How many of you guys use ING? I have an account myself, but I still have yet to play with their sub-accounts.They sound freakin' awesome though! I kinda remember hearing about them before I started blogging (and if you google it all your favorite bloggers show up at the top), but the idea that you can save in "categories" like that is brilliant. And I'm not getting paid to say that ;)

I truly think other banks should perk up and steal this cuz it's budgeting genius (ya hear that, USAA?). I would absolutely love to have different sub-accounts set up to stash all my funds in - I just don't use ING for the bulk of my savings.

But it seems so many of you guys do! Here's just one of a handful of comments left on my $200 cash giveaway post last week (which, btw, is still open so go and enter if you haven't already!!!):

"One of the main things that has helped my family is to open an ING account and create 4 different accounts for separate things. Right now I have 1) Christmas 2010, 2) Paying our Taxes 2010, 3) Paying back a family member, and 4) Our Fun Money account for a Disney vacation

I love that "Christmas 2010" fund :) It's so smart to save in chunks like this so you can a) save a little every month over time, and b) SEE that grand prize at the end! When it all mixes up and goes into one "pot," it's a lot harder to mentally figure out what goes where. We still do it because that's what we're used to (including myself), but if you have the option to create these sub-accounts you should def. give it a shot. Here are a few referral links if you ever wanna open one up:

• Referral #1 - ING Orange Savings Account - $25 bonus for you, $20 for me.
• Referral #2 - ING Orange Savings Account - $25 bonus for you, $20 for me.
• Referral #3 - ING Orange Savings Account - $25 bonus for you, $20 for me.
• Referral #4 - ING Orange Savings Account - $25 bonus for you, $20 for me.
• Referral #5 - ING Orange Savings Account - $25 bonus for you, $20 for me.

Do NOT think you have to get one though just for the bonus. If you're happy with your current bank GREAT! Stick with 'em :) I only share these for those who want a change or have been lazy setting one up. Happy Savings!

Labels: banking, free money, saving

Let's get to know each other some more :) I filled out this questionnaire for a series Automatic Finances put together recently (he interviewed a few of us bloggers), but I thought it would be a great discussion tool for us too. After all, we see each other almost every day, yes?

If you'd like to participate (and I hope you do), list your answers in the comments below. You can be as short, and anonymous, as you'd like. And if you'd rather not, no worries either - you can always stalk us from behind that computer of yours ;) Let the getting to know each other commence!

1) How do you spend: cash, debit or credit?
As much as I can on credit card baby! I find credit cards to be an excellent budgeting tool as long as you stay on top of it, and pay 'em off in full every month (which I do). If you're spending roughly the same every month, why not pay with plastic and milk 'em for all those extra rewards?

2) Do you bank online? How about use a financial aggregator (Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, etc.)?
I bank online at USAA.com aka the best bank e-v-e-r. Since most of my 10+ accounts are there, I find a trusty excel spreadsheet & google doc is the only other thing I need to manage it all and stay on budget. Although I could certainly see the value in personal finance software like Mint & the rest. If I didn't like manually updating my budget so much I would have switched out long ago ;)

3) What recurring bills do you have set on autopay?
Oddly enough, only a few things: Comcast, condo fee, and insurance. My income gets staggered so I like to manually pay the rest to make sure all is on point.

4) How are your finances automated?
Currently, they're not as automated as I'd like. I deposit my paychecks, xfer out the money to the right accounts, and then manually pay a chunk of the bills asap to make sure I don't forget. I'd like to have *all my finances automated* but it's gonna have to wait until things are more concrete.

5) Do you write checks? If so, how often?
Checks? What are those? :) They only get the pleasure of my bad handwriting when it's time to pay a stray bill or give a wedding present to somebody. All other times they stay in my drawer sobbing, knowing the end is near.

6) Where do you stash your short-term savings?
In a regular ol' savings account. I like the freedom to xfer out at a moment's notice, and having your accounts in one spot makes it even easier to manage it all.

Your turn! How do you manage your finances?

Labels: about j., banking, bills, interview, money management

I know I've been on a Credit Union kick lately, but I can't help myself. There are just so many benefits! Regardless if you buy into the whole "move your money" movement or not, it's still good to know we as consumers have options.

