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Best Savings Account???

Old 10-15-05, 01:19 PM
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Best Savings Account???

I've been looking to switch from my WAMU Interest Savings Account to an ING account.. any other good alternatives? thanks in advance...
Old 10-15-05, 01:25 PM
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Emigrant Direct @ 4.0%

http://www.emigrant-direct.com/index.php
Old 10-16-05, 11:09 AM
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Yes, EmigrantDirect has been besting ING on interest rates for a while now, and I've moved most of my idle $$$ into Emigrant.
Old 10-16-05, 01:01 PM
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Originally Posted by marty888
Yes, EmigrantDirect has been besting ING on interest rates for a while now, and I've moved most of my idle $$$ into Emigrant.
I am going to begin this process as well.
Old 10-16-05, 08:48 PM
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Capital One's savings acct is pretty good too, 3.75%. www.capitalone.com
Old 10-16-05, 09:36 PM
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Another vote for Emigrant. You can visit their branch office if you are living/visiting NYC.
Old 10-16-05, 10:37 PM
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aside from the rates, any major differences among emigrant, ing, capital one?
Old 10-17-05, 02:17 AM
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Originally Posted by usctrojan415
aside from the rates, any major differences among emigrant, ing, capital one?
don't know much about capital one except they screwed my dad over big time a long time ago.

i've been really pleased with ing direct for the past year. the two times that i've contacted them, they've been pleasant and resolved my issue quickly. i personally feel safe on their website and for me everything's all very straightforward.

i just signed up for emigrant last week. i've heard that emigrant direct's customer service can leave something to be desired. but i have no personal experience with this. to setup the account at emigrant requires one or two more hoops than ing direct, but you're still getting four percent for your money, so it's worth it.

hope that helps a little bit.

but really. they're all FDIC insured and if you're just parking your money to earn interest, then it doesn't really matter.
Old 10-17-05, 02:19 AM
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I believe that the best place to have your savings account is wherever you have your checking account, even if it only pays 0.2% (like my savings account). Here's why...

Think about what the purpose of a savings account really is. It's for transfering money into and out of your checking account, it's not for long-term savings. You shouldn't have more than $700 or $800 or so in it. If you have more, take a look at I bonds (currently paying ~ 4.8%, though you can't cash them in for 12 months) or a good no-load balanced mutual fund. Personally, I keep the vast majority of my savings in mutual funds, including money for my house's taxes & insurance, as well as savings for my next vehicle and kid's college savings, etc.
Old 10-17-05, 08:45 AM
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Originally Posted by usctrojan415
aside from the rates, any major differences among emigrant, ing, capital one?
I haven't used Capital One, but the only big difference betwwen ING and Emigrant is the web interface. ING's is quite impressive where Emigrant's is awfully bland. Not a big difference in the grand scheme of things though.
Old 10-17-05, 12:44 PM
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Heat, thanks for the advice. I'm very leary about the MF market and especially individ. stocks. I have very low 5 figures in ING so it's earning alright with absolutely no risk. It works well from me, don't think I'll switch to the one mentioned here. I am cognizant of the fact, however, that I could be earning so much more on my $ in funds, but I'm embarrasingly illiterate about investing (shame on me since my Dad is a financial advisor..) Any tips on profitable funds I should look into?
Old 10-17-05, 06:31 PM
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I have both Cap One & ING accounts. I would say there is no major difference. Both allow you to transfer money in and out with ease. Both send out paper statements, every quarter if I remember correctly. Both send out a 1099 at the end of each year. As others have said, savings accounts are basically somewhere you park extra money, so there isn't much "customer service" required to maintain such an account.
Old 10-19-05, 12:54 AM
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Originally Posted by Heat
I believe that the best place to have your savings account is wherever you have your checking account, even if it only pays 0.2% (like my savings account). Here's why...

Think about what the purpose of a savings account really is. It's for transfering money into and out of your checking account, it's not for long term savings. You shouldn't have more than $700 or $800 or so in it. If you have more, take a look at I bonds (currently paying ~ 4.8%, though you can't cash them in for 12 months) or a good no-load balanced mutual fund. Personally, I keep the vast majority of my savings in mutual funds, including money for my house's taxes & insurance, as well as savings for my next vehicle and kid's college savings, etc.
Hmm....going to have to disagree here. This flys in the face of financial planning.
(Please note: the following advice is general advice only and your financial plan will vary depending on your own specific information. Please consult a Certified Financial Planner for more information based on your situation. )

There are three main types of risk in investments:

1)Principal-will you get back all of your investment.

2)Liquidity-how quickly can you cash in the asset.

