Ally Bank is the banking unit of Ally Financial. The company started in 1919 as the General Motors Acceptance Corporation or GMAC and ever since has been involved in the financing of numerous vehicles for production. Because of the recent financial and economic crisis in the U.S., GMAC’s control and ownership has changed. In 2008, it was approved to become a bank holding company and in 2009, GMAC bank was reintroduced as Ally Bank.

Ally Bank positioned itself to be a branch-less bank and performing almost all of its banking operation and customer service transactions over the internet. This huge savings on operating costs is the main reason why the bank is capable of providing one of the most competitive rates in the banking industry.

Products and services of Ally Bank

The main offerings of Ally Bank include; deposit products such as savings accounts, checking accounts, individual retirement accounts or IRA, money market accounts, and the various types of CDs or certificate of deposits.

-          Online Savings Account. The most basic or common type of banking product or service is the savings account. Ally Bank’s online savings accounts do not require an initial deposit, maintaining balance, and there are no recurring fees or charges. They are also noted to provide the highest interest rates in the industry. But the Bank imposes a limit of only 6 transactions per statement cycle.

-          Online Checking Account. Ally Bank’s checking account services are interest bearing. Compared to the savings account which limits the number of transactions, you could write as many checks with this online checking account.

-          Money Market Accounts. The bank’s money market account service is similar to the savings. The only difference is that the former allows easier access to withdrawing the money you have deposited through the check cards and paper checks issued to the depositor.

-          Certificate of Deposits (CDs). Ally Bank offers the High Yield CDs with the best interest rates, the Raise Your Rate CDs that allows you to increase the interest rate that your deposit will receive, and the No Penalty CDs which allows you to pre-terminate or withdraw your CD without penalties.

How to open an Ally Bank account

Opening an Ally Bank account is pretty easy and painless. You will need to get some of your personal information together, like your social security number and your license. From there you will just have to enter some basic information and you are all set. Pretty easy process.

The benefits of opening an account with Ally bank

-          Open an account with $0

-          Bank online 24 hours a day 7 days a week.

-          No monthly fees.

-          No ATM fees.

-          Some of the higher interests rates around.

-          Quick and easy to open with no minimum deposit requirements.

-          No maintaining balance required.

-          FDIC insured, up to $250,000.

-          Interest is compounded daily, this really maximizes your earnings.

-          And that interest are computed and reflected on your account daily not monthly or quarterly.

-          Ally bank does not charge monthly fees on your deposit accounts.

-          Has some great mobile apps to help you manage your money.

Conclusion

Ally Bank is one of the best online banks you will find. It has many great features, won’t catch you with a lot of fees, great mobile apps, and has some of the best rates around. Ally really does a good job as is shown by it being ranked the best online bank two years in a row by Money Magazine. Ally is not perfect though, I wish they had some business banking options, also with no brick and mortar locations you are not going to get that face to face service that you will find with a local bank. But in the end you need to ask yourself do you want a higher interest rate with less fees or a personal experience with more face time?

So if you are ready to open an Ally Bank account go ahead and get started by clicking here.

Incoming search terms:

• Banking|GenerationXFinance
• ally bank review
• ally bank review withdrawal
• ally wish mint
• best 529 plans money magazine
• how do most people open accounts at ally bank
• most popular internet banks
• online savings banks

If you haven’t heard by now, many big banks are sticking it to their customers with new, and higher fees. Especially debit card fees. They argue that due to new credit card regulations they are forced to institute these new fees to recoup that lost income. In fact, Bank of America has gone as far as to say they have a right to make a profit. At first I shrugged it off and somewhat agreed, just like consumers have the right to choose another bank.

But my friend Liz Weston tweeted to clarify and said they have the right to try to make a profit. That is a far more accurate statement since nobody and no company is simply entitled to make money. So, are the banks on the right track trying to turn a profit by gouging customers? Given the outrage we’ve seen online and in the media, I think it is doing just the opposite. And if you’re stuck with one of the banks doing this, here’s how you can switch banks without much hassle.

Identifying Why You Want to Leave Your Bank

Before you hastily go to the bank and demand all of your money, you need to step back and determine what it is about your current bank that is forcing you to look elsewhere. After all, if you aren’t exactly sure about all of the downsides of your existing bank, how will you know what to look for when searching for a new bank?

Obviously, fees are probably going to be one of the main culprits. So take a few minutes to determine all of the fees you’re getting charged, or could potentially be charged. This includes everything from debit card fees to overdraft and account minimum fees. Go ahead and jot these down so you can easily refer back to them when comparing other banks.

Next, think about the service. Even if you don’t visit a local branch regularly, if you’ve had a bad experience with the service at your bank, take note. Good service is hard to come by these days and when you think back about what irritates you most about your current bank you can be sure to ask questions about the service options at your new prospective bank.

