Best High Yield Savings Account Rates Of 2011.

Just as there are buyer’s markets and sellers markets in real estate, so there are saver’s markets and spender’s markets in banking. It’s by design, although the Federal Reserve may prefer to look at low interest rates as spurring investment rather than spending, but the truth of the matter is that low interest rates typical spur more debt than more investing.

Alas, such is the state of savings rates today – pitiful!

But just because rates are low, doesn’t mean there aren’t better choices than the 0.01% local banks seem to give. Here’s a list of the highest yielding savings accounts as of August, 2011 (in order of rate, highest to lowest):

• Everbank offers high-yield money market account with an APY of 1.01%. The minimum deposit is $1,500 and there’s an $8.95 per month fee whenever your balance is less than $5,000 and a $10 transaction fee for every transaction over the monthly limit. (click the link above for details)
• Incredible Bank offers a checking account with 1.21% APY with a $1,000 minimum deposit to open. There’s a list of additional fees though.
• SFGI Direct offers a 1.11% APY savings account with a $500 minimum to open.
• Discover Bank has a 1.15% APY online savings account with a $500 minimum to open. click here for fees
• CNB Bank Direct offers 1.15% APY on its high-yield savings account with a $1 minimum balance. No mention of fees
• Sallie Mae Bank has a 1.10% APY high-yield savings account with an additional 10% rewards match on Upromise accounts.
• SmartyPig is offering 1.10% APY on its savings account.
• Capital One has an online savings account that pays 1.10% APY on balances over $1000. If you have a Capital One credit card, you can earn a 10% bonus on your interest earned.
• Nationwide Bank is paying 0.50% APY with a $300 minimum balance. (click the link above for fees)
• OneWest Bank has a Green Savings account that currently pays 1.00% APY, with no minimum.
• iGOBanking is providing a 1.01% APY with no fees and no minimums.
• One of my favorites, ING Direct is paying 1.00% APY with no minimums on its Orange Savings account Note: If you’re interested in ING, you can get an extra $25 when you open with one of these referral codes (email me if they have expired, and I’ll send you a fresh one)
• American Express offers a 1.00% APY high-yield savings account with no fees and no minimums.
• Dollar Savings Direct has an APY of 0.90% with no fees and a $1000 minimum balance.
• FNBO Direct has an 0.85% APY online savings account with a $1 minimum deposit.
• The HSBC online savings account currently provides an 0.80% APY. There are no fees and no minimums, but you need at least $1 to open the account. HSBC is my other high yield savings account (ING is the 1st), and I’ve had no complaints.
• Emigrant Direct also offers 0.80% APY with no fees and no minimums.

You’ll likely notice a trend as you go down the list – as the yield drops, so do the fees and additional requirements. Also, many have implemented new fees and requirements due to the Frank-Dodd financial regulation passed by Congress after the recent financial meltdown. You didn’t think the banks were going to pay those new regulation fees out of pocket, did you?

Related Posts:

• How to Find the Best Place To Put Your Savings.
• HSBC is Closing its Local Branch. Should I be Concerned?
• Why Do You Bank Online?
• High Yield CDs (FDIC Insured) For March, 2010.
• ING Direct Orange Savings Referral Links.

Which is Larger: Your Credit Card Debt or Your Savings Account?

Here’s an interesting infographic from BankRate.com that shows a slim majority of respondents have a larger emergency saving fund than a credit card balance, but it’s not all good news.

For example, it’s kind of frightening to me that 6% have no idea! How do you not know?

I find it interesting that a very clear majority (59%) of those under 30 have a larger emergency savings fund than credit card debt. It certainly seems that this younger generation does not share it’s parent’s love of leverage.

What do you think of having no debt and no savings? Is that better or worse than having more credit debt than savings?

It’s encouraging, but there is a lot of progress to be made, as Greg McBride says.

Related Posts:

• Don’t Let Credit Card Bonus Offers Turn Into Debt!
• How to Settle Debts On Your Own.
• What kind of Spender Are You?
• First Premier Bank Credit Card Offer Features A 79.9% APR, a Bad Deal – For The Bank!
• Balance Transfers – Simple Solution or Debt Enhancer?

America Saves Week 2011 Is Here!

February 20th is the start of what could be a beautiful thing. America Saves Week begins today, and it’s a week-long initiative to bring attention to the pitiful personal savings rate of Americans in general. The purpose is to get Americans to shift their focus from spending to saving, investing and building wealth instead of debt.

To help celebrate and take part (though this site is not officially partnered in anyway), Simple Debt-Free Finance will be posting articles and links about saving and building wealth all week long.

America Saves Week is organized by AmericaSaves.org and they have quite a lot of media for Employers, Educators, Individuals and more! So what are you waiting for? It’s free, and can change your life, or at least your financial situation.

Take action today!

Related Posts:

• 7 Tips for Cutting Spending and Putting Cash Back in your Pocket. (video)
• Ending America Saves Week With Advice on Saving.
• When Saving Money Can Cost You.
• Minimalism vs. Simplicity – Are You Missing the Point?
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Where Should You Keep Your Emergency Fund?

Taking control of your finances begins with having access to an emergency fund. People who have adequate money in an emergency fund aren’t forced to turn to credit cards when an unexpected expense pops up. The typical rule of thumb, or the expert recommended amount to keep in an emergency fund is three to six months of your living expenses.

As you’re building your emergency fund or if you’ve already saved the money, the next thing to consider is where you should keep your emergency fund. It needs to be extremely liquid, meaning you can access it whenever you need it, but in the meantime it should be growing and earning interest so you won’t want to stick it under your mattress or in a hole you dig in the yard!

Here are things to consider when deciding where to keep your emergency fund:

Risk Free – don’t invest your emergency fund in anything that could lose value, like mutual funds or the stock market.

High Interest – since you hope you won’t need to withdraw money from your emergency fund frequently, you want to save the money in an account which will pay you interest for leaving the cash there. Look for the highest interest rate you can get, even a half of a percentage point makes a difference over the long term!

FDIC Insured – if you stash cash under your mattress or somewhere in your home, not only do you lose out on interest earnings, but you’re out of luck if your house burns down or gets robbed. Use an FDIC insured bank to make sure your money is protected.

Accessible – emergencies by nature are normally events which happen unexpectedly. If you have your emergency money tied up in investments which require time to mature before you can access them, it’s not going to do you much good, is it?

Certificate of Deposits

If you have a large amount of money reserved for your emergency fund, you might consider CD laddering, provided there is a CD which matures every month. You don’t want to pay penalties or early withdrawal fees to access your money when you need it.

Another way to use Certificate of Deposit products to help grow your emergency fund is to place part of your savings in CD’s and keep the rest in a more easily accessible savings account.

High Interest Savings Accounts

The majority of people should keep their emergency cash in a high interest savings account. The money is risk free, accessible at a moment’s notice, FDIC insured and will pay you interest for keeping the money in the account.

Take time to compare savings account rates among several banks before choosing. The higher the interest rate you can find, the better! Also consider bank fees, the ability to link your savings account with your checking account, whether or not you want an ATM card for the savings account, and the quality of customer service offered before choosing a bank.

Debbie Dragon is a freelance writer for DepositAccounts.com, where you can compare savings account rates from dozens of banks in one place.

Related Posts:

• 11 Things to Consider When Choosing an Online Bank.
• How to Find the Best Place To Put Your Savings.
• 7 Tips for Cutting Spending and Putting Cash Back in your Pocket. (video)
• How to Waste Your Money in 15 Easy Steps.
• 5 Small Sacrifices to Save Big.