Jim @ Bargaineering had an excellent list of 10 reasons why credit unions kick ass, and I totally stole it cuz it was that good. In fact, I'd also like to add 1 more to the list! So here are his 10, along with my 11th addition. You can click on his link for future explanations too if you're curious - he goes more in depth for each category - but here's the A.D.D. version:

1. Better interest rates on loans.
2. Personal loans are more likely.
3. Better interest rates on deposits.
4. Lower fees.
5. Fewer customers, better relationships.
6. Fewer customers, you're more important.
7. No call centers.
8. You can be involved at a credit union.
9. NCUA insurance.
10. Less profit-driven, takes fewer risks.
11. FREE Coin machines! No more paying 9% for Coinstars ;) Which isn't *too* bad since it saves you hours of rolling 'em up like you're back in 1985, but still. FREE is better than $5 or $10, or if you're a pimp saver - $20 in fees!

And I'll tell you a secret - you can just walk in and use it! How awesome is that? It's not being sneaky either, at least at the one I went to. When I handed over my receipt to the teller she didn't even ask if I was a member. It's possible she was off her game, but even so what would they do - NOT give you back the money you just gave them? I don't think so...

Regardless, you should totally hit one up next time you're on the coin war path. You deserve to take home as much as you can after all those years of saving!

It took me 6 months to save my latest deposit of $76.48 (pic of coin breakdown), and all I did was empty my pockets when I got home every night. I fill up piggy banks, vases, jars, etc until I deem it worthy of 10 mins of my time. Then it's off to Coin Heaven we go! They get to go home and see all their friends, and I get more money for my Fun Fund. It's a win-win situation (not to be confused with Mike "The Situation" - that guy's interesting, but he sure doesn't save you any money ;)). So start hoarding those pennies folks!

Labels: banking, bargains, interest, money hacks, saving

Have you heard of this "Move Your Money" movement? I don't know if I'm getting emotionally tricked by the video or not (see below), but this has really inspired me! It's all about moving your money OUT of "too big to fail" banks, and INTO local community banks and/or credit unions - places I'm already a huge fan of.

Here, watch the movie created by Move Your Money.info:



The Huffington Post sums it up much better than I could:

"The idea is simple: If enough people who have money in one of the big four banks move it into smaller, more local, more traditional community banks, then collectively we, the people, will have taken a big step toward re-rigging the financial system so it becomes again the productive, stable engine for growth it's meant to be. It's neither Left nor Right -- it's populism at its best. Consider it a withdrawal tax on the big banks for the negative service they provide by consistently ignoring the public interest. It's time for Americans to move their money out of these reckless behemoths. And you don't have to worry, there is zero risk: deposit insurance is just as good at small banks -- and unlike the big banks they don't provide the toxic dividend of derivatives trading in a heads-they-win, tails-we-lose fashion.

Think of the message it will send to Wall Street -- and to the White House. That we have had enough of the high-flying, no-limits-casino banking culture that continues to dominate Wall Street and Capitol Hill. That we won't wait on Washington to act, because we know that Washington has, in fact, been a part of the problem from the start. We simply can't count on Congress to fix things. We have to do it ourselves -- and the big banks are the core of the problem. We need to return to the stable, reliable, people-oriented approach of America's community banks."

What do you think? Pretty convincing, huh? I'm the farthest thing from being a political pundit or economics guru, but I have to admit I could see this taking off. Personally, I use USAA for all my banking/investing stuff (as if you didn't know ;)), so it doesn't affect my financial situation directly, but if YOUR money were in one of the "Big Four" you'd have a chance to actively participate. This Big Four meaning Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo. And I could tell you for damn certainty that I would have already left most of those guys! Okay, well maybe not Wells Fargo since I own their stock, haha, but definitely that dreaded Bank of America. I know each branch is different, but the customer service alone there drives me insane!!!

There would be some downsides here affecting you directly too though. One being the convenience factor. If you've got a billion ATMs all over the place, and BofA is right across the street from you I imagine it would be hard to switch so quickly. Then, of course, we have all that paperwork and updating site logins, Amazon.com, Paypal, bleh! Who wants to do all that?

When all is said and done though, if The Movement really IS in our best interest, I say more power to it! What's the worst that could happen? ;)

------
Major thanks to Dave @ Life Excursion for sending me this info. You really got me thinkin', sir!

