Where Do We Keep Our Money?

Well, besides under the bed and in a big whole in the backyard, other readers and I are curious what tools you use to save money? With the increase in FDIC insurance through 2009 (I see this sticking longer than that), most can feel comfortable with their funds in bank accounts.

One such place that I have used since 2003 is ING Direct (http://www.ingdirect.com/). It is very user friendly (see interactions in plain English rather than legalese), they offer CD's, no hassle loans, mutual fund options (through the online broker they bought called Sharebuilder.com), and because it is linked to your regular checking account you have to think about removing money (i.e., little harder to get to, so more likely to save), and you can open as many accounts as you want under the same username. This last function lets you set up different accounts for specific purposes like 'House', 'Vacation', 'Mrs. 2outof4's Schooling'. The rates are low now, but they are higher than your regular bank because ING Direct has so much less overhead cost - being all online.

This is just a brief summary of why I like ING. But feel free to share your views and other savings tools that you use.

We'll save the discussion for Gold and Silver as inflation hedges for another day - but with it looking like the Senate's version of the Stimulus bill about to pass through the House, that post will come!

-2outof4