Where to keep our emergency fund/savings

[taubel]

We are trying to put together a $20K emergency/savings fund. Once we have it, is it worth it to use an online account like ING? I saw that their rates are .80 right now. The other alternative would be to keep it at our current bank and/or credit union, but the interest rate would be a bit lower.

Obviously, we'll earn more interest with the ING account, but it won't be a huge amount. Is it worth it to move the money?

If you use ING, are you happy with it?

Thanks,

[Ruthiegirl]

We keep ours in an ING account.  It works for us rather well.  The interest rate is crap right now...I have looked around and don't see anything much better.  The accounts are easy to set up and it is simple to have multiple accounts for separate savings goals.  I have 3 -- one for Christmas, another for a roof repair, and an emergency fund.  It takes a couple of days to transfer money in and out of the account, so it cuts down on my temptation to dip into our savings.  

[SunRise]

I self manage my IRA via ING. So far so good (but its only been a few months).  Easy to set up. Easy to manage. And lots of tools and calculators to peruse.

When I see such a large amount of money, I think its a shame to just have it sitting in a non-interest working account. Although, now a days interest rates are all but 0.   Personally, I might break it up, 10 grand in a stock, 10 in an ing account.

My emergency fund is in an e-bank account via my regular bank but I only intend to keep 10g in it. Once it doubles, I will be  putting that (10g) somewhere else.

.

[JenRN]

You might try looking around for some local banks with a high-interest checking account.

We signed up for one a few years ago, interest rate at that time was 4.01% (its variable, but even now it is still 2.5%). There are a few "rules" we have to abide by to get that interest rate, like 8 debit card transactions a month, agree to e-statements, and set up either a direct deposit or automatic withdrawal once a month.

Even if we don't meet all the criteria, we still get 1% interest. Plus I like that it's a checking account - WAY easy to get to the money if necessary, but since it's at a different bank than I normally use, I'm not tempted to use it unless its actually an emergency.

[gabbyraja]

Lake MI Credit Union is a 3% high yield checking account. It also has the direct deposit and so many debit card transaction limitations. However, direct depositing your savings from your check isn't a bad idea. And, when you pay your bills online, pay the first $1 of it with your debit card, then the rest with whatever method you use regularly. Debit card transactions taken care of. If you do not live in MI you can join by joining the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association of Michigan for $5 at sign up.