50 months, and you need ot take that money and go on a cruise, then yeah, go ahead and prepay.


Thre reason I say it's harmful is this: If shit hits the fan, and you can't make your mortgage payment for a period of time, the bank is more likely to work out a plan with you if you don't have much equity. They don't want to foreclose because they aren't going to recover the full loan amount. If you have 25%+ equity in your house, they know that they can easily sell it for enough to recoup the loan amount, so they have no qualms about foreclosing.


That part is true. I'm looking strictly at cash management side. As your equity goes up, so does your risk -- in all ways.

A house with no/little equity is an asset you DON'T have.

[Simply Red]

Ing

[Amnorix]

I've used ING's online savings for a few years now. It's not great, but it's easy to use and gives you a lot better return than you'll get in a normal bank's savings account. Right now, it's an 0.8% APY. Again, not great, but that's better than the 0.1% I was getting at my brick and mortar bank.

https://home.ingdirect.com/products/products.asp?s=OrangeSavingsAccount


Similarly CapitalOne's online savings account rate used to be very aggressive, along with their CD rates. Think the online account rate is now about 0.70% though. Not great, but FDIC insured and I have found them to be very good as to customer service, etc.

[trndobrd]

Yes, true, but you are worse off than you would have been if you had taken the $100/month, invested it in something safe that actually made interest, and then thrown extra cash WHEN you ReFi'ed.



$100 a month at 1% interest gets something like $150 in interest over five years. Subtract tax on the interest and we are really talking about the equivalent of a nice dinner for you and the wife. Accounting for inflation, you are just spinning your wheels either way.

Which gets us back to the original question, where is someplace safe that makes actual interest?

[R8RFAN]

Perkstreet.com 2% Cash Back On Your Debit card you use as a credit card
Pay off house
Pay off cars
Pay off existing credit cards

= easy street

[DaFace]

Perkstreet.com 2% Cash Back On Your Debit card you use as a credit card
Pay off house
Pay off cars
Pay off existing credit cards

= easy street

Yeah, but that 2% is only for money you're spending, not what you're saving.

[Demonpenz]

Nice problem to have. Meanwhile us working stiffs can't even afford a car that won't veer into a guardrail

[Omaha]

Make more payments on your house and build up more equity. It might keep its value, and someday, might go up in value.

Very bad plan since he said in the OP:

1. he has other forms of debt, and

2. he wants an emergency fund.

[Fansy the Famous Bard]

It's not even useful then. Actually, it's harmful. It's only beneficial if you're refinancing and want to reduce the loan amount.

Thre reason I say it's harmful is this: If shit hits the fan, and you can't make your mortgage payment for a period of time, the bank is more likely to work out a plan with you if you don't have much equity. They don't want to foreclose because they aren't going to recover the full loan amount. If you have 25%+ equity in your house, they know that they can easily sell it for enough to recoup the loan amount, so they have no qualms about foreclosing.

Ding ding...

"investing" in your home is much different now than it was 7 or even 5 years ago. Saulbadguy stated advice people used back then. Nowadays, paying down your loan quicker, is not necessarily a good thing with the way the market is fluctuating. My house went from having 160k value when we bought it to now only being worth 140k when appraised. Has nothing to do with how well you keep the house, it was affected more by the forclosures in my area. My "Investment" turned into me losing a lot of money due to things completely out of my control.

[Amnorix]

$100 a month at 1% interest gets something like $150 in interest over five years. Subtract tax on the interest and we are really talking about the equivalent of a nice dinner for you and the wife. Accounting for inflation, you are just spinning your wheels either way.

Yes, but doing it the other way and you've actually gone backwards, accounting for inflation. Actually, accounting for inflation, you've probably gone backwards either way, but at least my way you get a dinner out of it. :D

Which gets us back to the original question, where is someplace safe that makes actual interest?


Yeah, ING or CapitalOne are truly SAFE and makes interest that is more a cup of coffee per year. Beyond that money market account, or corporate bond fund. Beyond that, nada that I know of.

[R8RFAN]

Yeah, but that 2% is only for money you're spending, not what you're saving.

This is true, I have given up trying to find somewhere safe to put money to make money to be honest with you.

[Amnorix]

The reality all of us is facing is that cash is CHEAP. Perhaps many of those on this thread will understand this, but most people don't get that cash itself has a cost.

Right now cash costs nearly nothing. For the same reason you can (or recently could) get a mortgage for <4.00%, nobody is willing to pay you for your cash. Nobody wants your cash.