Labels: banking, crazy economy

I know this economy ain't the greatest, but pushing 79.9% interest rates? Come on now, that's just f*cked up. Would YOU sign up to such an asinine credit card? Would you hand one out to your kids or own mother? I doubt it. Whether people are falling for it or not, you can't feel good taking advantage of people like that. I'll send some prayers your way, you're gonna need 'em...
----
Thanks for the tip James....unbelievable indeed.

Labels: banking, cockamamy indeed, crazy economy, credit cards

We're all used to online savings accounts and banking now, but remember what it was like pre-internet? When we had to literally walk INTO a bank to get anything done? Or when we had to fill out 15 pages of paperwork and show 13 ID's just to create an account?

Well the times have changed my friends, and today we go back down memory lane to remind ourselves how grateful we should be for all this new technology! It's added a lot more distraction to our lives, but it's also done wonders for our financial management. Do you know how much FASTER we can do things now? Here's a list of all the differences I could come up with this morning, check it out:

Banking: Before the Internet

ING, Emigrant Direct, they were mere embryos waiting to come out and play. If you wanted your bank accounts, you had to roll up to a building and get them. Remember how UNTRUSTING people were even when the internet did come around? Trying to get people to enter their socials or xfer money online was like pulling teeth. Before the internet, we had a whole other way of doing our banking:

• You had to walk into physical stores to open/close bank accounts.
• You had to walk into physical stores to deposit checks.
• You might have been lucky enough to have automatic paychecks deposited, but if not then it was time to make yet another trip.
• And my favorite (by which I mean it makes me want to cry): You had to wait for statements in the mail to see how much damage you've caused on your credit cards! Something tells me this only encouraged bad spending habits as you could never tell how well you were doing until after that statement came in the mail. Bleh.
  

Bill Paying: Before the internet

You needed 3 main things before the internet: checks, stamps, and good handwriting (you mess up a check and it was the end of the world). We still use these in some fashion or another, like for those who refuse to live in the 21st century, but for the most part they're archaic methods. Back in the day:

• You had to write a check to pay the bills, no online bill pay.
• Attach those weird "payment coupons" along with that month's payment (for mortgages, car loans, etc - remember that?)
• You spent a lot more on stamps
• You allotted much more time for delivery - which probably was a good thing!
  
• Balance your checkbook (you still have to now, but not as much)

Budgeting/Money Management B.I.

No Mint, Yodlee, Wesabe, Google Docs, or Budgets Are Sexy :( We either used pen & paper (or, pencil I should say for all those mistakes!) or we booted up our computer and opened up Excel. Which, I might add, still does the trick just fine. For most people though, having your accounts pinged every day and seeing all your gritty details on a single page has done wonders. The fact that we can now see our savings, checkings, credit cards, mortgages, utilities, etc, etc on one digital page is unbelievable. I'd go as far as listing it in the Top 10 Best Uses of the Internet!

Stock Trading: Before Internet

Do you have a broker? You better. There weren't no Zeccos, E*Trades, or Scott Trades, or "Enter your name here"Trades. You had to ring your financial adviser or place a call to your long lost cousin in NYC to make it happen. And doing your research before you picked your stocks? Hah! I couldn't tell you what, exactly, you needed to do back then, but I can only imagine the pain you'd be in.

And those are just a few of the things that come to mind right now. I was only 15 or so when the internet first made it's appearance @ our house (kinda like my puberty), so if I've missed anything big or small, drop us a note! Regarding money, that is. We all know what porn and twitter has done to the landscape ;)

Labels: awesomely awesome, banking, life, money management

This is GREAT news for anyone who's ever wanted to join USAA :) Consumerist "broke the news" on Monday (although one of my favorite twitterati, @AskJune_USAA, says it's been around for a while?), and I checked out their site and indeed it's true! The stars have aligned and USAA is now open to the general public.

Non-Military folks don't get access to *everything* they have, but pretty damn close. It would be enough for me to change over if I was unhappy w/ my current getup! Here's a list of everything via their Become A Member link (at the bottom under "Other Individuals"):

USAA's investment products, most bank deposit products, life insurance, and shopping and discounts are available to other individuals. While auto and property insurance policies are not available due to membership eligibility requirements, we can still help. USAA's General Agency has a 20-year relationship with Progressive insurance.

