Got our emergency fund, where to save it to earn the most interest??

[Pennstater]

I previously had our emergency fund saved with ING, online savings, it was paying around 2%,

Now it's down to less than 1%.

Any ideas were to save the money, but have quick access to it and still earn interest?

I checked bankrate.com and it shows both interest checking and mm savings around the same, 1%.

[motherofmolly]

i am of no help. i keep mine in the savings account of our regular bank because i am too chicken of the what if's!! lol

[greenfrog57]

Check discoverbank.com b/c DH was just mentioning the interest rates there.

[greenfrog57]

Also for FL and DC residents, there's a $100 bonus at Urban Trust Bank. $100 Checking Account Bonus at Urban Trust Bank in FL & DC - Local Only

[Pennstater]

Wow, the $100 bonus sounds great, but have to set up direct dep and use the debit 5x per month. I probably won't do that. The discover bank is paying 1.2%, good!

Thanks for the 2 ideas, appreciate it

[lbrown1618]

:-(
also looking for a better idea for mine. Everything kinda stinks right now. There are CD's or bond, but those are minimally better than a savings - not worth the required longterm commitment.

[kschick96]

We have a credit union here that was paying 6% for a checking account that you had to meet three requirements on
1. Make 10 debit transactions per month
2. Get your bank statement e-mailed to you
3. Check your balance online at least once a month.

We decided to use this as our savings account because the interest was better than anywhere else. We make our 10 debit transactions and then reimburse ourselves with our checking account. THe first of this year, they dropped the rate to 4%, which is still better than most things out there. So don't forget to check out credit unions!

[lbrown1618]

wow yes 4% is great right now!!

credit unions do seem to have better rates than banks, but none around here are close to 4%

[mnopqr]

I looked into high reward checking accounts and opened an account at 4%.

Here is the website: High Yield Reward Checking Accounts - Compare reward checking account rates

There are some requirements such as 10-15 debit/credit transactions per month, get monthly statement online only, make 1 direct deposit or automated payment per month, maximum amount $25K or $10K.

But, it's worth it to me to make 4% on $25K per year. That's $1000 I wouldn't have otherwise.

Oh, and my impression is that it may be necessary to have good credit to open one of these accounts. Just based on some people online saying they were turned down for an account.

[mnopqr]

The particular bank we use is no longer on the list. It is a Texas bank that used to offer accounts nationwide, but has since restricted accounts to Texas residents.