OK everyone. Don't fall over in shock. I realize I have been saying for 6 months I am moving my current Salem Five High Checking account out to another option and I kept dragging my feet.
Well, I finally did it today! I got my latest Salem Five statement this and saw that rates had dropped to .60% ( seriously? ) from the high of over 2% when I first shared their account with you a few years ago.
I know all the banks have dropped like this, too. It is a sad impact from our current countries financial situation, BUT that didn't mean I personally didn't want to earn more for our family.
So, I shopped a bit and decided on Ever Bank. I did look at Credit Unions ( which pay a bit higher ) but you usually have to use your debit card a set amount of times a month, pay so many bills, etc, etc. That didn't work for me, but it may for you. Definitely look into it if that is up your alley.
I needed just a regular checking that I could set up to auto pay my bills, direct deposit our checks and write personal checks from each month. Oh, and be able to withdraw from ANY ATM without fees, of course.
So, I bit the bullet and filled out the online application today. Once they send me my account information ( 5 to 7 days ) I can begin going thru my Salem Five statements and moving all the automatic payments over and finish the move.
I am thrilled. For the next 3 months, we will be earning 2.25% ( Intro Rate ) and then we go to a rate over 1%. Much better than all the other banks right now!
Plus, unlimited ATM Reimbursement ( which means any fees the we get charged from other banks, they will refund for me ), they will give us our ATM Card ( no Visa Debit cards for us ), and I even get free credit monitoring for 6 months.
Have you found a High Interest Checking account you like yet?
If not, get on it. It only took me minutes to open it up online, and now our family will be earning even more on something we use, our checking account. Remember every little bit helps, and there is no reason to not earn money on your checking.
Like your Brick and Mortar bank for depositing checks? Don't close it. I still have mine. I deposit all my checks there, and then each month electronically move it to my High Interest Checking online.
Interested in Ever Bank? Click here to read more and how to enroll.
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Monday, March 15, 2010
I Did It! Opened my New Ever Bank Checking & will be earning 2.25%
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Save and then EARN with Smarty Pig!
Recently I had a reader write me about my opinion of Smarty Pig, and to tell you the truth I had not researched the company yet.
But, I have ultimately decided to open an account for myself and also share the details with everyone here.
The program is designed to help families save and reach their goals. As the old saving goes, having money will burn a hole in your pocket. And, so often that is true. If you have the money on hand it is very easy to spend it and not even know where it went!
So, Smarty Pig is set up to assist us in saving and prevent us from spending all our hard earned cash.
- Open an account with at least $25 for free here.
- It is FDIC insured.
- Set a goal of at least $250 or up to $250,000. Are you saving for a house? Car? TV? What about a vacation?
- Use the calculator to figure out how much you need to save each month to reach your goal on time. They will give you various options to reach that goal.
- Must have a recurring monthly "saving" deposit of at least $10 a month. This insures you are working towards your goal.
- Contribution options and also social media options.
- You can publicize your goal via Facebook, etc (keeping your private information private ) and family and friends can use your email to help you reach it. Birthdays, Holidays, etc and they can give you the gift of assisting you.
- While your money is in the account, you will earn the High Interest Rate.
- Once you reach your goal, you can redeem and earn even more! You can put it on a gift card and they will add up to 12% more! This is my favorite part....free money.
- Don't need a gift card, you can have your money put on a debit card or send back to your bank account.
But, I also like that kids can have an account! I am going to sit down with my eldest son to see what he thinks about having his own account and what kind of goal he would like. He would need to put $10 in a month, but I figured that could be $2.50 a week of allowance ( he better keep that room clean and MORE! ) and then he can learn and watch as his numbers increase each week.
So, what is one of your financial goals for 2010? Go here and set it up now and begin reaching for it!
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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
EverBank - $50 Bonus or New High Interest Checking Account
If you read my $10K Challenge for 2010, you know one of the methods I will be using to earn money for my family is out High Interest Checking Account.
It is probably safe to say, the majority of you reading have a checking account. But, the question you need to ask is do you earn interest? And, if so...is it time to reevaluate the interest rate you are earning?
For my family, we moved to Salem Five a few years ago for their great interest rate. But, since then the rates have dropped and we are at less than 1%. So, it is definitely important to reevaluate.
Nervous about moving everything over? The first time I moved accounts, I was. But, I set the new account up and then got my new routing and checking account number. I then sat down with a few months of statements from my old bank and looked at all the withdrawals ( automatic ) that hit each month. I then logged into each one and updated my account information.
By sitting down all at once to update my routing/checking for all automatic payments, I was able to get it all done fairly quickly and easily. The time spent will be worth the money I earn.
So today, sit down and find yourself a new High Interest checking account ( or verify the one you have is earning you a top rate ).
To get you started, here is an account worth looking at right now. Specifically, because you ALSO can get a $50 Bonus if you decide this is not the account for you. Nice incentive!
- FreeNet Checking Account
- 3 Month Intro Rate of 2.25% or all and then drops our New Account First-Year APYs which is $50,000 - $99,999.99 1.46% APY, $25,000 - $49,999.99 1.21% APY, $10,000 - $24,999.99 1.17% APY and under $10,000 1.14% APY. As of January 15, 2010
- Pledges to keep their rates in the top 5% of competitive accounts
- Minimum opening balance of $1, 500. Recommended opening balance of $5,000 ( free online bill pay and ATM Reimbursement included then )
- No Min. Required to earn interest
- No Monthly Fee
- Free unlimited ATM Reimbursement ( that means free ATM usage anywhere ) with a balance of $5,000 or higher
- Free Online Bill Pay with a balance of $5,000 or higher
- Not convinced this is the bank for you? Get a $50 Bonus.