Consider a Credit Union

There are plenty of good banks out there, but don’t rule out credit unions. There’s a common misconception that credit unions are reserved for people associated with certain employers or associations, but this isn’t always the case. Yes, some have membership limitations, but many will accept members from almost any background. So it’s certainly worth your time to explore that option.

The benefits of a credit union are many. Most importantly, by joining a credit union you become a member, which is like becoming a part owner. Rather than depositing your money into some massive national or global corporation, you’re actually putting your money into the very organization that’s likely a local operation that benefits your own community. And going one step further, credit unions are non-profit organizations, so there’s no incentive to rack up insane profits to pay executives tens of millions of dollars trying to squeeze out every penny from their depositors.

In addition, because credit unions aren’t continuously trying to boost profits for shareholders, there are simply fewer and lower fees across the board. Loan rates are usually better, there aren’t any debit card fees, and even the fees they do have are typically far more reasonable than what you’ll find at a comparable bank.

Determine What is Most Important in a Bank or Credit Union

Now that you’re in the process of seeking out that new banking institution, you need to have a clear set of features that are important to you. Just because the bank or credit union down the street doesn’t charge debit card fees or stick you with account minimum fees, that doesn’t mean it’s the best bank for you. Your specific needs will dictate that.

For instance, if you’re a heavy ATM user, finding a bank or credit union with the most local ATMs or most friendly ATM fees is going to be a priority. But if you’re someone who rarely uses an ATM but in an emergency, you probably couldn’t care less if your bank didn’t have an ATM within 1,000 miles. Obviously, the best bank for someone else may not be the best bank for you.

Here’s a personal example. I use two financial institutions. A credit union and Chase bank. Both are used for different purposes. My credit union is from when I was in college and they are no longer local, but I use them for most of my lending needs because their rates are amazing. But I would have a hard time using them for daily banking because the nearest branch is over 100 miles away, and they lack many of the online and mobile banking tools that other institutions offer.

That’s where Chase comes in. I do a lot of business banking, and as far as I’m concerned, they are among the best when it comes to business banking. I also love how my local branch has a special business teller area so if I do go in I get to skip right to that section and get helped immediately. But the technology they offer is what really keeps me around. Online and mobile banking is superb, and the ability to take a picture of a check with my cell phone and deposit it automatically from anywhere is pretty awesome. I receive a lot of checks unfortunately, so when I get one in the mail and don’t feel like driving the 20 minutes to the closest branch (yes, I live in the middle of nowhere!) I can just whip out my phone and make a deposit. Saves me 40 minutes of drive time and probably a couple bucks in gas.

So, know exactly what you need from your bank and shop accordingly. Just because a friend suggests XYZ bank because they don’t charge a specific fee that doesn’t mean it’s the best for you.

Opening Your New Accounts

Once you’ve found that new bank or credit union, you’ll obviously have to open your new accounts. But don’t close out your old accounts first and walk in with a bag full of money to deposit into your new account! You will want to get everything up and running with the new bank before making the transition.

When you go into the new bank it pays to sit down with a banker rather than just winging it over the phone or through their website. Yes, it will take a little bit more time and you may encounter a little upselling, but working with someone directly to discuss what you need, what you want, and fees you want to avoid can help ensure you get put into the best accounts for your situation. If they try to sell you a credit card or fancy features to add to your account, just politely decline. You can always add those later when you have more time to look into them. Plus you can usually find even better credit card deals elsewhere.

Closing the Old Accounts

After getting your new accounts set up you’ll want to then go back and start working on closing the old accounts. The reason you waited to do this step is because you may have a lot of pending transactions that could get messed up if you close the account prematurely. For example, things like direct deposit, auto bill-pay, or outstanding checks need to all be cleared first, otherwise you could end up with bounced checks, failed deposits, and nasty fees. Also, if you write checks for some things, it will probably take 5-10 business days from opening your new account before getting your new checks, so you don’t want to be in a position where a bill is due and you don’t have checks for the new account.

So before closing your old accounts first check to see what pending transactions you have coming out of the account. It could be electronic bills that are coming due or a check that hasn’t been cashed yet. If there are bills soon to be paid with this account, you can wait to let that happen, or if there’s enough time you may be able to stop it and provide the new account information. This is also a good time to go into your new account and switch over any online bill payment methods so they are ready to go once you transfer the funds. And don’t forget links to external accounts. You may have your IRAs and other investment accounts tied to the old account, so double check and update that information as well.

In regards to direct deposit, this is key because depending on where you are in the payroll cycle it could take a week or two before the information is updated, which could mean deposits to the old account can’t be changed before the next payday. So be sure to get with your employer and change that account information. You don’t want to be in a position where you’ve closed the old account only to find out on payday you never got paid because that payment was selected for the old account.

After all the checks have cleared, bills have been paid, and direct deposits made, you can finally go ahead and close the old accounts. Don’t fret. Even if it takes a few weeks to finalize this process and causes you to incur one more five dollar fee, that is far better than dealing with a bounced check, failed deposit, or late fees on missed bills.

