[eveningdiary]

I'm realizing that I'm not living paycheck to paycheck and buying a lot of stuff I don't need, so I need to develop a savings account. I've heard about a lot of cool savings accounts with high interest rates. Has anyone heard of anything like that? I think a few years ago, E-trade, ING, and Mint did something like that. But, things change, and we're in Fall of 2012 now.

I'm not saving up for much. But, I do plan on traveling. I plan on spending a month or two in Argentina and Chile this summer (2013). Is there a process to saving money, or something I don't know. I work two minimum wage jobs, I'll admit that I don't know everything about money.

P.S. Yes, I do plan on reading Get Rich and Grow Big.

[deuce]

Here's a list of savings accounts that you might like. I don't know that much about investing either, but hopefully it's a good starting place for you.

[DJ Qwerty]

When it comes to online bank accounts for the "average" consumer, there is NO better option than ING Direct. I have been doing my checking, savings, and investments with them for a few years now and think they stand out as the best of the best, particularly for Gen Y'ers.

Let's start with the savings accounts. Good interest rates, 1% and up. That's better than what you'll get in a basic savings or checking account at your brick and mortar bank. I will note though, chasing interest rates is a waste of time for most people our age (21-35 Range) . If you're dealing in multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars, or millions, then yes, a percentage point matters, but compound interest takes time, so its better to work on building a larger balance with a disciplined and automated strategy than to worry about interest in the short term.

Anyway, back to ING. The best thing about ING is the "sub-savings" accounts it lets you create. As an example, I have accounts set up WITHIN my main savings account for travel, dj equipment, and emergencies. You can automatically transfer money to and from these accounts using the web portal, so this way saving for that trip in a year or that bike in 6 months can be nothing more than setting up the amounts you need to transfer each month (or day, or week) and letting the savings happen. Now, clearly you'll need the money to transfer into those accounts from the main account, but assuming you have a steady income, you can run the numbers to figure out how much you can save each month for each of your goals.

ING also offers a no hassle online checking account that is pretty sweet. It's a no fee, high interest checking account, has direct deposit, and best of all, just added REMOTE CHECK DEPOSIT. Someone write you a check? Just snap a pic with your smartphone, or scan the image (front and back) into your computer and use the web portal to deposit it. Money shows up in a day or two. You can link the checking account to your savings account. So as an example, my job deposits money to my main checking account, and then I have automated transfers to my seperate savings accounts and my investment account a few days after payday. This way I don't spend hours doing my banking, its set up to happen automatically every two weeks (revolving around payday) and takes care of itself. If I need to make any changes I can just log on to the web portal and suspend a transfer for that week if need to hold onto that money, or add a new one if I had a windfall. You have the option of picking an account with overdraft protection or one without it. I actually chose no overdraft protection since I got into some trouble with that before, so now I have to be more disciplined about what I spend on, there's no "safety net". And if I get in a jam and need some cash, since I've been withdrawing into my "emergency" savings account with ING, I can just transfer the funds instantly through the web portal and its all gravy.

ING has an investment branch of its services called Sharebuilder and its a great way for young people to get started investing, even with just $50 a month. I have an automated transfer from my checking account twice a month into a Roth IRA with Sharebuilder and then have an automated purchase once a month into an ETF (Exchange traded fund). Roth IRA's are an incredible investment opportunity for young people, go ahead and do a little research on the tax advantages.

So yeah, I would recommend you sign up with ING direct as soon as you can to get the ball rolling, the application process is VERY quick and easy. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Belize King]

OP DJ Qwerty has dropped knowledge for you. Good shit.

I can also personally vouch for Lending Club. Look up some of WestCoast threads and you will learn more about it.

[WestCoast]

CIT bank has highest yields right now.
https://www.bankoncit.com/product-savings.htm

I am in and out for a while but check it out. Going to be a busy summer. You'll see a sheet soon fellow slayers.

[Smitty]

For personal savings accounts, you can pick from any of the above and you'll be fine. Rates are bad right now and there's no way of getting around it.

If you travel internationally, I recommend the Schwab High Yield Investor Checking. They reimburse ATM fees from every country in the world. You won't find a better (cheaper) way to access your cash from another country.
Good luck.

[kingjuice]

Schwab sounds awesome but only for Americans?

What are good options for Europeans? Free, No ATM fees sounds good.

[Drazen]

I use HSBC advance online banking. Get an ATM card and it refunds my fees + there's HSBC everywhere.

as for rates, they are almost generally useless now that the interest rates are so low. What I do is have the bank automatically deduct a set weekly amount from my checking account. Something that I won't miss, but something that will build quickly in a bank account. Its a good system, passive saving...i use it more for "fun money" than anything though. nice having that little pillow of expendable cash.

[freshcream]

Anyone got a good bank for SA? I'll be travelling for a year, and only have one bank card and one credit card. If they get stolen I am basically fucked...