29 May 2007 No Comment Print This Post  Email This Post

Well the Memorial day weekend came and went, I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend. Now back to the grind. I’m a UFC fan and on Saturday I watched Chuck Liddell get KO’d by Rampage early in the first round. I was disappointed. I always liked Chuck because he was always the face of the UFC since I started watching. I never really liked Rampage as a fighter, but thats mainly because I never really watched much of his fights. It turns out hes a pretty good fighter, and at this point I’m glad the better fighter won that night.

That got me thinking. Sometimes we are so used to seeing something familiar that you don’t look for change. Chuck was the champ and I wanted to see another glorious Chuck Liddell knockout. Think about the many products and services you purchase through the same company, agent or salesman. You are not getting the best deal but you stick with them anyway because you are loyal to them. There is so much money you can save if you spend a moment now, to shop around and get set yourself up with a better deal.

One of the best examples of this is your bank. I admit I’m one of those people. I have several Bank of America accounts because I’ve always banked with them. Thats where I kept my money since I was a kid saving up my red envelopes from Chinese New Years. But over the years I’ve realized that their fees are rediculous, the service is decent at best, and their “savings” rate is a joke. It was not until I started college when I took the first step to moving just about all of my savings into a high yield e-savings account. (ING Direct was the new thing at the time). Immediately I started seeing the results of the higher yield and I would make my monthly deposits into my same B of A account then transfer it over to ING since it’s linked. I gained hundreds of dollars in a short period of time just by moving my money over.

I now keep most of my non-invested money in my HSBC Direct online savings account. They had a promotional rate of 6% and its now at 5.05% APY and thats pretty good.

Now I’m looking to get rid of my B of A accounts for good. I’m looking through the websites of several banks including WAMU and Wells Fargo to see who has the lowest fees and better features. A traditional bank account is still necessary even if most of your money is in a higher yielding e-savings account. It’s worth having for the convenience factor and if you need to write physical checks. Free bill pay is a great feature that saves you time, effort and stamps. Branch locations make it easier to deposit and access cash. Wamu looks like the answer for me with their free checking.

Don’t procrastinate, get out and find a better solution for your money. Its worth the time. It just takes a 1 time effort and you end up saving money in the long run. Think about the money you could have saved, or earned over the years you stayed with your current banking situation. Start comparing and start saving.

Back with part 2 tomorrow.