Transferring to the New Accounts

Now that your old accounts are squared away, transferring to the new account is pretty simple. Again, don’t walk into your new bank with a sack full of cash that you withdrew from the old bank. Instead, you can almost always request an electronic transfer or get a cashier’s check from your old bank to deposit into the new one. But it’s never safe to be walking around with a bunch of cash, so don’t be foolish.

Many banks and credit unions are now offering what is called a “Switch Kit,” which is a five-step program with all of the necessary forms and phone numbers to help you through the transfer process. Be sure to ask about this since it can save you some time.

Go Virtual

Even if you’re found a great bank or credit union to switch to it’s still worth looking at online banks for some or all of your banking needs. Banks and credit unions still typically lag behind online banks when it comes to savings account rates. So, while you may need the local convenience for your daily banking needs, you may still be better off putting that emergency fund or other savings in an online bank that generates even more interest. In addition, there are even some banks, like Perkstreet, that give you cash back on debit card purchases. That’s a far cry from banks charging you just for the privilege of having a debit card!

So, be sure to check out the latest online savings account rates to see if you can do better than your existing or new bank. Personally, I use Perkstreet Financial for much of my savings right now. The rate is good, and I’m a sucker for awesome online interfaces. The easier and more pleasant they make it to bank online, the more likely I’ll use them. I don’t mind missing a few basis points for better service and features.

Making the Switch

Switching banks is a pain, there’s no way around that. When you think about all of the automated bills, deposits, and other features you’ve grown accustomed to over the years, it’s a daunting task to pick up and move everything elsewhere. Financial institutions are counting on the often painful task of switching so they can tack on small fees and capitalize on those who don’t want to be bothered with switching.

Don’t be afraid to change banks. Yes, it will take a little time, but being nickel and dimed to death with new fees makes it more than worthwhile. Plus, this has a cumulative effect. If the banks that are sticking consumers with these new fees see a lot of people leave, they lose money. That means they will have to reevaluate their fees and change how they operate to remain competitive with those who are stealing their business. It is this competition that will benefit everyone.

So, vote with your feet. If your bank is sticking it to you, take a stand and move on. It’s your money, and you have the right to do what’s best for it.

Incoming search terms:

• how to switch banks
• how to change banks
• changing banks
• change banks
• how hard is it to switch banks
• how do you switch banks
• how do i change banks
• is it hard to switch banks
• switch banks
• how do you change banks

Products Offered

Aurora Bank provides many of the products and services you’ve come to expect from any bank, online or retail. Obviously, they have competitive online savings and money market accounts, but they also provide checking accounts, CDs, home loans, and many business and commercial services. They are a full-service operation and don’t just cater to the online savings crowd.

• Competitive interest rates compounded daily, posted monthly
• No monthly fee (with daily average balance of $500 or more in an Aurora Bank Savings Account or $1000 in an Aurora Bank Money Market Account)
• Easy access: up to six withdrawals per month from your Aurora Bank Money Market Account
• ATM card offers flexible access to Aurora Bank Savings Account
• May be linked to certain accounts for overdraft protection
• FDIC Insured

Opening an Account

I’ve opened plenty of savings accounts at various institutions, and I’m pleased to see that Aurora Bank is really no different in that regard. The account opening process is pretty straightforward and you will be required to provide your personal information, some employment information, and any bank accounts you’d like to link to your new Aurora account. As long as you have your Social Security Number and driver’s license handy, it will only take a couple of minutes to go through the process.

Once you link up to another bank account you will have to wait for Aurora Bank to make a few test deposits to ensure the information was correct, but after that you’ll be all set. You can then easily transfer money back and forth. If you want, you can also go on to order an ATM card, set up overdraft protection, or add any other features you might need. But I didn’t find any snags or oddities during the initial process.

Conclusion

As always, interest rates are constantly changing. Sometimes from day-to-day. That means it’s good to always have options open or have money in a few different places so you can take advantage. So, think of Aurora Bank as another tool in your financial toolbox. The rates are good, sometimes among the best out there, and other times a few basis points behind, but they will certainly treat you right, and that is important. And since there’s no monthly fee as long as you deposit the minimum, it’s a no-risk proposition.

Incoming search terms:

• genxfinance reviews

As interest rates remain low across the board, finding attractive yields on savings accounts is becoming even more difficult. At the very least, you’d like to have your savings try to keep up with inflation, but even that can be a tall order these days. Of course, interest rates aren’t everything, and you also want a bank that is secure, provides great service, and has a useful online interface. Luckily, FNBO Direct offers a great opportunity to receive a competitive interest rate, remain FDIC insured, and have access to a nice online interface.

