With all the talk lately about the economy and finances being foremost in many of our minds, I am writing today to see if you can help. I am looking into a savings account- I know, I know...I should have had one of these before this point in my life, but I don't.
I was careless with money in college and accumulated quite a bit of credit card debt, which I have been whittling down, slowly but surely. I have decided, though, that I need a savings account so that money I save can at least be earning interest...even if it's a small amount.
I have just started a budget spreadsheet for myself and I feel like I will have a good amount left over each month to put into savings to gain interest and eventually completely pay off the credit card and my student loan. On top of that, I'd like to put my tax refund check in savings now, so that I can use it towards several weddings I have coming up.
On that note, I am completely clueless when it comes to these matters....so, once again, I am looking to you ladies for advice (what in the world did I do before I had a blog??).
Do you have a savings account, and if so, is it through your bank or through another, higher interest source?? My bank is BB&T and I have researched their savings plan which seems to be pretty good. However, I have found other banks on the internet that have a much higher interest rate...I'm just skeptical whether my money would be safe. Any advice or knowledge you have about this would be great!! Y'all never let me down :-)
I like ING Direct. It has a good interest rate, been around a while, and is FDIC Insured.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I have our savings account at the same bank that has our checking. We put 10% in savings after every paycheck and make it a rule to never touch our savings.
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ReplyDeleteI bank with Wachovia and have two savings accounts there. I've started trying to put my expense checks and a little more each month in my regular savings account, and I recently started a Way to Save account. The only problem is you have to have a Wachovia checking account. To me, it would be worth the switch. Each month, you can automatically transfer up to $100, plus everytime you use your debit card or have an electronic funds transfer, $1 from your checking account goes to your savings account. Here's the best part: at the end of your first year, you earn 10% interest and at the end of your second and third years, you earn 8%. It's an easy way to save without thinking. I just add $1 to the amount I spend when I use my debit card to make it simple to keep track of my bank balance. For me, it's been a great way to save some extra money for who knows what in the future!
ReplyDeleteI also have a friend that uses HSBC's online savings account. I had one for a while (with very little in it) and never added money because I forgot my account access information! haha
I have a Chase bank account and my savings account is linked to that. I can transfer money between the two so easily, which is a good and a bad thing. Good to transfer money into the savings account, bad to transfer the money out of it. I don't earn a TON of interest no a yearly basis, but at least it stores it away for a rainy day. I take a small portion of my savings (used to be bigger when the market was doing better) and invest it in something...an ETF, bonds, stocks (but don't invest in stocks now). The safest investment you can make is U.S. treasuries. They don't have high returns, by any means, but right now any return is a good return. So, that is my recommendation to you! Put some away in a savings account that you can easily access (but promise yourself that you won't touch it) and invest a little bit of it too!
ReplyDeleteWe use Capital One for our savings account. We're pretty happy with it so far (we've only been using it since October). I would also recommend mint.com as a way to set a budget and track your expenses!
ReplyDeleteI have a savings account and money market with my credit union but I also have an ING account. It's great, great interest rate, and easy to use. Also, I use two online money management tools - mint.com and justthrive.com Mint is great for keeping track of everyday bills and spending and justthrive is good because it helps tell you future things (as in "you can afford a house worth $x amount" because of your debt to income ratio.)
ReplyDeleteI have accounts at BB&T and Bank of America. I primarily use my BOA account though. I have it set up to use the Keep the Change program so money is moved over everyday. It is only about $30 a month or so but that is in addition to what else I put in savings. Both banks are also super friendly for customer service.
ReplyDeleteI have an ordinary savings account with BofA. I also have a Keep the Change savings account with them, which I find quite helpful. The contributions are little, but you actually feel good about spending. Everytime you use your debit card, the difference between what you spend and the next dollar gets put into your savings. For example, I spend $3.04 on Starbucks and .96 goes into the savings account.
ReplyDeleteSince this is your first savings account, I suggest getting an ordinary (free) savings account for now.
This has been interesting to read - I really need to get better with our budget and savings as well!!! This has been great to read and get tips from!
ReplyDeleteLike you, I was really bad in college and right after, but we're slowly digging out. But I'd like to start tracking and saving more.
Right now we have a Bank of America Keep the Change savings account, which was free with our checking accounts. Like someone else said, it's bad because it's so easy to transfer money out!
Ughh balance sheets :( Yeah, I have had one since my freshman year. It is such a smart thing to do, especially with the way our economy is. Thanks for the post:)
ReplyDeleteGirlie, check out my blog when you can. I am having my first ever give away!!!
Since I moved across the country for school, it was important for me to find a bank they have in both CA and DC (funny how there aren't many options!). I have Bank of America and really like it. I have their student account thing (campus something or other) so it automatically moves $25 a month from checking to savings. I used to have Wells Fargo but had to switch because there isn't one in DC. I also have a savings with Washington Mutual (all my babysitting money from high school). If you want any advice on B of A let me know!
ReplyDeleteHey!
ReplyDeleteMaybe you can post what you find out/decide. Your not alone with the whole irresponsible during college and acrued debt thing. I am in the same boat. I would LOVE advice on starting a savings account.
Thanks!
China
Rio Rancho, NM
hubby and i have a ING account that we auto deposit to at each paycheck, might be easier then trying to actually save at the same bank where the bills get paid from.. its to easy to transfer funds around.
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