I apologize for not writing in a while.  I have been really busy, mainly because I have been studying for the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Level I exam in December.  This post is to let you know that I am still here, still alive, and still planning on writing many more personal finance posts in the near future – only these posts will be coming in December.

One of my friends has asked me to write a post with basic information on Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and my thoughts on them. This is likely going to come in December, when I’m not engulfed in a work, study, work, study cycle.  My next, and possibly only post until the second week of December, will likely be some deals that I found online for holiday shopping.  Until then, thanks for reading, and I look forward to getting this exam out of my way so I can start writing again!

Last Friday, I started a weekly post about products/services that I think are beneficial to the readers of In the Money.  I recommended Upromise last week as I think it is an absolutely great free service for people to save money for college or to lower their student debt.  This week I will recommend ING Direct. 

I think everyone should have a high yield savings account.  It is just silly to let your money sit in a bank account that barely pays any interest or pays none at all.  Online savings accounts can hardly be considered “high yield” these days, but it is still better than nothing.  I have had an ING Direct savings account for the last 5 years and it has been absolutely great.  It is really easy to use and very dependable and reliable.  One of the great features allows you to create separate “sub-accounts” within your savings so that you can create savings accounts for certain savings goals.  For example, if you are saving for a car or a large purchase, you can create a separate account just for that.  The savings account annual percentage yield is currently 1.3%, which really isn’t great compared to yields in the past, but I’d rather be getting 1.3% than nothing.

Even if you are using your money often, it likely doesn’t collect any interest while it is in your checking account.  ING offers a checking account that offers .25% annual percentage yield for accounts with less than $50K.  This is certainly better than the 0% you get at most banks, and they also let you withdraw money from a number of ATMs as well.  At the least, this would be something to look into.  I strongly believe in getting the most for your money, and every little bit adds up.

You can click on this link if you want to check out the ING electric orange checking account:

ING DIRECT Checking Account. Free ATMs. FDIC Insured. Open online now.

Or this link for an ING orange savings account:

Earn high interest with the Orange Savings Account – No fees, no minimums & no need to change banks! FDIC Insured.

Happy Savings!

For those of you who work, you can appreciate that Monday’s are sometimes the toughest day of the week.  I like to get myself into work mode by easing myself into the week by reading a few news articles online as well as catching up on some blogs that I follow.  Since I follow a bunch of other personal finance blogs, I decided that every “Munday” I’ll post links to a few posts from other bloggers that I think would be good reading for the readers here at In the Money. 

If you are a new reader of this blog – welcome and please subscribe using the  links to the top right of the page.  You can get email updates when I write new posts or subscribe to the RSS feed reader.

Here is some great information on how to save money on traveling at Man vs. Debt

What to do if you lose your wallet at Million Dollar Journey.

How to lower your property taxes from Financial Samurai.

Congress Extends $8000 Homebuyer Tax Credit, Adds New $6500 Credit at Five Cent Nickel.

I decided that every Friday, I am going to review a product that I either currently use, or I think could be very beneficial to the readers of this blog.  This week, I will start with Upromise. 

Upromise is a great site that I signed up for less than a  year ago when I was out of college.  In that time, the company has grown considerably and it is a really great service for anyone who is currently in college, is saving for college, or has student loans to pay off from college. I may be out of college, but Upromise has actually helped pay for some of my loans already.  I signed up my credit cards and local supermarket and CVS discount cards and totally forgot about it.  Just 2 months ago, my Sallie Mae loan account had a payment of $30 from Upromise.  Considering that I didn’t do anything at all after I signed up less than a year ago, that is not a bad contribution toward paying down my loans.  I only wish they had this when I was in high school and that I or my parents had signed up for this early on.  Imagine getting money toward your college education starting when you are young just for making everyday purchases.

Here is the company’s description:

Upromise is a one-stop college service provider that helps families earn, save and pay for higher education. With Upromise, families can automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases at grocery and drug stores, gas stations, restaurants, retail stores and online shopping sites. Upromise’s partners include ExxonMobil Corporation, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others.

I would highly recommend this website to anyone who is interested in saving money on college.  It requires only 10 min at max to sign up and you don’t even have to do anything afterward.  I didn’t change the way I make purchases and in a short time I made some money.  Even though it isn’t much, it is free, so I can’t see why anyone wouldn’t sign up for this.  Happy Savings!!

Below is a link to the site:

Join UPromise and Save for College

Everyone deals with stress at one point or another.  Sometimes, it can be the result of something that hangs over your head for a long time – other times, it can come from having too many things that need to be done all at once.  Each person has their own techniques for dealing with stress and different things work for different people.  Here are some ways that I deal with stress:

1. Take things one at a time – Take a step back from everything that is overwhelming you and breathe deep.  You may have many tasks to accomplish, but feeling overwhelmed will not help you to be more productive and it will not make the stress go away.  Get organized.  Create a list of things you need to do and think about how you can accomplish it.  Sometimes, you’ll realize that when you plan things out over the amount of time you have, you actually can do it.  It is also relieving to know that you have a plan of how to get things done.

2. Take a break - No matter how busy you are, if your mind is cluttered and you feel overwhelmed, there is no way you can be productive and efficient with your time.  If your mind is fresh, you are likely going to be more efficient and get things done quicker.  Whether it is taking 5 minutes to surf the internet, half an hr to watch TV or an hour to play sports, it can really help to take your mind off the things you need to do for a while.  Keep in mind that this tactic can be abused and can be used as an excuse for procrastination. 

3. Give yourself more time - Sometimes, it is just impossible to get everything done in the amount of time that you have.  If it is for work, ask for an extension.  If you are able to, get the most important things done first and push things back.  Giving yourself more time can when it is possible to do so can really relieve the stress. This can also be used to further procrastination – don’t fall into that trap.

4. Ask for help - This is an easy one.  If you can’t do everything yourself, don’t be afraid to ask someone for help.  At the same time, offer to help people you know who are stressed out.  They will return the favor when you are in a similar position.

5. Just get it done! - There are times when I get really stressed out because there is something I need to do that I just haven’t had time to do, or that I have just been putting it off for a long time.  Often times, these small things add up and I end up having so many things to do.  They don’t necessarily have a set deadline that I need to get them done, so I don’t do them, and they stress me out over time.  The best way to deal with these type of tasks is to just get them done! Set aside a time (for me it is often saturday morning) and get all these done at once.  I always feel better when I get these small things out of the way.

6. Get a massage - My friends are going to laugh because they know that I absolutely love massages.  I am always asking people for massages.  This is actually one of the ways that I de-stress.  Many times, my muscles tense up and it actually serves to make me more stressed.  Ask a friend to give you a 5-10 minute massage (especially if the friend is particularly good at massages).  I used to trade off giving massages to friends.  When they were stressed, I would give them massages and they would return the favor when I asked for it.  I admit though, I usually got more massages since I asked more often.

7. Exercise - Go out and play sports, go for a run, or go to the gym.  If you get your blood flowing, this can give you more energy to get down to work and it can also relax your tense muscles.  Exercising will also take your mind off all the things you need to do and give you a chance to take a break and recharge your batteries.

What ways do you de-stress?