Financial Friday: Where do I put my money?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted Step 2: Setting up a Monthly Budget for professional nannies and others on making sure you have enough money for your fixed and flexible expenses. JanStClair commented and asked

"Will you address expenses that come due annually, such as insurance? In the
past, I've divided them by twelve and put them into the monthly budget. But it
does confuse me because it looks like I have more money in the bank than I
should until WHAM, the bill comes due."

This was an excellent question. I have quarterly, semi annually and annually bills due as well. Jan was correct that you should be saving for these monthly in your budget along with other expenses like clothing, gas, food and utilities. I have been using the online ING Orange Savings account at ING Direct This is an online savings account that is linked to my checking account. I can put money into my ING Orange Savings Account at any time online or via phone. What you would do is monthly deposit your expenses that you are saving for later pay dates. When it is time to pay the bill you will need at least 3 business days for the transfer from Orange Savings to your checking account. You can also set up an automatic transfer from your checking to your ING Orange Savings.

This is taken from the website regarding Orange Savings:

Watch Your Savings Grow.
Earn a variable 1.30% Annual Percentage Yield (effective 09/09/2009). Open an Orange Savings Account today.

The Orange Savings Account

• High Interest, No Fees, No Minimums - All your money goes to work for you.


• No Changing Banks - It electronically links to your current checking account. Transfers are free and easy.


• FDIC Insured - Your deposits are FDIC–insured up to $250,000 per depositor.


• Quick Application - Start saving in less than 5 minutes.


• Start now

The other really neat thing is that you can earn $25 free from ING for setting up an ING savings account with an initial $250 deposit. That is a 10% return on your deposit. If you are interested in receiving the email for this email me at thefinancialnanny (at) gmail (dot)com. I will receive $10 per person that signs up through the special link. I will be using the money I receive from this to buy holiday items for a local children's shelter that ADCAN is working with closely throughout the coming year.