I opened two savings accounts last night. One will be for my Emergency Fund and the other for my Home Purchase Fund. And I also made $75 in the process.
I used ING Direct for my Emergency Fund and got a $25 bonus with only $1 opening deposit.
I used Citibank Ultimate Savings for my Home Purchase Fund. I will be receiving $50 in 90 days and I only opened the account up with $1.
I will fund my accounts starting next month. This month is pretty tight because of the move and the costs associated. But starting April my plan is to put away $50 a month into each account. Thats $100 towards savings a month. Doing that I should have at least $400 in each account by December. I am not worried because I know I will reach my goal balances in each account by February 2008. I still have bonuses from work (done twice a year and range from $1K to $25K) and my 2007 tax refund to take into account. So I am not worried. I need to focus as much of my left over income towards my credit card debt as possible.
I need to open a College Fund account for my daughter. Its harder trying select a bank for this purpose because I am not sure if 4%-6% APY is enough to have for a college savings fund. Should i be looking for more? Are the regular college fund accounts like the Coverdell Education Savings Account the best around. I mean Coverdell offers a 5% APY. I could find 15 other banks with a higher APY. HSBC offer 6%. Why not just open an account with them and make more money? I am confused. LOL. I will continue researching before I make a decisions. But in the meanwhile I am welcome to any who have advice on this.
Dimps Out
I used ING Direct for my Emergency Fund and got a $25 bonus with only $1 opening deposit.
I used Citibank Ultimate Savings for my Home Purchase Fund. I will be receiving $50 in 90 days and I only opened the account up with $1.
I will fund my accounts starting next month. This month is pretty tight because of the move and the costs associated. But starting April my plan is to put away $50 a month into each account. Thats $100 towards savings a month. Doing that I should have at least $400 in each account by December. I am not worried because I know I will reach my goal balances in each account by February 2008. I still have bonuses from work (done twice a year and range from $1K to $25K) and my 2007 tax refund to take into account. So I am not worried. I need to focus as much of my left over income towards my credit card debt as possible.
I need to open a College Fund account for my daughter. Its harder trying select a bank for this purpose because I am not sure if 4%-6% APY is enough to have for a college savings fund. Should i be looking for more? Are the regular college fund accounts like the Coverdell Education Savings Account the best around. I mean Coverdell offers a 5% APY. I could find 15 other banks with a higher APY. HSBC offer 6%. Why not just open an account with them and make more money? I am confused. LOL. I will continue researching before I make a decisions. But in the meanwhile I am welcome to any who have advice on this.
Dimps Out
Comments
Check otu the State 529 plans for your daughter's college fund. The money will grow tax free and she can use it tax free (federal taxes) once she takes it out. Its a lot better than opening a savings account for her. You can open a seperate savings account just so she can have some spending money when she gets older. I had a post on this, check it out on my page. Congrats on the ING account.