It would NOT surprise me if, in the next few years, banks started CHARGING people to maintain a low balance checking account. Economically, it costs them money to support those types of accounts, and they can't possibly generate a profit off them. They'd rather get rid of them, but since they won't be able to, I'd expect them to start charging a fee. They're probably only holding out for fear of public backlash.

[DaFace]

This is true, I have given up trying to find somewhere safe to put money to make money to be honest with you.

Yeah, I can't brag too much on my 0.8%, that's for sure. I think I got about $200 in interest from that account last year, though, so that's worth something I guess.

[R8RFAN]

Yeah, I can't brag too much on my 0.8%, that's for sure. I think I got about $200 in interest from that account last year, though, so that's worth something I guess.

Back in the 2004-2006 range I would make enough money on interest alone to pay half my Mortgage... In 2009 when I looked at my statement I was making about 30 bucks a month on interest and thats when I said to hell with that and just paid off the house.

Got my money back up now to where I was before I paid it off but now I only make in the teens on interest for a month.... Virtually worthless

[Mr. Laz]

Right now... you won't get shit for a decent return on savings. Still save what you can in an FDIC insured account. The rates on CD's aren't worth tying up the money. Normally you'd want part of your emergency stash in regular savings, and the other in laddered CDs (different maturity dates so that you are never that far out from getting to some of it.) However today I'd save in whatever insured savings you can find, and once you get to 3 months expenses saved, consider opening an investment account w/ 1/2 of it and putting it in a blue chip corporate bond fund. It's not zero risk, but the closest thing you can get to it and you should get a rate of return that beats inflation.

In a few years hopefully saving rates will be back up and you can move out of the corporate bond fund and then into the traditional laddered Cds.

I'm doing the same thing right now.

+1. I'm going to cry when the last of my laddered CDs pop out later this year. But tying up money for 1% per year for 5 years is absurd.

There is no "good, safe" place for cash, currently, to be honest. At least not FDIC insured.
+2

even online is shit, as far as i know

[HMc]

Getting 5.4% here at the moment, but our economy is appreciably better.

You could go offshore, but you're introducing exchange rate risk into the equation.

[SLAG]

Thanks guys for all the info
My head is spinning

Also with this whole budget thing - and plugging in numbers - it is a little scary because it almost seems too good to be true.

I am obsessing over it lately - checking and rechecking all the numbers and everything is looking great and I don't know if I can handle it lol -j/k

Its amazing to me how much money I have spent in the past on bank fees and fast food especially- I just hope I can build up this ER fund a bit before I actually need it...

[Marco Polo]

I've been with DollarSavingsDirect for the last few years. Just like what everyone else is saying about ING and CapitolOne, it's at a low rate. It's been 0.7%. It has good customer service so I'll rock with them indefinitely.

[chubychecker]

Bond funds are a VERY bad place to be now IMO, especially for an emergency fund. When rates creep up the value is going to go down. I wouldn't be surprised at all if bond funds LOSE money over the next few years. Investing in bond funds is very different than investing in the individual bonds themselves.

[Buehler445]

Thanks guys for all the info
My head is spinning

Also with this whole budget thing - and plugging in numbers - it is a little scary because it almost seems too good to be true.

I am obsessing over it lately - checking and rechecking all the numbers and everything is looking great and I don't know if I can handle it lol -j/k

Its amazing to me how much money I have spent in the past on bank fees and fast food especially- I just hope I can build up this ER fund a bit before I actually need it...

Good deal bud. Eating out really eats your budget hard. Cooking yourself can too if you aren't careful. If you try to cook a bunch of food for the week and don't get it eaten, it will become a big deal. I continue to be amazed at how much it costs to feed my fat ass. I guess my point is, be a little liberal when budgeting for food.

Another budget wrecker is tires. They've really gotten bad. I needed 2 for my pickup and ended up buying 4 for a grand because my tire man said they were going up again. You probably won't spend a grand (I was after 10 ply tires), but rest assured they will be expensive.

[R8RFAN]

Right now it is just about as cheap to eat a steak at a steak house as buy it in the grocery store...

Beef prices have gone insane

[Buehler445]

Right now it is just about as cheap to eat a steak at a steak house as buy it in the grocery store...

Beef prices have gone insane

No shit. I think chuck roast is north of $3/lb and brisket is about $4/lb. While chicken breast is under $2/lb at Sam's. That's batshit crazy.