The following products are available to other individuals:

Product	Availability
Insurance	Life insurance Auto insurance not available through USAA. Please call 1-888-870-8096. Property insurance not available through USAA.
Banking	Checking Teen Checking Savings College Checking Certificates of Deposit (CDs) CD IRAs Youth Savings Prepaid Card
Investments	All products
Shopping and Discounts	All products

I can't tell you how excited I am for this! Seriously, It's like getting asked out by Megan Fox (only dorkier). If you've ever wanted to join, or know of anyone who does, now's the time baby! Get ready for awesome rates, plenty of options, free* atm withdrawals!, and the most important: Excellent customer service. I've probably called them at least 100 times before, if not more, and only once was I surprised with bad service. I'm telling you, they rule. And I'm not getting paid to say that (though that would be nice! haha...).

There really is a reason I have 15 accounts with USAA - they know how to rock the business. We have our savings (2), checkings (2), roths (2), money market, credit cards (2), heloc, insurances, etc, and I'll continue using them for as long as they'll let me ;) But ask around and learn for yourself. If anyone reading uses USAA, what do you think of them? Are you happy?

Whether you use USAA or not, just know that it's now an option. That's really the point of me expressing my undying love for them here. If you're completely satisfied with what you've got, great! Leave it alone and be happy. If not, might be worth checking out?

------
PS: Major thanks to donkee for the heads up on this!

*USAA does not charge a fee for the first 10 ATM withdrawals and refunds up to $15 in other banks' ATM usage fees each month. A 1% foreign transaction fee applies to withdrawals outside the United States.

Labels: awesomely awesome, banking, insurance, USAA

How's that for brilliant marketing? I wish I could say I came up with it myself, but it was actually ING Direct who coined it - my 2nd favorite online bank (USAA is my first). I'm not sure how long this campaign of theirs has been going on, but I saw this quote on a billboard leaving Philly last weekend and it's been stuck in my mind ever since :) It's SO TRUE!

And oddly enough, I just started banking with them! Yup, I took the plunge with hundreds of other PF bloggers out there and I'll be using this account as my "do whatever I please with" money. You know, the one most husbands have when they want to spend $100+ on shoes or $70 on a video game they'll play for one weekend straight and then give up on? Well, I'm too frugal to do those things exactly, but the idea that I *could* do that if I wanted is still pretty exciting ;)

If you're considering using them yourself, click on one of these referral links below and get a $25 bonus when you open an Orange Savings Account with an initial deposit of $250! Not only will you get a sweet online bank (they usually have some of the best savings rates around) , but you'll also be hooking me up with a tasty $10 as well - a sexy win-win situation if I do say so myself.

• Referral Coupon #1 - Orange Savings Account - $25 for you, $10 for me.
• Referral Coupon #2 - Orange Savings Account - $25 for you, $10 for me.
• Referral Coupon #3 - Orange Savings Account - $25 for you, $10 for me.
• Referral Coupon #4 - Orange Savings Account - $25 for you, $10 for me.
• Referral Coupon #5 - Orange Savings Account - $25 for you, $10 for me.
• Click over to Clever Dude - He has the rest of my referral links ;) (updated: 11-23-09)
  

ING Direct is awesome. And if you don't believe me, check out the hundreds of reviews out there. I'd do one myself but it just sounds awfully boring right now ;) The other bloggers are better at it...

Labels: banking, bargains, free money

Do you spend hours each week searching for the best interest rates around? Do you bounce from one bank to another, living on the thrill of that extra .01%? If so, you, my friend, are a rate chaser. And you also have a lot of time & patience ;)

Many PF Bloggers consider this on a daily basis, but personally, I just can't do it. The thought of opening & closing handfuls of bank accounts alone is enough to make me nauseous. All that paperwork & time to get it up and running, only to xfer out the money when a better rate pops up? Nah, not for this homeboy.

That's not to say it isn't financially smart though. Mathematically, it might totally make sense! If you can grab a higher interest rate or pay a lower % on debt, then more power to you! I support that 100%, hands down - especially if you have out of whack rates to begin with. Having the best rates is totally commendable, but it's the frequency of switching accounts (sometimes every 3 months) and the research involved that separates the rate chasers from the average joe like myself.