FNBO Account Features

• No account minimum
• 1.10% APY as of this writing
• FDIC insured

Just like opening an account with most online, or even traditional banks, you will need to provide some information in order to sign up, verify your identity, and link to other existing accounts. To open an account with FNBO Direct, you’ll need:

• Your Social Security or Tax ID Number.
• Your Driver’s License or ID card issued by a state DMV.
• Employer information.
• Information about any loans or mortgages that you may have to help us confirm your identity.
• For instant funding, you will need your current bank account and routing numbers.
• If a joint account, the other applicant’s information.

Getting Started

Once your account application has gone through it couldn’t be easier to get started saving. While FNBO doesn’t require a minimum deposit, obviously if you opened a savings account you’re going to be putting money into it. So, it’s as easy as linking your FNBO Direct online savings to any other bank account (checking or savings) you may have. Once they are linked up transferring money is as easy as clicking the mouse. It takes a couple of days for transactions to settle, which is standard, but just keep that in mind.

Not only that, but you can get an ATM card linked to your FNBO Direct account for access to your money 24 hours a day at any ATM. This can be quite handy if you’re using this as your emergency savings, since emergencies don’t often happen during bank hours.

Sign Up Today

There are obviously a lot of choices when it comes to savings accounts, but with rates continuing to decline, making sure your money is working its hardest is increasingly important. While I’m not a big fan of rate chasing, I think FNBO Direct is a good place to stick it out. In the past, they have been one of the last banks to drop rates when it was time for a rate cut, and the rates are consistently at the higher end of the spectrum.

Incoming search terms:

• fnbo direct reviews
• fnbo direct review
• access money fnbo
• fnbo osa reviews
• fnbo reviews
• fnbo savings account customer reviews
• fnbo savings rate
• fnbodirect review
• how safe is fnbo online savings?
• fnbo online savings account

Broke Reason #1: Money Is Not Wealth

Having money is not the same as having wealth. You can have a million dollars in your bank account, but if you’re a million and one dollars in debt, you’re still broke. Just because you have money doesn’t necessarily mean you are really rich. Money is a pathway to wealth, but is not wealth itself.

Broke Reason #2: Assets vs. Investments

Assets are things that give you the illusion of wealth, but often just create a facade of wealth. Owning a fancy new car is great, but it is not an investment it’s a liability. It loses money over time, costs you money over time, and is nothing more than a new debt even if you own it outright. One of the best lessons I learned from Thomas Stanley’s Millionaire Next Door is that millionaires spend their money on investments, not assets.

Broke Reason #3: Savings vs. Investments

Having a relatively large savings account or a large amount of money in a checking or money market account is not an investment. It’s important to have cash on hand, of course, in case something happens, but if all of your “wealth” is stored as money in the bank, you are wasting one of your best wealth creation tools. The difference between savings and investments is the principle of wealth building.

Now, I am not saying that you shouldn’t find a good bank for your short-term cash needs. I am just saying that you need to make sure that you are not keeping too much in savings to the exclusion of your investment portfolios. When I am looking for a bank, I often don’t care about the interest rates, I look for great online banking features because that is what is most important to me. Some of the bank websites that I like are Ally Bank and CIT Bank.

Broke Reason #4: Lack of Long Term Thinking

Having a “good job” is a great thing, of course, but if your good job means you think about the next paycheck or the next month’s income, you suffer from a lack of long-term thinking. Your income (job or business) should be thought of in terms of quarters and annuals. Rather than thinking about the next two weeks or the next month, a wealthy person thinks about the next three months, six months and the next year.

Focus on making year over year increases in your income. This might be through the creation of a side business or by simply asking for a promotion.

Broke Reason #5: Obsessing Over Money

If you obsess over where your next income is coming from, how much money you do or don’t have, or are always thinking about how much you can make by doing something, you are not thinking in terms of wealth. Again, money is only a pathway to wealth, but it is not wealth itself.

What is wealth?

Now that you know what blocks your way to becoming wealthy, let’s define wealth and then you’ll understand the critical change in thinking that has to happen if you’re going to ever become wealthy. Since wealth is not money, what is it? Wealth is the ability to not think about money and instead to think about incomes in a broader sense.

For instance, while a car is rarely an investment, property, dividends, and education are. Investments are those things which pay back over and above their cost. If you purchase a second home as a rental and it can pay its own mortgage and expenses through rent over the next fifteen years, you’ve made an investment. What you’ve done is invested some money now so that fifteen years from now, you own property that didn’t cost you much at all. The same can be said for stocks that pay dividends, gold or silver, or an education. All of these things can pay you back over time some faster than others.

Wealth is simply getting more for less over time. Today’s 50-hour work week should become tomorrow’s 40-hour week which becomes a 30-hour week and so on.. all without lowering income.