3)Inflation-will your investments keep up with inflation and the decrease in the purchasing power of the dollar.

A "savings" account or "demand deposit" account, is a place to park your emergency fund or money you will be needing short term (one year or less). The general recommendation is for an emergency fund containing 3-6 months of living expenses. This is money that you should have easy access to.

Your big concerns here are principal and liquidity risk. If you want to keep your emergency fund in a mutual fund, a money market mutual fund is really the best one to consider. These funds try to keep their shares at a stable $1 value. While you could use a short term bond fund, you run into the problem of your shares being worth less when you need to cash them in. This is especially true in a rising interest rate environment like the one we are in now. In addition, accounts like Cap One, Emigrant and ING paying close 3.6-4.0% make a short term bond fund look less attractive. Since each redemption of a bond fund creates a taxable event, it may also be a PITA to deal with the paperwork of a bond fund in terms of tax consequences and records.

To keep a $10,000 emergency fund in a regular bank savings account paying 0.25-50% is just cheating yourself out of money. $400 v. $25-50 in annual interest (4% v. 0.25-50%).

The Cap One, Emigrant and ING accounts (henceforth called "internet savings accounts" or "ISA") are all FDIC insured and conduct transactions using the electronic Automated Clearing House (ACH) system. The advantage of this is that transactions are easy and take place fairly quickly. I have had an ING account for years and transfers from ING to my checking account usually take a day (YMMV, it depends on timing of the request and your bank).

Transfers to and from your ISA can be as little as a dollar and they are also great for setting up accounts for specific goals (like a vacation, new TV or car). In addition to my primary ING account, I have one nicknamed "upgrades" that I throw a fixed sum into every month to give me a account to use to fund new HT/electronic toys. You can also set up investment plans where money is transferred from your regular bank checking account to your ISA on a regular basis. While you can also setup up a regular investment plan with a money market mutual fund (henceforth called "MMMF"), some MMMFs have minimum additional investment requirement of $50-100.

MMMF yields also tend to be lower and lag behind ISA interest rates. Another drawback to using a MMMF is if you try and deposit a MMMF check to your regular bank checking account. For most people, MMMF checks will be drawn on an out of state bank. Many banks will put a hold on the funds from an out state check over a certain amount (for my bank the limit is $1,000). While a good customer may be able to get this hold period reduced or eliminated, not every customer may be able to do so. Using an ISA with an online transfer doesn't run into these problems, as the money is transferred electronically and the bank doesn't have to worry about a check bouncing. Many MMMFs can do ACH transactions, but again, you have to worry about any minimum amount requirement.

Not sure what the post length limit is, so I will continue this in another post.

END PART 1.

Last edited by nekobus; 10-19-05 at 09:09 PM.
Old 10-19-05, 12:56 AM
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PART 2 START.

Why have an emergency fund? For those unexpected expenses like car and home repairs, loss of a job, etc. They are a nice security blanket so you can sleep at night. For example, when my sister bought her place last year, I had her start up an ING account and set aside an amount each month for "home repair". She faithfully puts in her amount each month and when she had an unexpected repair, she was able to tap the fund without resorting to the use of credit card debt. It's also a way for her to easily save for longer term projects like a roof replacement.

The type of investments a person makes depends on many factors, such as, but by no means limited to, income, expenses, needs, wants, family composition, etc. The types of investments will be based on not only on your financial needs, but such things as how much risk you are willing to take and the time frame of your investment.

For example, money that you need within a year or your emergency fund should be kept in a short term investment vehicle like a "savings" account/ISA/MMMF. Someplace where you know that money will be available when and if you need it (capital and liquidity risk). With their low minimum transaction levels, ISAs can also be used to accumulate amounts for other investments.

For a longer term investment horizon, like retirement or a college fund for a young child, a combination of stock and bond mutual funds would be the way to go. Your own situation (assets available, income, tolerance for risk (if your investments are keeping you up at night, it's time to re-examine them), etc) will determine the types of funds you use to meet your goals. For long term investments where you don't need the money in the near future, you can trade off short term principal risk in exchange for the chance of greater returns over the long term.

As you get closer to the time when you need your money, it is best to shift it to a less risky investment with less capital risk. For example, an aggressive stock growth fund may be good for building up a college fund when your child is very young and you can lose a chunk of value and then still have time to build it back up again. However, as you get closer to the age when your child is going to start college, your investment portfolio should be moved into less volatile investments. By around one year before your child starts school, you should have moved at least the first year's worth of expenses into a short term account emphasizing capital preservation. If you are keeping all of your money in a aggressive stock fund right up until the last minute and it loses a big chunk of its value, you might find yourself in a bind and the fund may not recover enough value to cover the college expenses you thought it would.