- 3 Online Bill pays required ( opening balance of $5,000 gets you free online bill pay )
- Click here to read all the details.
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Friday, November 13, 2009
3 to 4% Interest on your Checking - Free Money!
If you checked out my In my Mailbox feature yesterday, you saw that $66 was deposited into my checking account. This was the interest I earned last month. Free money! Yay!
So, let's ask the question I have asked you time and time before? Do you have a checking account?
OK, next question. Have you switched to a High Interest Checking account yet?
Last question, why not?
I am hoping that most of you have said yes, you have already moved over. Kudos to you! But if you haven't, why not? Do you just not want to bother with the hassle?
Let me ask you, if it takes you less than a day to move it all over ( and that is about all it will take you to reset up all your auto pay accounts, etc ), and you could potentially get hundreds to thousands more a year, aren't those few hours you invest worth it?
OK....NO MORE questions! I am sorry, I am just really hoping you all seriously consider taking advantage of this wonderful incentive that banks and credit unions are offering.
To read more on how I manage and moved everything over for my High Interest Checking, click here or go to my High Interest button in the left menu bar at any time.
Because I do get emails quite often asking for advice on institutes available to them, I am going to try and frequently offer a feature ( until we get thru all 50 states, I guess. LOL ) where I will respond to a request for a bank for you and your state. I love emailing people back, but that doesn't benefit all the other readers in your area.
So, fill out the form here to provide me your state/zip and I will put together a list for you and others in your area. I will then try and post once a week ( on a first come, first serve basis ), the banks for that area of the U.S. I will try to get thru as many locations as I can research each week, so you can all get your accounts set up ASAP. And, hey, if you know of a great location near you, leave a comment below!
Now, to kick off this feature, I will list the institutes for the Dayton/Cincinnati, Ohio area. You may or may not qualify with these banks, so follow up with them to get full details. In addition, some of these accounts may be available to every one around the U.S. if they are online accounts. If you find one that fits your needs, call them.
- no minimum balance required
- ATM Fee refunds
- 1 Direct Deposit required a month
- 12 Debit Card transactions a month
- eStatements required
- Click here for details
The Farmers Citizens Bank - 4.01%
- Free ATMS at all banks
- No minimum balance
- 12 Debit Card transactions
- eStatements required
- 1 Direct Deposit a month
- Click here for full details
FirstDay Federal Credit Union - 4%
- No minimum balance required
- 10 Debit Card transactions a month
- eStatements required
- 2 Direct Deposits required a month
- Click here for full details
- 15 Debit Card transactions
- eStatement required
- Free ATMS at all banks
- Click here for full details
Sutton Bank - 3.5%
- No minimum balance required
- 11 Debit Card transactions a month
- eStatements required
- Monthly direct deposit
- Free ATM transactions at any bank
- Click here for full details
- 12 Debit Card transactions
- eStatements required
- 1 Direct Deposit a month
- Click here for full details
Cinco Credit Union - 3.25 %
- Free Online Checking
- 3.25% back up to $25K, interest rate decreases over $25K
- eStatements required
- Unlimited Check writing
- 12 Visa Debit Card transactions a month
- Click here for full details
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Friday, April 24, 2009
High Interest Checking - Evantage Bank
Wow! Do you want to earn 5.25% on your checking account? Not a tough question, is it? Of course we all want to earn extra money.
Before you read the details of this bank, click here to go to my High Interest Checking webpage to read more about why I use this type of checking to earn extra money for doing something we all have...checking accounts!
And, before I go on, I must give a shout out to Cindy B. for emailing me this great find.
- Earn 5.25% up to $10,000. Balances over $10,000 earn 2.25%
- Free Online Banking/Checking Account, FDIC Insured
- Free ATM withdrawals worldwide
- No Minimum Balance
- Statements must be sent electronically ( no paper statements )
- Must make 10 Debit Card Transactions a month
- Click here to read all the details and open your account
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Saturday, April 4, 2009
Credit Unions and the High Interest you can Earn!
Ooooohhhhh.....how I love my High Interest Checking Account. I do! I mean, seriously, we all have checking accounts....my husband and I included. Unless you plan to stash all your money under your mattress ( hhhhmmmm...may not be a bad idea in this economy ), you will need a checking account.
So, why not get paid to have your checking. These High Interest Accounts often have even better benefits than your normal brick and mortar banks.
For example, the bank I am with now allows us to use on ATM card at ANY bank with no fees. But, the kicker, they reimburse us the fees that bank charges.
My local brick and mortar bank, on the other hand, charges me if I use an ATM besides theirs PLUS I get charged by that bank for using their ATM. What a rip off!
Recently, I have noticed some Credit Unions offering very high interest rates. Considering the rates at all banks have been dropping drastically recently, these deals are very interesting to me. The bank I am with now has fallen just below 2%, which seems to be the norm for these national banks.
So, a local credit union caught my eye just a few weeks ago.
- Open a WePayU Checking account
- No monthly fee or minimum balance required
- Earn 4.01% Interest on balances up to $24,999
- Reimburse you up to $20 in other Bank's ATM fees
- Must have 12 Debit Card transactions a month
- Direct deposit required
- E-statements only
Click here to read all the details. My understanding is you must be from the Cincinnati or surrounding areas to take part in this account. But, feel free to call and double check to see if you are eligible.
Not from Southern Ohio? Make sure to find a High Interest Checking option for you....you really should be earning this extra money. Bank of Internet is offering 1.3% right now to everyone.
Last year, my husband and I earned $760 from our checking, and this year we are up to $136 so far. Believe me, this is a great way to get free money.
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