Incoming search terms:

• why people are broke
• broke people
• why are people broke
• why are most people broke
• most people are broke
• people are broke
• are most people broke
• reasons why people are broke
• how to not obsess over money
• obsessing over money

Bundle.com launched way back in January of this year and for a long time you couldn’t do much other than compare a wealth of spending data across virtually every location in the county. While very cool and interesting to see how you compare to your neighbors and other places in the country, there was only so much you could do with the data. Thanks to their new update a few weeks ago that has all changed. Not only has Bundle introduced savings and debt data, but you can now create an account and import your own financial accounts so that you can use Bundle as your new favorite expense tracking and budgeting tool.

To be fair, I have been working with Bundle since their launch as a community editor so I’m of course a little excited to see the new features roll out, but I was still leery of the new expense tracking and budgeting features. Honestly, I’ve just never been big on budgeting and aside from setting up my accounts in Quicken or Mint for testing, it usually never goes beyond that. Usually the process is too cumbersome or there are issues with importing accounts that turn me off after just a few uses. So, that’s why I was eager to try out the new Bundle features so I could see if there were any improvements over the existing platforms. Here’s what I’ve found.

Everybody’s Money

At the heart of Bundle is the data. If you want to know what the average 26-36 year old married household without kids earning $75-$100k per year is spending on groceries, you can see that data in a matter of seconds. If you want to compare those families in your hometown with the national average or another city in the country you can do that too. Thinking about having kids? Stack up the no kids data with families that do have kids and see how that might affect your budget. If you’re thinking about moving for a job you can compare the spending categories and see what changes there might be in your cost of living. The possibilities are endless and it is interesting to see what kind of trends emerge and measure yourself against others to see how you’re doing financially.

Comparing Data

That’s pretty cool, right? No boring pie charts here. Instead, you get an interactive collection of bubbles that easily show you how the data is organized. Bundle does a good job in organizing the data so you can quickly understand what you’re looking for. No boring pie charts here. But it gets even more interesting if you want to dig deeper. Not only can you see some broad spending data, but you can dig right down and see what stores and restaurants people are spending the most money at.

Where People Spend

I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that people in Detroit are spending less than those in New York, and doing most of their spending at lower end stores. Want to see where everybody is eating in your neighborhood? Punch in your zip code and dig into the food bubble and see. You might find a new place to eat you’ve never tried before.

Tracking Your Own Spending and Creating Budgets

Most of the features above were already in place, so now we get to the really fun new items. Now you can link up your financial accounts in Bundle and it will automatically import your account balances, transaction data, and organize it all in the fancy bubbles you’ve grown to love.

I know the biggest issue people usually have with sites that utilize your financial data is security. Are these sites really secure, and how does it access your data? Well, sites like Bundle and Mint have gone a long way to ensure that using their sites is just as safe as visiting your bank’s site online by itself. This is one area I was curious about as well, so I put it through the paces when setting up my account. What I was happy to see is that it looks like the logins are routed directly to your financial institution and will use any security measures they already have in place before connecting to your account.

For example, if you use Chase bank you are probably familiar with the fact that if you try to access your account from a new computer or even your own computer if cookies are cleared you’ll be prompted with a message saying they must email or text you an authorization code to one of the contact methods you have on file with them. I was really surprised when entering my Chase account in Bundle that I received this same prompt and I had to verify my account by getting an authorization code first. That’s great. My other accounts exhibited the same security features and I had to answer security questions or whatever information the bank usually uses to verify you. That made me feel good about accessing my data on the site.

The last thing I was wondering about was what accounts it would work with. I know in the past with Mint and Quicken I’ve had issues with some accounts not being able sync up or I’d have to manually download account data, which was a real pain. So, while I didn’t import everything into Bundle at this time, I did try a few different banks, a mortgage, and even an investment account. I was shocked to see that they all worked flawlessly. Chase, Bank of America, Fifth Third Bank, Fidelity, they all worked fine and I had them showing up in my account in a matter of minutes.

Your Money Dashboard

Here’s what you see after you get your accounts linked up and you login. This is your My Money dashboard. You have your money represented with the bubbles on the left as expected, but then you also have your most recent transactions on the right. This is kind of nice as it is a very quick snapshot of your finances and you can easily move your mouse over any of the accounts and get a balance. But the real data comes after clicking the “go to my money” button.

Your Spending Details

Just like the bubbles represent spending elsewhere on the site, your money is displayed in the same way. You get a nice visual representation of how much money is going where and at any time you can hover the mouse over a category for more details and then click through to go deeper and see even more details about that category. In this example, let’s take a look at my “Getting Around” spending and see why that seems so high.

Details on Automotive Spending

Here you’ll see a detailed breakdown of what makes up this spending category and you’ll also see a list of all transactions for the category. In addition, on the right you’ll see it will calculate your average and allow you to instantly compare this data to others to see how you stack up. Obviously, with only a little over one month of data so far the average isn’t accurate, but this should become a valuable measuring gauge over time. After seeing this data I now remember why we spent so much in this category in August. I forgot my wife had to attend a few conferences all the way on the other side of the state so we used a lot more gas than usual. Thanks for clearing this up, Bundle!