Not only do they need the best of the best, but they need it now. After all, it's just a matter of time until it changes again! Gotta bring in that extra dough while it's hot off the press, right? They also don't care if their accounts are scattered around town. If you're chasing rates, you won't always find the best ones at your favorite bank all the time (even at ING or Emigrant Direct, two of the usual favorites). This alone knocks me out of the running - I need everything possible under one roof, my bff USAA ;)

Then there's the actual cash reserves that come into play. If you've got thousands of dollars saved up (or in credit card debt) where the slightest move in rates can be the difference of earning hundreds of dollars to THOUSANDS of dollars, then yeah by all means get on that $hit! I'd do the same thing. As it stands, however, most of my our money (still not used to being married) are invested in our 401ks and Roth IRAs, with the remainder in a decent money market account which we tap every month. Without a huge cash reserve, it makes no sense for us to bounce around and follow the place w/ the higher rates - and I'm guessing the same goes for most of you reading this as well.

As you can see, it certainly takes the right type of personality (and bankroll) to play with the rate chasers. Financially, it certainly has its perks. But the real question at stake is if chasing rates actually makes SENSE for you? If it does, great. If not, then do your best and watch from the sidelines ;) More often than not, it doesn't pay to play.

Labels: banking, credit cards, interest

Got this flyer while walking past a Bank of America an hour ago...

If you click to enlarge it, you'll see some pretty compelling evidence against them regarding bail-outs. No idea how one-sided this is or anything, but it can't be good for business.

Gotta love freedom of speech :)

Labels: Bank of America, banking, crazy economy

Keeping daily tabs on your accounts are good for the financial soul ;) Not everyone enjoys doing it these days - esp with some in particular (*cough* 401ks, *cough* mutual funds) - but I find it important to do, even if only once a week instead.

It's just crazy the amount of things that could happen w/out our knowledge! ID theft, incorrect transactions, wrong tip amounts, it goes on and on...and while some can let it be for a while, I personally don't like taking the chance. As Broke Grad Student recently pointed out - the quicker you can find an issue, the quicker you can get it resolved. This is especially easy to do if you use programs like Mint or Yodlee, or if you have 99% of your accounts @ one bank like i do ;) Much faster to check!

Plus, if i'm being honest here, I get a quick thrill watching bills get paid or small deposits hitting the account every now and then ;) It's satisfying even when i see the money go out and to the right spot! Because I know it's all working correctly, ya know? I swear it kills me when i pay a bill and it takes 3 or 4 extra days to clear when usually it should only be 2 or so.

Even checking my 401(k) every day pleases me. When that market gets moving all over the place - up 300 here, down 250 there - I'm all over it! It's not that i'm a fan of losing money on some of the days (or all really during this economy), but i find it fascinating the way it all "works". Like, you could lay on your cough and do absolutely nothing for 24 hours, yet the world continues to work and change your net worth without a care in the world - and you can't do anything about it! haha...

As I mentioned to a fellow reader the other day - You really just gotta follow what you're comfortable with. If you get excited to check it each day (like i do) then awesome. But if you find yourself getting pissed off, or feeling sad or anything when your accounts are down, then it's probably better to check it once a week or every other day. As long as you're keeping an active eye on it, you're that much better off ;)

Labels: banking, money management

We prefer a litte of both! We combine a lot of our money, and we divert a little money ;) Like true rockstars, we like to keep a little independence around here.

In reality though, there are a TON of different ways to do this (merge everything, keep it all separate, etc). It really depends on the personalities and comfort levels of both individuals involved, as well as their spending habits.

Lucky for us, we're both on the same path - we're comfortable with money, we like a good bargain, and we enjoy having a little on the side. So it naturally makes sense having a few different accounts set up for this. We have a couple main ones for our "House/together" stuff, and then we keep our own side accounts to maintain a little independence and sanity :)

To be honest, it hasn't changed all that much since we got married since we were living in sin to begin with (*gasp*). Logistically, it made a lot of sense to combine a few things. And after some trial and error, we eventually came up with a method that worked. It's changed a bit over the years, but the concept has remained the same - keeping accounts for "us", and accounts for "me". Here's what I mean:

