My little garden is so cute (especially since its tiny now). I "jerry-rigged" a planter to hang off my concrete wall on my patio and stuck some flowers in it. I'm planning on buying a few more to begin sprucing up my balcony (now that the HOA spent $4,000.00 to replace it), but I wanted to make sure the railings fit before I bought a whole lot of them.
I also had a little extra $$$ on my paycheck so I sent a bit more towards my mortgage. ($116.45 extra this month instead of just the $60.00 I normally send over there).
I'm contemplating opening up another online savings account at Sallie Mae so I can start putting some of my emergency fund into high yield cd's. 3% for 5 years with no minimum. I figure I have $7,000.00 of my emergency fund in Cash... that it might make since to start opening a $100.00 CD each month with some of the new emergency fund money... but part of this seems so counter intuitive since last year I simplified my banks and closed all extraneous accounts sans BOFA and ING... but i'm considering opening up some at sallie Mae because the CD rate is almost triple what ING is offering... Thoughts?
Have you considered looking into small local banks and credit unions? I had a good chunk of money in multiple accounts at Emigrant Direct back when you could actually get something for savings but when rates started to drop I went to my local Savings & Loan and was able to open a "Preferred Checking" account with a fixed rate for 1 year of 1.85% as long as I maintain a minimum balance of $5k, otherwise I just get a lower rate. E.D. is currently offering a mere 1% for savings. For me this was a great way to keep this money liquid without sacrificing any chance of earning interest. They usually offer higher yields on CDs and such as well. Just something to think about. Consumer Advocate Clark Howard (www.clarkhoward.com) is a trusty resource as well for bargain hunters.
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