Comments on Frugal Dreamer: Savings! Need your input.

ING seems great so far! It was easy to set up, no ...

2008-09-08T18:23:00.000-07:00

ING seems great so far! It was easy to set up, no fee's, no minimums! I like it so far. I am sending off my cheque to myself tomorrow!

I, too, have an ING account. I get a fixed amount...

2008-09-08T17:59:00.000-07:00

I, too, have an ING account. I get a fixed amount automatically deposited into it each paycheque, so that I don't have to think about it.

As for my savings accounts, well, I have a few:

vet
house
car
travel
EF (ING)
christmas
"other"

As for how much goes into each one, I try to make it fairly equal, say, $50 each per paycheque. However, if I need a tune up for the car, I'll put a little extra into that. It depends a lot on urgency, too.

But as paradignshifted has said, it's basically whatever works best for you. As long as it's consistent (and interest bearing!)and works for YOU.

re: ING - I don't have an account with them, so I ...

2008-09-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

re: ING - I don't have an account with them, so I don't know how good they are... but everyone else seems to love them! I have my savings accounts set up at the same place as my checking (and my IRAs). It is convenient to have it all in one place...

I think the important things with savings is ease of access, high interest rates, and low/no fees!

I set up some internet savers in the same bank tha...

2008-09-08T13:05:00.000-07:00

I set up some internet savers in the same bank that my current a/c was with which is quite good for real short term savings as you can transfer instantly.

As for longer savings I'm not sure as I have none at the moment but will be looking into it soon.

paradigmshifted - I agree with you, about focusing...

2008-09-08T13:04:00.000-07:00

paradigmshifted - I agree with you, about focusing on my debt and EF first. I am a little skeptical about ING, but have been doing a lot of research today and i will be setting up a savings account tonight! :)

Sharon - Qualified or not, i love that you replied. I love getting different people's point of view. Regardless if you're still paying off debt, you found something that works for you, and i was just looking for ideas! So, thank you :0)

Hi there-I'm still repaying debt, so I don't know ...

2008-09-08T12:18:00.000-07:00

Hi there-I'm still repaying debt, so I don't know if I'm really qualified to answer this. I would suggest that the emergency fund takes priority and as suggested open an account that allows 'pots' that you can name and then divert your different savings to. Personally, I have a current account for bills, a savings account for short term-birthdays, xmas, car maintenance and then I have premium bonds for long term emergency-these will not be touched, except for job loss.

there is no one-size-fits-all for this! you will ...

2008-09-08T11:23:00.000-07:00

there is no one-size-fits-all for this! you will probably get different opinions on this, but my personal preference is to favor the emergency fund and the debt repayment. Get those in order with your budget first, because they are the most important.
After that, it really comes down to what you are comfortable with. But for any sort of long term savings (ie, you don't need to access for 6 months), you absolutely need a savings account earning interest.

ING lets you do subaccounts with accounts, so that is nice. You could set up a general savings account with them, and have subaccounts for wedding, travel, home, etc. And then you can also look into CD ladders...