The other interesting thing is the ability to move away from the bubble data and look at your monthly spending on a daily basis. This allows you to get a quick glance as to what days you spend the most money and where you spend it.

Monthly Spending Chart

Notice a trend here? I did, and never realized it. We rarely spend any money on weekends, at least if we do it’s probably with cash on hand instead of a credit or debit purchase. Not that it matters when we spend, but I found that interesting. What’s really cool about this page is you can assign a category to your uncategorized expenses simply by dragging the bubbles into the appropriate category list on the right. When you first start out you’ll have to do some categorizing because Bundle doesn’t always know what a transaction is so this makes it easy to find the uncategorized transactions marked with an asterisk and drag them to their appropriate category. You can even set up rules so that Bundle knows to always apply a category to certain types of transactions.

Creating Budgets

Being able to visually track your spending is really great, but where Bundle can help even further is in creating budgets and spending goals. Like I mentioned at the beginning, I’ve never been much of a hard budgeter myself, but the way Bundle does it makes it incredibly simple and even I can see some value in creating a few high level budgets for our spending.

Setting Your Budget

The first time you go to the budget screen you’re presented with some basic categories so it’s easy to set some numbers. Even better, based on your history and information you’ve already entered it gives you some good baseline numbers to start with if you aren’t sure. You can easily remove categories you don’t want to budget for or add custom categories, it’s up to you.

Creating a Budget

After you’ve saved your budgets you’ll see something like the page above. Your budget categories will be listed and you’ll see clear pie charts illustrating what you’ve spent so far and how much you have left for the rest of the month. It’s simple, yet very effective, especially if you’re prone to blowing your budget each month. If you check this page at least once a week you’ll be quickly reminded as to what you’ve spent so far and how much left you have to spend and it can help keep spending in-check.

Add a Goal

Bundle excels when it comes to tracking spending, categorizing it, and allowing you to compare yourself with others, but what about helping you save save money for a specific goal? I think I want to take a trip in the fall of 2012, so I’m going to create a goal for it.

Creating a Goal

A nice feature with this is that if you already have a dollar amount in mind it will calculate the end date for you. If you already have a deadline in mind it will determine how much money you need to save. Once you’ve put in your goal data you’ll see all of your goals displayed on a timeline and with progress bars. This is a great way to quickly visualize where you stand, how much time and money you have to go before reaching a goal, and it also allows you to edit each goal if you need to.

Tracking Your Goals

The Verdict

Bundle has come a long way in the eight months since its initial launch. What started as a simple collection of financial data and personal finance commentary has turned into a full-blown free personal finance application that can stand toe-to-toe with any of the other applications out there. What surprised me is that even though it’s still in beta, I haven’t encountered any major issues. I had one bank account give me trouble when trying to add it, but after waiting again until the following day it worked just fine.

Overall it was incredibly easy to import accounts and for the most part it accurately categorized most of my transactions. There were a handful of transactions that were uncategorized and a couple that I wanted to change, but after spending about ten minutes making those changes everything was displaying as it should.

Being someone who has never tracked a budget much in the past it will take some time for me to get into the habit of logging into Bundle on a regular basis so I can see where I stand, but aside from that I don’t see any reason not to now that I already have much of the data in place. I know there are even more updates in store for Bundle down the road so I’m curious to see what else they can bring to the table.

At the very least, I’d encourage you to hop on over to bundle and create your free account. I write a few things a week over there and there are other prominent personal finance writers such as Sheryl Garrett, Kate Ashford contributing to the site as well. In fact, it’s an open platform and anyone can post content there! If you find some data that’s interesting and you want to comment on it or even write an opinion piece about something financial all you have to do is connect via Facebook Connect and you’re allowed to write your own content.

Incoming search terms:

• bundle reviews
• bundle my money
• bundle com review
• bundle finance
• bundle budget
• bundle vs mint
• review bundle
• BUNDLE REVIEW
• mint com vs bundle com
• how accurate is bundle com

Now banks are taking things one step further with mobile banking. Instead of relying on your computer, many banks now have the capabilities to allow you to transact bank business right from your cell phone. In its earliest form this was little more than receiving text alerts regarding account status, but today you can actually send text messages to your bank and instruct it to provide a balance, transfer funds, or even pay a bill. Forget to pay the cable bill before heading out on a camping vacation? Pay it on the road with your phone!

Beyond banking by text, the popularity of powerful web-based phones has also introduced full mobile versions of a bank’s online banking site. With the ability to surf the web from your phone you can essentially get everything in the palm of your hand that used to take a computer. Some banks have even gone as far as creating custom iPhone or Android apps specifically for their banking platform. This makes it incredibly easy to stay on top of your money at any time.