1. House Account #1 (checking) - This is our main account, and always has the most money in it :) Since we started out renting together, we were already in the habit of contributing to a main "house fund" like this. We keep all mortgage, utilities, taxes, insurance, groceries, and anything else house related in this account. Whenever a big change occurs - like when we got a mortgage, or when we were planning our wedding - we reevaluate and change up our specific contributions. Currently I'm putting in $2,076.48 per month, and the Mrs. is putting in $1,100.
2. House Account #2 (savings) - We both drop in $100 per month here, and we can use this money for anything our little hearts desire - traveling, new furniture, bed & breakfasts, anything that we do together really. We'll also take from this account whenever we have any "spend-crazy" months and go over our House Budget (a bit outdated, but has a good breakdown). This usually keeps us on track though since we don't like pulling money from here!
3. J. Money's Accounts (Checking & Savings) - These are my own "do whatever the hell i wanna do " accounts ;) I can use the money for anything I'd like, no questions asked. Unfortunately there's not much left over after i make my "house" deposits and then pay my other bills, but it still adds up over time. I also keep a Savings account open so i can save up some $ for separate big-ticket items (like if i ever want more bling, or a nice stereo or something).
4. Mrs. Budgetsaresexy's Accounts (Checking & Savings) - These are HER "do whatever" accounts. And i could tell you that i honestly had NO idea how much was in there until that post on where all our money goes last week ;) And even then i got rough answers! haha....

Again, everyone has their own way of doing things. The key is to be OPEN about exactly what you want, and what you don't want when it comes to managing your finances as a married couple. It's not always going to be fun (unless you're a nerd like me), but it's time well put to use.

I'm not sure how many others do the same, but I'd be willing to bet it's fairly common. Family upbringing had a lot to do with it for me, especially when it came to my dad. Whenever i asked him why HE could get a new pair of $100+ Nikes and i couldn't, his answer was always, "I can do whatever I want son, it comes from my side account"! And ever since i've dreamt of having my very own...and now i do ;) A guy's gotta do what he's gotta do, right?

Labels: banking, home ownership, married life, money management

...if he knew what people were doing to him! Oh man, you have to read this.

My girl PJ over at Broke in The Suburb posted about her days as a bank teller, and let me tell you, it puts a whole 'nother perspective on things! I won't give it away, but let's just say some bodily fluids are discussed. *shiver*....check it out, if you dare ;)

Labels: banking, cockamamy indeed, link lovin

That's right, miraculously we're STILL getting wedding checks sent our way :) I guess that "1 year to give a gift" rule is pretty common these days. Not that i really care one way or the other, i just find it pretty funny. This rule doesn't apply to birthdays, graduation,or Christmas so why weddings?

I asked a couple friends but no luck, they all came back pretty much with "i dunno, it's just the way it is". Okay, so let's just say that's the deal. Why do it though? I mean, it takes a lot of time to make arrangements to go to the wedding, get a hotel (if needed), and schedule your family's life around it cuz of the time it consumes, so the present part should be the easy part, right?

The only thing i can think of is that perhaps it just gets forgotten w/ all this other stuff going on. Or it's just laziness :) I've never sent a late gift myself, but if i did it would totally come down to the lazy factor. But enough of this talk, my word vomit is going wayyyy off track now.

The reason for this post is to give an update on our newest check contenders in our Bank Battle! So here they are:

• USAA moves up a notch to 2nd place with a $200'er (holler)
• Commerce Bank brings in another $50.00
• And PNC makes it a 3-way tie for first, w/ another respectable $100.00!

Ooh, and i almost forgot about the BEST gift ever! A $500 Savings Bond :) Similar to the others in my safe, it's a "Patriot Bond" (EE) worth $250 at the present time, which will work it's way up over the years. I love it! (For more info on bonds, check out the snazzy Treasurydirect.gov site.)

There's just something about those little guys that bring absolute joy to my life. I think it's the whole "you can watch me grow, but you can't spend me!" thing. Fine by me, my other bonds will now have an extra friend to play with. No shame in that game!

So there you have it, our old cash gift total worked it's way up from $6,000 to $6,350, and USAA is battling Navy Federal for the 2nd place title...will it end here? Only time, and laziness, will tell ;)

Labels: banking, bonds, gifting, PNC, USAA, wedding

POOP! What about my USAA? According to all of the wedding checks we got from our friends and family, it only ranks in 5th place :( Turns out most of them prefer Wachovia, Bank of America, and PNC. Oh well, at least we got some extra $$$ to help start our married lives, right?!

