Note: This site is currently "Under construction". I'm migrating to a new version of my site building software. Lots of things are in a state of disrepair as a result (for example, footnote links aren't working). It's all part of the process of building in public. Most things should still be readable though.

E-Trade Savings and Online banking

E-Trade has recently started offering a great saving account that they call "Complete Savings". It's your basic bank savings account except for the fact that they are offering roughly 5% Interest. They have a list of their rates here. All the savings accounts I've had before at traditional banks have had less than 1% interest. For example, I have a Wachovia savings account and their interest rate for balance (like mine) less than $10,000 is 0.2% The E-Trade Complete Savings has no minimum and you can start the account with as little as one dollar. Taking the compounding out of it for now, let's say you put $1,000 in the E-Trade account and $1,000 in a Wachovia type account. After one year The E-Trade account would have made $50 compared to $2 from the competition. To use E-Trade of course, you have to be comfortable with Online Banking. Personally, I don't have a problem with it. In fact, I've been using E-Trade since about 2000 (if memory serves). In fact, I use them as my primary bank these days. In regards to the Wachovia account I mentioned earlier, I still keep that one open cause every now and then, I want to be able to walk into a branch. Also, I use Wachovia for my ATM since they are right across the street from me. This way I avoid racking up ATM fees.