Mobile Banking Risks

Although this can be a useful feature, do you trust that your information is secure? This is one area that is still somewhat up in the air. Granted, banks typically use secure and/or encrypted transmission methods when dealing with information over the web, but given you’re using a cell phone that’s broadcasting packets of information through the air can you be certain that the information isn’t being picked up elsewhere and somehow exposed by someone else? While experts suggest this is unlikely, hackers are always finding ways.

But what’s even more of an issue are phones that utilize WiFi. You may not think twice about it, but if you frequent a coffee shop or something that has an open and free wireless connection and your phone decides to use it, that banking app running in the background could be transmitting data that someone can get their hands on.

Or what about if you just use your mobile browser to login to your bank and have the login/password automatically saved? If you lose your phone or even leave it unattended and don’t have the phone locked down someone could easily pick it up and get into your account, or at the very least get some personal information.

Do You Use Mobile Banking?

Given how convenient mobile banking can be it’s no wonder people are quick to use it. I’ve done some mobile banking myself, but usually it’s just to get a quick balance when I’m not around a computer and don’t feel like waiting on hold. I also like the text alerts that Chase has where you can monitor your accounts and set alerts when they fall below a certain amount. I tested this last week and I set an alert to notify me when a checking account went under $500. I moved money around so that the balance in that account was about $550 and then went grocery shopping. The total came to about $80 so I swiped that debit card so that it would put me under my alert limit. Amazingly enough, my cell phone buzzed with a text alert from Chase before my groceries were even bagged! I thought that was pretty handy.

So, what about you? Are you a fan of mobile banking or are you a little uneasy about conducting financial business wirelessly from the palm of your hand?

[poll id="83"]

Incoming search terms:

• why do people use mobile banking
• generation x and mobile banking
• why use mobile banking
• banking login text alert issues
• why do people dont use mobile banking
• who uses mobile banking
• what do you think about mobile banking
• what can you use mobile banking for
• samples of polls on using mobile banking
• how to get people to use mobile banking

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a corporation that acts as an independent agency of the federal government. The primary responsibility of the corporation is to act as a insurer for consumer deposits at banks and to help protect the economy at large from the effects of bank failures. The FDIC insures deposits up to $250,000 per depositor per insured bank.

The FDIC was created as a result of the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. The Roosevelt Administration wanted a way to make sure that depositors could be safe from the fear of losing their deposits if their bank failed. The FDIC was created to remedy that fear by insuring bank deposits against the risk of bank failure. Since the FDIC’s inception on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost a single cent of insured deposits from the failure of their bank.

FDIC insurance is basically a guarantee that depositors will not lose their funds. If the bank where they keep their money fails, the FDIC guarantees that they will receive the full amount of those funds, up to the insurance limit, from the FDIC’s insurance fund. FDIC insurance protects depositors from the risk of bank failure and makes the banking industry safer for consumers.

The Great Depression highlighted the need for an institution like the FDIC. During the first ten months of 1930 after the catastrophic stock market crash of 1929, seven hundred and forty-four banks failed, ten times the annual number during the 1920s. By the end of 1933, over one hundred and forty billion dollars in deposits had been lost to bank failures, and eleven thousand of the twenty-five thousand largest banks had failed. This severe crisis prompted a response from the Roosevelt Administration, which passed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. The Act established the FDIC and funded it. The initial limit on deposit insurance was set at $2,500 in 1934, and was raised to $5,000 in 1935.

The FDIC was given the first real test of its abilities during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s. Although the brunt of the crisis fell upon the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, the pressure was too great, and the FSLIC became insolvent and was merged into the FDIC. Between 1980 and 1994, the FDIC helped to close over sixteen hundred banks that had been affected by the crisis. Fortunately, the FDIC survived and helped mitigate the worst effects, although the crisis still cost taxpayers an estimated $150 billion.

The FDIC works in tandem with other government agencies to protect the customers of other financial institutions, such as credit unions. The National Credit Union Administration, or NCUA, is the independent federal agency that charters and supervises federal credit unions. The NCUA and FDIC together insure billions of dollars worth of deposits at thousands of financial institutions throughout the United States.

With the passage of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act on July 21, 2010, the FDIC insurance limits of $250,000 per depositor per insured bank has been made permanent. The $250,000 limit had been temporarily set up during 2008 and then extended to 2013, but the new financial reform law makes the limit permanent in an effort to increase consumer confidence in the banking system.

The ongoing financial crisis of 2008 has resulted in many changes to the financial system. The FDIC has protected bank customers since 1934, and it continues to do so. Even though over two hundred banks have failed since 2008, the FDIC has protected the consumers of all of them.