This is decidedly a GOOD thing, as our wedding budget had finally burst at the seams, and it's now time to clean it all up ;)

So, being the big dork that i am, i took some time to sort through all of our cash gifts and analyzed the bajesus out of 'em. It's just sooo fun, i love it! Plus, what else do i have to do on Friday the 13th? haha... Chew on these fancy facts:

After counting it all up, we were given a total of about $6,000 $6,350!
- $700 of them were pure cashy cash
- $5,300 $5,650 of them were old fashioned checks.

Here are how the amounts broke down:
- $1,000 was the biggest gift (holler)
- $40 was the smallest gift
- $138 was the average gift

And these are the banks the checks came from (most popular to least):
- 5 @ Wachovia Bank
- 5 @ Bank of America
- 4 5@ PNC Bank
- 3 @ Navy Federal Credit Union
- 2 3 @ USAA Federal Savings Bank (the best e-v-e-r!)
- 2 @ Citibank
- 1 2 @ Commerce Bank
- 1 @ Chase
- 1 @ BB&T
- 1 @ SunTrust
- 1 @ Hudson United Bank
- 1 @ Harleysville National Bank
- 1 @ Bank Fund Staff Federal Credit Union

Wasn't that fun? No? Well you are just too cool aren't ya ;) I certainly enjoyed breaking it all down - especially when it came to banking. There are so many options out there, i wonder what made them choose their specific one. I actually thought we'd have more "military" related banks than the 5 we did (USAA & Navy Federal), so that was interesting.

All i know is, as soon as these bad boys clear (i like to use that term "bad boys" don't i?) we're paying off each and every credit card, and throwing the rest in our House Savings! Bow chicka wa wa!

*Updated: 6-20-08

Labels: Bank of America, banking, gifting, PNC, USAA, Wachovia, wedding

Ever since I was a teen I can remember having a USAA account for car insurance. I never really cared all too much back then, (i wasn't even paying the bills!) but NOW's a whole different story. I am completely proud to use USAA today, and thankful beyond words to my parents for hooking me up.

Why do I heart them so much? Well, they have mad offerings from almost every account imaginable! AND they're a credit union, so their rates are always up in the top.

Do you wanna guess how many accounts I have w/ them now? 12 15!

Here's all that I have through them:

1. Auto Insurance
2. Personal Property Insurance
3. Life Insurance (me)
4. Life Insurance (Mrs. BudgetsAreSexy)
5. Home Owners Insurance *new!
6. Personal Checking account
7. Personal Savings account
8. House Checking account
9. House Savings account
10. Credit card #1 (for personal stuff)
11. Credit card #2 (for house stuff)
12. Roth IRA (me)
13. Roth IRA (Mrs. BudgetsAreSexy)
14. Home Equity Line of Credit (heloc)
15. Money Market account! Newest one as of Monday, to be used as my Emergency Fund.

At this rate, i might as well WORK for them :) The best thing about it all, is that I can log into my online account and see all accounts on one page! This may not sound like a big thing, but i gotta tell you it has helped me tackle my budget a lot easier.

Then we have my favorite aspect, their Customer Service. I've been, and worked, around the block a few times to know when the service is a plus, or a big fat disgrace. USAA's service is A+, and they have plenty of awards to prove it. You rarely have to wait long to get a real live person on the phone (what a concept!), and once you do they are super friendly and actually ON YOUR SIDE. I can't tell you the number of times i've called w/ questions or for general advice, and they've been nothing but professional and competent.

I recently rang them up to check on a pending transaction, and not only did they give me clear and concise answers, but they looked at my accounts and hooked me up w/ a little financial advice that i cold actually use! Remember how i'm trying to get my Emergency Fund back up and running? Well...I have been putting the $ into my savings account and was planning on hosting it there, but USAA recommended using a Money Market account for my Emergency Fund. They have a "Financial Advice" dept. which advised me of the easy online deposits, unlimited withdrawals (unlike savings), and currently the 3.35% yield (also unlike savings). How awesome is that?

They very well could have answered my original question and quickly got me off the phone like any other place...cough cough COMCAST..cough cough...DMV...haha... but they didn't. Their service reps are knowledgeable and intuitive when "selling" their other services. But more importantly, they make my life easier.

USAA, will you marry me?

Labels: banking, emergency funds, money markets, USAA