Checking Accounts

I have to say that the day I opened a checking account was the day that I finally took control of my finances and was able to understand where my money was going on a daily basis. Without these records of where you have earned and spent your money, you would just be guessing if you had to come up with a reasonable monthly budget. There’s not a simple way of tracking all of this unless you have a checking account, simply because there are too many transactions for anyone to care enough to keep track of.

Interest Rates

One of the cooler aspects of some checking accounts is that they offer an interest rate on cash held in them, similar to savings accounts. Aurora Bank checking rates are some of the fairest I’ve seen in this down market. To be honest the fact that they are even offering interest on checking accounts in this economy is something to be excited about – most companies are imposing more fees on checking accounts, not paying you to keep them!

If you’re concerned about safety, check out the FDIC to learn how safe your money is in a checking account with Aurora or any other bank out there. Get started on your personal savings plan today!

Aurora bank has helped me address my savings concerns by educating me on the values of a Certificate of Deposit financial instrument.  With rates as low as they are these days, it’s been hard to find a place to put my money that has been both reputable and offers a great rate of return.

While I can’t say that any place out there is offering amazing returns, the fact of the matter is the highest return out of all low returns is still the highest return, and aurora bank is offering that return.

What exactly is a Certificate of Deposit?  It’s a way to tie your money up for a bit of time in order to earn a return that’s higher than you would earn in a savings account.  If you have a hard time budgeting your money and know you won’t need a certain amount of cash for at least three months then these are great options for you.  There are occasionally penalties for withdrawing earlier but that is just part of the game when it comes to Certificates of Deposit.  They’re probably the easiest way to get started on a positive savings plan for your future.

For more information on the safety of your money on deposit, please look at the FDIC Website.

Some of the best ways to implement a new savings plan and actually stick to it are actually some of the simplest.  The tried and true piggy jar is something that I have used for quite a while now.  I just throw all of my change into the jar every single month and then at the end of the month I bring it to the bank and deposit it into my online savings account.  Couldn’t be any easier than that!  Or could it?

An even easier way to do this is to set up an automatic transfer from either your checking or your paycheck and have it automatically get sent to your savings account.  You can pick a certain amount of money and set that up without a problem at all – after all, it is called automated for a reason.

I like to keep a spreadsheet about all of my finances to make sure that I’m still hitting all of my goals for the month.  There is no sweeter feeling than seeing your savings balance go up every single month and knowing that without your diligent effort it wouldn’t have happened.  That’s the most rewarding thing about saving money for me!

For more information on savings accounts, please visit the FDIC.

I haven’t dealt with many different banks in my lifetime, but I have dealt with a lot of different banking products.  I have online banking, both checking and debut as well as a business account.  In addition, I’ve purchased money market accounts before as well as certificates of deposit.

All of these have their specific advantages, but I find that online banking is by far the most convenient and greatest creation that banks have ever devised.  Aurora bank is an example of a bank that does this exceptionally well in my humble opinion.

The ability to send, receive, withdraw, or deposit money from the internet is something that we could have never imagined just 20 short years ago, and yet here it is!  Now I’m pretty sure that almost none of us could imagine our lives without the convenience and sheer ease of use that it provides for our financial lives.  It allows us to go ahead and make transfers to friends without actually having to give them money in person, something that’s very helpful because many of us have friends all around the country – some of us have friends all around the world!  If you don’t have online banking, I would suggest checking the FDIC to make sure you’re up to date on latest regulations.

What Are Certificates of Deposit?

If you’re looking for a safe place to put your money right now, then let me point you in the direction of Certificates of Deposit. If you don’t know what they are, it’s basically a financial instrument that you place a set amount of money in and you get a set rate of return over a period of time.

How To Use Them

Think of it as a short-term savings account.  It’s a great way to earn a higher rate of interest than a traditional savings account, while also diversifying your investment portfolio towards the safer side.  CD’s are very close to cash in their liquidity and act like cash in a savings account as far as your investment portfolio is concerned.

Where To Find Them

You should shop around for the best CD rate before you commit to any one CD  - the rates can vary widely, and since that is what is going to be making you the money to help hit your savings goals, it’s important to make sure that you find the absolute best rate out there.  For further information, look into a concept called CD laddering.  It’s a way to maximize the amount of return you can get over a period of time, since no one is 100% sure what returns will be in the future.

If you would just like more information about CD’s in general, then check out the FDIC.

Making Sure You Don’t Fall Into Debt

There are many Americans out there, including some of my very best friends that have had some serious problems with debt.  And when I say debt, of course I mean CREDIT CARDS!!!!  People seem to have such a hard time controlling spending on these things that it really shocks me.  Anyways, the best way to make sure you don’t get really far behind in your credit card bills is to try and get a zero percent balance transfer.  This basically takes your balance and puts it on a new card, with better terms to buy you more time.

Not a Free Pass

Keep in mind, this is not some kind of free pass to spend as much as you want.  All it does is buy you more time to get your finances in order.  Basically, you need to scrape together the cash and make sure that you can cover your bills before the NEXT credit card goes into an interest charging state.  Check out a balance transfer calculator if you really need help.  I know one of my best friends did this twice before she was finally! able to get all the cash she needed to pay her bills.  Some people!