In this time of record highs and lows with the stock market, not much is safe in the form of investing.  401k‘s, Roth IRAs and even the once thought to be stable mutual funds are swinging dangerously low and high on what seems to be a daily basis.  What is still safe is good old fashioned savings accounts and checking accounts that are FDIC insured (for up to $100k).  This may sound like a sales pitch, but full disclosure will come at the bottom.

I’ve been using ING Direct for an online savings account for close to 4 years now.  They always provide a higher than average interest rate than both the national average and my local banks and it’s a safe place for me to keep my money.  Because my savings are considered to be semi-liquid in that you must login to their website and transfer [for free] money into the checking account of your local bank, it has made me rethink some more spendy purchases and killed my impulse to buy things I would later regret.  Aside from that, I personally feel it’s always good to have an emergency fund of at least 3-4 months worth of total bills set aside.  That is to say, whatever your monthly totals include, from mortgage / rent payments, car insurance, food, and so on.  I’ve already had one bad experience in life that put me out of work for an extended period of time and it took a toll on my lack of proper savings and my family’s savings until I fully recovered, should it ever happen again, I’m prepared.

Being a loyal customer to ING, I’ve had zero problems using them and make regular deposits to my savings account, all online.  The one time I did have to call for tech support with their site I had one of the more pleasing experiences on the phone with support.  That is to say, I only waited on hold for about two minutes and my issue was addressed and resolved within a few minutes of talking with the customer service rep, overall, fairly painless.

Some say to put the money in CDs, which is good only if you know that you absolutely do not need that money over a given period of time.  Since ING is usually within 1% of what most 9-12 month CDs are, I’ve never had the urge to get a CD and, as I said before, I use this savings account as an oh shit fund should something happen and need almost instant access to it without paying an early withdraw fee.

Free money time!  ING will give you $25 for signing up for an Orange Savings account and funding it with at least $250.  There are no fees associated with the account, you only need a local checking account to transfer the money into your new ING account.  To get the $25 sign-on bonus, I need to email you a referal, which in turn gets me $10.  Once you are signed up and deposit the $250 you will instantly get the $25, I will get the $10.  You can then in turn refer your friends and family and make some extra free money too.

ING also started another promotion for their Electric Orange Checking account.  Like the savings account there are no fees and no minimum.  Once you have opened your Orange Savings account you can open an Electric Orange Checking account and fund it as you would any other checking account, either from your Orange Savings account or local bank, even direct deposit from your job.  ING will mail you a MasterCard debit card (this is not a credit card) and give you $50 if you make 3 non-signature purchases with it in the first 50 days.  That is to say, use it to pay for gas or at the grocery store but select credit, not debit.  The fine printing also says that nearly all online purchases count towards the 3 non-signature purchases.  Basicly, anywhere you can sign and not enter your ATM pin number counts.  This shouldn’t be too hard since nearly everyplace on earth accepts Mastercard.  Within 50 days of completing the requirements, ING will deposit $50 into your Electric Orange Checking account.

Full disclosure.  Make investments at your own risk, ING is FDIC insured and I cannot be held responsible for any financial choices you make.  I am mearly telling you about a bank that I have used for the last 4 years and offering my referal to get a $25 bonus for you, $10 bonus to me for opening a no-fee savings account.  Once open, I have provided you with the information on how to get another $50 bonus from ING for opening a no-fee checking account.  I have already done both.  To get the referal from me, please leave a comment, ensuring to use your valid email address in the proper box (will never be disclosed to the public or for any form of marketing, ever) and a comment, like Send me a referal please and I’ll send them out.  It’s easy money for opening a high interest savings account.

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