It's all a function of our piss ass weak dollar. The Beef industry has done an outstanding job of developing export channels and has really killed it in the export market. I don't have any numbers on it, but it is HUGE compared to 2008. All that I can understand. I have no idea why Pork and Chicken haven't followed suit. Surely there is international demand for the protein. I know you can't sell pigs to the middle east, but I think China is trying to ramp up their hog production, so the demand is there. And as far as I know chicken is eaten everywhere.

Either way, the food industry is crazy right now.

[cdcox]

No shit. I think chuck roast is north of $3/lb and brisket is about $4/lb. While chicken breast is under $2/lb at Sam's. That's batshit crazy.

It's all a function of our piss ass weak dollar. The Beef industry has done an outstanding job of developing export channels and has really killed it in the export market. I don't have any numbers on it, but it is HUGE compared to 2008. All that I can understand. I have no idea why Pork and Chicken haven't followed suit. Surely there is international demand for the protein. I know you can't sell pigs to the middle east, but I think China is trying to ramp up their hog production, so the demand is there. And as far as I know chicken is eaten everywhere.

Either way, the food industry is crazy right now.

It probably has to do with being able to raise chickens just about anywhere, compared to beef that takes a certain amount of land and/or an industrialized ag system.

[R8RFAN]

No shit. I think chuck roast is north of $3/lb and brisket is about $4/lb. While chicken breast is under $2/lb at Sam's. That's batshit crazy.

It's all a function of our piss ass weak dollar. The Beef industry has done an outstanding job of developing export channels and has really killed it in the export market. I don't have any numbers on it, but it is HUGE compared to 2008. All that I can understand. I have no idea why Pork and Chicken haven't followed suit. Surely there is international demand for the protein. I know you can't sell pigs to the middle east, but I think China is trying to ramp up their hog production, so the demand is there. And as far as I know chicken is eaten everywhere.

Either way, the food industry is crazy right now.

News said it was because of the Drought in the mid west and the price of feed... it also said that cattle numbers were the lowest it has been in decades...

Went to my favorite neighborhood store to get a couple of Ribeyes and they were paper thin/ small and had 15 bucks on the price tag....

[R8RFAN]

It probably has to do with being able to raise chickens just about anywhere, compared to beef that takes a certain amount of land and/or an industrialized ag system.

My wifes family has chicken houses in the country here (nasty smelly places) it takes 6 weeks from the day that it is hatched to the day it goes to the slaughter house (thats another reason)

[SLAG]

Good deal bud. Eating out really eats your budget hard. Cooking yourself can too if you aren't careful. If you try to cook a bunch of food for the week and don't get it eaten, it will become a big deal. I continue to be amazed at how much it costs to feed my fat ass. I guess my point is, be a little liberal when budgeting for food.

Another budget wrecker is tires. They've really gotten bad. I needed 2 for my pickup and ended up buying 4 for a grand because my tire man said they were going up again. You probably won't spend a grand (I was after 10 ply tires), but rest assured they will be expensive.

Funny you mention that -

One my vehicles is over due for tires -
i was planning on dropping about $425/450 for a set of 4 come tax return

[Buehler445]

News said it was because of the Drought in the mid west and the price of feed... it also said that cattle numbers were the lowest it has been in decades...

Went to my favorite neighborhood store to get a couple of Ribeyes and they were paper thin/ small and had 15 bucks on the price tag....

That certainly had a small impact, but overall, the dollar took a colossal shit and comparatively our beef is cheap in the world market.

The herd nobody worries about. A cow man I know told me that if you add some weight (I think he said 25 lbs) to the carcass weight, which is fairly easy, you're back the same beef production. I'm not a cow man, that's just what I've been told.

There is some potential for future supply strains if the drought down south subsides and all the Texas guys start holding heifers to rebuild their herd. If they do it on a large scale, it could put some pressure on the market.

My wifes family has chicken houses in the country here (nasty smelly places) it takes 6 weeks from the day that it is hatched to the day it goes to the slaughter house (thats another reason)

Shit. You're right. I hadn't thought about that. Pig processing is also significantly faster than beef. You would still think that the prices would somewhat follow beef to try to capture some extra margin because beef is so damn high.

[Buehler445]

Funny you mention that -

One my vehicles is over due for tires -
i was planning on dropping about $425/450 for a set of 4 come tax return

What kind of tire? You might be able to get it done for that, but I doubt it. I'd budget in a fair chunk more and if you can get out of there cheaper, plug it into savings.

[R8RFAN]

That certainly had a small impact, but overall, the dollar took a colossal shit and comparatively our beef is cheap in the world market.

