142 Days until Christmas... and counting!

Have you thought about how you're going to pay for your holiday spending this year? If you haven't, you should start by opening an online savings account. Direct deposit or automatically transfer a portion of your earnings into your online account each month. The savings amount will add up quickly without you having to think about it and the amount you earn in interest will be a bonus. When you're ready to start your holiday shopping, just transfer the amount you need into your funding account and you're good to go. I know it's still summer and I'm not ready for the holidays yet either, but having a funding plan for your gift-giving now will make your holidays just a little brighter!

Saving = No Risk!

This is Wikipedia's definition of saving - "In common usage, saving generally means putting money aside, for example, by putting money in the bank or investing in a pension plan. [1] In a broader sense, saving is typically used to refer to economizing, cutting costs, or to rescuing someone or something. In terms of personal finance, saving refers to preserving money for future use - typically by putting it on deposit - this is distinct from investment where there is an element of risk."
The important distinction between investment and saving is eliminating risk. With the passage of the law extending the $250,000 FDIC insurance limit until 2013 your risk with FDIC insured institutions is zero. Set aside any worries about not placing funds in a bank. In the history of the FDIC no one's ever lost a penny of insured funds. Online banks, like cnbbankdirect, are FDIC insured just like the brick and mortar bank on the corner, and you earn more interest! So go ahead, open your account and earn interest that you can count on.

Saving Smarter with Liquid Funds

According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis/US Department of Commerce, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 5% in January, compared with 3.9% in December. While the trend towards saving seems to be growing, people are leery about tying up their funds for an extended period of time while the economy still seems so depressed. Establishing goals for your savings and keeping your finances liquid in case of emergency are two important things to keep in mind when developing your personal savings plan. You want to save for something specific, while getting a good rate of return on your money. The obvious choice used to be a certificate of deposit, but with the instability of the economy you may want to have access to your funds in case something unexpected comes up. That’s why high yield internet savings accounts, such as cnbbankdirect, can be so beneficial.

These accounts allow you to access your funds easily with no penalty for withdrawal. With low minimum required balances and the ability to transfer online between your funding account and the savings account, liquidity is at your fingertips while still earning decent interest.

Saving 101 - What My Mom Taught Me

My parents were never extravagant people and I didn't always have the latest gadgets or namebrand clothing while growing up (much to my chagrin at the time), but I knew if I ever truly needed something my mom would pull through. She'd hide an extra $20 bill in her purse "just in case" or she'd keep $100 cash in the house should something unexpected come up. Of course these were the days before ATM's and banks weren't always open at the times you may need them, but this habit of hers stayed with me. She was committed to placing a portion of my dad and hers earnings in their savings account each week, regardless of what bills were due and she always replaced what she may have had to use. We were taught the importance of holding something back and planning for the future.

What I learned from my mom is saving is a habit. You have to make a conscious decision that it's important to you and develop a plan to incorporate it into your daily life. With today's technology, it can almost be effortless by setting up direct deposits or automatic transfers directly into your savings account so you don't have to think about it. Of course, technology also makes it that much easier to dip into those accounts through online transfers and ATM's, and this is where your commitment to savings comes in. Especially in today's economy it's important to save what you can in case something unexpected happens. It's also important to let it build by choosing an account with a decent interest rate and easy accessibility. Online savings accounts, such as cnbbankdirect.com's lets you do this. Commit to save and you'll be that much further ahead in 2009. Your Mom will be proud!

Saving by categories

I ran across this tip the other day while I was doing some research for an article for our bank and thought it was worth passing along. When saving for something specific, open a separate savings account for it and title it accordingly in your online banking; for example, "new garage fund". That way you can set a specific goal for how much you need and how long you think it will take and limit yourself to only taking that amount out when you're ready. Otherwise, if all your savings is in one big pot, it might be tempting to dip into it a little more as your costs pile up for the garage and you don't keep track of how much you actually spent on it. Also, it limits how much you take away from your general emergency savings, which should be $1000 at a minimum and ideally equal to 3 months worth of expenses.

start saving online

The older I get, the more concerned I am that I'm not prepared for the future. It seems the more money I make, the more I spend, so I continue to look for ways to save money that won't affect whether or not I'm able to pay my mortgage this month or continue to provide education for my child at a ridiculously expensive pre-school. The bank I work for offers an online savings account, www.cnbbankdirect.com, and it seems they're extremely popular. We've seen a large amount of deposits from all over the country since we launched the site in August, many accounts with $100,000 or more. I'm personally amazed that people have that kind of money to just sit in an account. But thinking about it, I realize the beauty of this account is that you don't have to have huge sums of money to begin a savings habit. It's only $1 to open. $1! I think, well I have $1 and if I set up direct deposit or an automatic transfer just once a month for say $50, that's $600 plus interest I didn't have saved before. I guess what I'm trying to encourage people to do is to start small. The hard part is starting.