Incoming search terms:

• fdic insurance limits
• fdic limits
• fdic insurance limit
• fdic insurance limits 2012
• New FDIC Insurance Limits
• fslic insurance limits
• fdic insurance limits 2011
• fdic limit
• fdic limits 2011
• yhs-att_001

Actually, it does. You can also earn a 10% annual match on your Upromise earnings if you link your Sallie Mae savings to your Upromise account. That’s free money, and I know all of you like getting stuff for free. The Upromise annual match will be 10% of your total annual Upromise earnings and identified as “funded” in your Upromise account during a given calendar year of January 1 through December 31. For example, if in 2010, you earned $100 in your Upromise account and this amount is identified as “funded,” you are eligible for a $10 Upromise earnings match.  Upromise earnings will post directly into your Upromise account each February following the calendar year’s activity provided that both accounts are in good standing. The Upromise annual match will occur once per year.

To be eligible for the match you need to set up an Automatic Savings Plan with at least  a $25 monthly deposit or fund the account with $5,000 within 90 days of opening the High-Yield Savings Account. So, what are you waiting for? If you don’t have a Upromise account, go set one of those up. Then sign up for the Sallie Mae high-yield online savings and start making money!

Incoming search terms:

• sallie mae online savings account review
• savings high yield
• best savings accounts salliemae
• sallie mae saving rate reviews
• Sallie Mae Savings Account blogs
• sallie mae savings account review
• sallie mae savings estates
• sallie mae savings interest rate history
• sallie mae savings rate history
• sallie maie online savings

In fact, I’m even ashamed to admit that I’ve done it plenty of times without even really thinking about it. It can happen to the best of us and when we are in a hurry or don’t plan ahead you may also be carelessly throwing money out the window without even thinking twice about it. So, how are so many people throwing their hard-earned money away?

ATM Fees

Call it a Convenience Fee

As you probably know, not all ATM transactions carry a fee. If you use your own bank’s ATMs, or stay within a particular network, or use a credit union, you may be able to avoid fees completely. But what happens when you aren’t near one of your bank’s ATMs, no credit unions nearby, and you need cash right now? Chances are you’re going to just hit up the nearest ATM. Hey, that’s why ATMs are so great. They are convenient. But this convenience comes at a cost.

Typically, you’ll be assessed a fee by the bank that owns the ATM. It’s not uncommon to see these fees run in the $2-$3 range. In addition, there’s a good chance your own bank is going to charge you a fee for using another bank’s ATM. Again, it could be between $2-$3. But surely, that’s not a big deal, right? Wrong. What if you just stop to grab $20 and you’re charged $2.50 by the ATM and $2.50 by your bank — that’s $5 in fees just to get $20 of your own money. That’s 25% of your transaction!

Ok, so maybe you withdraw $40. That’s still a 12.5% fee. $50 withdrawal? 10% fee. Even at $100 it will cost you 5%. Now, let me ask you this. If you were guaranteed to lose 25, 10, or even 5 percent in any other investment, be it in the stock market or otherwise, there’s no way you’d even consider putting your money there. But an ATM fee? Suddenly people couldn’t care less. It’s amazing what people will do for convenience.

Stop Throwing Your Money Away

Instead of paying a fee just to access your own money you should take some steps to eliminate this behavior at all costs. Here are a few things you can do to help minimize ATM fees in the future.

Consider a credit union. If you’re a member of a credit union and part of the co-op network you have over 28,000 in-network ATMs at your disposal. With such a large number of qualifying ATMs to choose from you have a better chance in finding an ATM near you that won’t cost you a thing. The only drawback is that you still need to have a selection of credit union ATMs around you. In most cities this isn’t a problem, but around here the nearest co-op ATM is over 10 miles away.

Always carry some cash on you. I know a lot of people these days operate virtually cashless, but this is exactly what can lead you to paying unecessary fees in a pinch. Sure, most places will take debit or credit cards, or possibly even checks, but what happens when you’re in an unexpected situation where cash is the only option? No time to run to the bank or maybe the banks are closed, so you hit the ATM. There goes your money. So, make it a habit to keep some cash on you at all times. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but if it’s there in a time of need and keeps you from having to go to the ATM you’ll be thankful you had it.

Plan your cash needs in advance. If you can, try to plan out in advance what your cash needs are for the week and make one large withdrawal at the bank or your bank’s ATM. If you think you’re going to need $100 over the course of the week don’t take out $40 on Monday and assume you’ll just get the rest later when you need it. You’ll probably end up being pressed for time and have no other choice than to get hit with an unnecessary fee.

Use debit card purchases to get cash back. Probably one of the easiest tricks is to get cash back when you make a debit card purchase. You don’t have to be at a bank or even use an ATM for this to work. Simply make a purchase with your debit card and ask for cash back. It doesn’t cost you a thing. The only drawback is that most places will have a limit on how much cash you can get back per transaction. So, don’t go in and buy a candy bar and ask for $200 cash back. It probably won’t work.

Incoming search terms:

• publix cash back limit
• cash back at publix
• how much cash back can i get at publix
• people atm
• use atm
• cash back limit publix
• Your probably right but at least we didn\t roll over and take it willingly up the a**
• publix cash back on debit card
• publix cash back debit
• publix cash back 100