For something like a car and keeping your money in stock funds, it's not quite as dramatic if you lose a chunk of your principal, you can always add more to your savings, keep your current car longer, buy a less expensive replacement or something along these lines.

And when looking at the market, look back past 1980. A lot of people look at the market only from 1980, they forget about things like price controls, stagflation and other fun stuff. (I'm old enough to remember things like this. )

As I wrote earlier it really depends on each person's own situation and needs. As for ISAs, I have had an ING account for years and never had any problems with them. The few times I have actually called them, their CS was right on the ball.

Last edited by nekobus; 10-19-05 at 09:08 PM.
Old 10-19-05, 05:38 AM
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I haven't used them, so I can't vouch for them... but hsbc is running a promo now where you get a 35 dollar bonus at signup and then their 3.75%apr. this is for a nofee, $1 minimum deposit savings account.

here's the link to check information on the account and deal:
http://www.us.hsbc.com/personal/depo...tml?code=ccs20

the offer expires at the end of october.
Old 10-19-05, 08:50 AM
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City Bank in Dallas

City Bank in Dallas, Texas is offering a great deal on their reward checking accounts. The CHECKING account yields 3.56% for the life of the account, free checks, and atm fees automatically credited. You only need $50 to open the account and they will automatically credit you $100. The only down side is that there are only two locations here in Dallas, so it is a hassle for most. Promotion ends by Oct 31st and is a one time deal.
Old 10-19-05, 09:35 AM
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Originally Posted by TLwizard
I haven't used them, so I can't vouch for them... but hsbc is running a promo now where you get a 35 dollar bonus at signup and then their 3.75%apr. this is for a nofee, $1 minimum deposit savings account.

here's the link to check information on the account and deal:
http://www.us.hsbc.com/personal/depo...tml?code=ccs20

the offer expires at the end of october.
I'm thinking about getting in on this deal.
Old 10-19-05, 11:07 AM
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Thanks nekobus, finally some good (and free) advice in layman speak. Much appreciated kind sir!
Old 10-20-05, 08:48 AM
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Can you have sub-accounts with ING/Emigrant? Right now we have our main savings account, and a separate savings account for our son that we transfer money to.
Old 10-20-05, 10:41 PM
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Originally Posted by bralph
Can you have sub-accounts with ING/Emigrant? Right now we have our main savings account, and a separate savings account for our son that we transfer money to.
for ing... i think you can, although i'm not 100%. remember though, that it's probably better to have separate accounts to allow for the maximum fdic insurance.

actually i just checked and you can open up some more accounts. just be logged in, click on open new account, it will allow you to create a joint account, or single account... and you can fund it from any of your linked accounts, including your ing direct account. but i would assume that each account counts towards your 100K max, unless you open a joint account.

now as to how many joint accounts you can have (you and the spouse, then you and your son, perhaps?) i'm not sure. but opening up an account while logged in should at least be a start.
Old 10-21-05, 12:23 AM
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Originally Posted by bralph
Can you have sub-accounts with ING/Emigrant? Right now we have our main savings account, and a separate savings account for our son that we transfer money to.
It depends on what you need by linking accounts. At ING, if I remember correctly, you can link them in the sense that you can start a new account from an existing account and transfer funds between them, but each has its own ID & password, although if I remember correctly, if you have both an individual and a joint account, you get ONE 1099-INT at the end of the year that lists both accounts. Don't know about Emigrant.

Last edited by raytrade; 10-21-05 at 12:25 AM.
Old 10-21-05, 08:32 AM
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Great, thanks TLwizard and raytrade for the info.
Old 10-21-05, 02:29 PM
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Originally Posted by usctrojan415
aside from the rates, any major differences among emigrant, ing, capital one?
I have to say ING's site is light years ahead of Emigrant's...I actually closed my Emigrant account (that was a big piece). It is just easier to do things with ING including everything from moving cash to and from....set up CD's etc..

Emigrant's site looks like it was put together by a 2 year old...

Sure I give up a little interest but it is worth it for the convenience.
Old 10-21-05, 02:47 PM
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countrywidebank.com
Old 10-22-05, 06:34 AM
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Originally Posted by raytrade
although if I remember correctly, if you have both an individual and a joint account, you get ONE 1099-INT at the end of the year that lists both accounts. Don't know about Emigrant.

only if the primary SSN on each account matches I believe... the primary SSN should be the recipient of the 1099-INT



on the rate front check out banxquote.com or bankrate.com and you can see a bunch of what is out there. Lot of people higher than ING including some big names

Last edited by matchpenalty; 10-22-05 at 06:37 AM.

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