The herd nobody worries about. A cow man I know told me that if you add some weight (I think he said 25 lbs) to the carcass weight, which is fairly easy, you're back the same beef production. I'm not a cow man, that's just what I've been told.

There is some potential for future supply strains if the drought down south subsides and all the Texas guys start holding heifers to rebuild their herd. If they do it on a large scale, it could put some pressure on the market.



Shit. You're right. I hadn't thought about that. Pig processing is also significantly faster than beef. You would still think that the prices would somewhat follow beef to try to capture some extra margin because beef is so damn high.


Feeding Pigs will put your ass in the poorhouse from what I am told and you also have to be in a place where the pig shit can't contaminate the water...

[Buehler445]

Feeding Pigs will put your ass in the poorhouse from what I am told and you also have to be in a place where the pig shit can't contaminate the water...

We fed a few (<300) pigs for awhile in the 90's. It wasn't terrible. Dad had the math done and the market cycles identified well enough to where he just got out when the price went to shit, and got back in when the prices cycled back up. He did that for 3 years, and the third year was a bad downturn and washed out nearly everyone who had pigs, including our source for feeder pigs.

Seaboard has since moved in and contracted some barns around, but they control the pig from birth to retail, so if feeding pigs loses money, they don't much give a shit as they make it back on the other end.

From what I understand is there are still some independent hog barn operators out in the corn belt, but most of them are trying to create their own market for corn.

Bottom line, you're right. In the last 20 years a shitload of hog feeders got their asses handed to them.

As far as water goes, it isn't the limiting factor. If you have more than 300 critters in containment in any one location you have to adhere to the EPA's ridiculous waste standards which includes building a settling pond and waste pond for every drop of waste and runoff that goes through your entire watershed. It has to be clayed up and tarped underneath it and you have to have a way to dispose of the water. That's for any operation, no matter what kind of groundwater situation they have.

[R8RFAN]

I admire the farmers in this country, I wanted to do it one time in my life, I was into the FFA bigtime in high school.....

Sadly,Alot of stuff has changed since the good old days of the 90's

[Buehler445]

I admire the farmers in this country, I wanted to do it one time in my life, I was into the FFA bigtime in high school.....

Sadly,Alot of stuff has changed since the good old days of the 90's

It's certainly a challenging and risky profession, but there are a lot of benefits that go along with it. I just hope I don't get washed out and have nothing to show for my effort at the end of my life.

The amazing thing about agriculture is there are some flat out amazing minds in the industry. I'm certainly not one of them, but it is mind boggling what some of these guys are able to get done and the science that goes with what some guys are trying to do. I just try to keep learning and keep my house in order.

[SLAG]

What kind of tire? You might be able to get it done for that, but I doubt it. I'd budget in a fair chunk more and if you can get out of there cheaper, plug it into savings.

That was the quote I was getting from Sams for our minivan

[SLAG]

I ended up Signing up with Alliant Credit Union
all my research seems that is is one highly demanded Credit Union - Many people want to be members.

Some links:

http://www.moneycone.com/a-bank-thats-better-than-ally-and-ingdirect/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alliant_Credit_Union

Used their Scan and Deposit (Edeposit Plus) feature tonight and its pretty sweet
There are NO -FEE ATMS's close by me as well.

Savings is at 1%
Low rates on loans / CC etc.. too - Now I am thinking of getting a Secured Card for the Mrs. from them and even another Secured Card from them For me...

[Amnorix]

Another option came to light -- investing in short term GE Capital bonds, basically. NOTE that they are not FDIC insured, so I'm not at all sure that the slightly higher rates (currently) are worth the risk. But just in case anyone is interested, here's the link:


http://www.geinterestplus.com/en/

[Garcia Bronco]

Make more payments on your house and build up more equity. It might keep its value, and someday, might go up in value.

this. I have actually taken 10 percent of the 30 percent that I bank for retirement each month and started paying principle.

[saphojunkie]

Well stated. And note that the Feds have announced they intend to keep interest rates low through 2014.

Sucks for saving, but as I'm looking to buy my first house, I couldn't be happier.

[Amnorix]

this. I have actually taken 10 percent of the 30 percent that I bank for retirement each month and started paying principle.


Potentially beneficial, but note my posts 12 and 20, and the other various posts early in this thread on this topic. In many cases it can end up being a zero net gain proposition. But if you plan to stay in the house until they take you out in a box, then yes it could definitely be good to prepay regularly.