2011 High-Yield Checking Survey

Even just switching savings accounts can tack a full percentage point onto your earnings, says Greg McBride, CFA, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com. “That’s an easy way to boost return,” he says.

But there are other low-risk instruments you can tap, including rewards checking, low-penalty certificates of deposit and bank incentives.

It can take some scouting. Big banks usually don’t offer big rates these days. “Sometimes you can get better deals at community banks and credit unions,” says Ken Tumin, a financial blogger who writes about deposit accounts. For example, two-thirds of the banks offering rewards checking are community-based, he says.

One word of caution: Don’t choose a higher rate over safety. Make sure your money is insured, Tumin says. Banks are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Read more…

Citi is offering a great sign-up bonus — $665 in travel rewards — on its ThankYou Premier Card. But this is a limited-time offer set to expire June 30.

Sign up for the Citi ThankYou Premier Card (www.citicards.com) and you’ll earn 50,000 bonus ThankYou points if you spend $2,000 during the first three months.

You can redeem the points on a variety of things, but its best value comes in gift cards or for travel through Citi.

You can earn $500 in gift cards from any merchant or you can choose to receive $665 in travel rewards when you book through Citi.

This is even better than the Chase sign-up bonus I wrote about in May.

Also included with the Citi ThankYou Premier Card is a solid rewards program, offering cardholders 1.2 ThankYou points for every dollar spent at gas stations, drug stores, supermarkets, on commuter transportation or for parking.

Every other dollar spent will earn one ThankYou point, and every year you renew the Citi ThankYou Premier Card, you’ll receive an anniversary bonus of up to 5%.

Read more…

The clerk tempts you at the checkout counter: “Sign up for our store credit card and receive 10% off your first purchase.”

Store credit cards are a great way for retailers to keep tabs on their customers while providing less-than-favorable terms.

But is there ever a good time to own one?

Pros of store credit cards If you plan to make a sizeable purchase at a store — $1,000 or more — and are looking for a 10%-20% discount, signing up for its credit card is not a bad idea.

But only if you pay it off before interest accrues.

Most store-branded cards also provide a decent rewards program that could make these cards a better option at their stores than a rewards credit card like the Chase Freedom Visa or Discover More Card.

Store credit cards also can be used to build credit, especially if you have poor credit.

Read more…

Rob Lowe’s new memoir, “Stories I Only Tell My Friends,” is most impressive for its account of Lowe’s prestigious lifelong cadre of friends. Over the course of a career that has taken him from the Brat Pack to “The West Wing,” and now to one of the funniest shows on television, NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” Lowe has partied with stars from Andy Warhol to Charlie Sheen, and his memoir spares none of the dirty details. 

Rob Lowe

How did you support yourself back in your struggling actor days?

Oh, gosh. I was fired from every job I ever had other than anything in the entertainment industry. When you can’t keep a job as a busboy at the Nantucket Light in Malibu, (Calif.), or as the projectionist at the Malibu Cinema, you know you have some issues.

At the Malibu Cinema, I threaded the projector backward. At Nantucket Light, they didn’t like that I was eating mud pie out of the walk-in freezer. S

Read more…

We all dream of a “successful” retirement, but are you doing anything to help make that success a reality? The truth is that a prosperous retirement isn’t going to just happen. You have to plan in order to find success in retirement. As you consider your retirement options, consider, too, the following:

Where Will Your Money Come From?

The first thing you need to figure out is where your money will come from. You can practice looking for money leaks in your budget right now, in order to reduce your spending. However, you can’t just rely on downsizing during your retirement. You also have to know where your money is going to come from.

Most people assume that some of it will come from Social Security, and some of it will come from the distributions they take from a retirement account. However, what happens if Social Security fails, and the stock market crashes right before you retire? You nee

Read more…

Hudson City Savings Bank is continuing its rate-cutting ways, having just reduced the return on its money market accounts for the second time in less than a month.

That has sent the New Jersey bank sliding down our rankings of the best nationally available MMA rates.

Hudson City and AmTrust Direct had shared the lead from mid-February through early May, offering savers a top return of 1.25% APY.

AmTrust Direct still does.

But Hudson City’s interest rate was cut to 1.15% APY a few weeks ago and is now down to 1.05% APY, putting it in a three-way tie for fourth place among the best MMAs.

The only drawback to AmTrust Direct’s MMA is that you must maintain a balance of at least $10,000 to qualify for its top interest rate. Balances of less than $10,000 (or greater than $149,000) earn a more modest 0.50% APY.

Read more…

Thinking of living abroad? Join the club. Faced with a sluggish job market at home, a growing number of Americans are looking outside the country for career and growth opportunities.

“People are rethinking what they’re doing with their lives,” says Troy Peden, co-founder of GoAbroad.com, a clearinghouse for overseas internships, volunteer opportunities and work programs whose Web traffic has notably increased since the start of the recession. “Many people fantasize about living abroad and now they’re taking advantage of the situation (to do so).”

But before you start pricing plane tickets, take stock of the financial implications of leaving the country.

Read more…

There’s been little excitement in 36-month CD rates since Quaint Oak Bank popped in and out of the top spot more than a month ago.

The current 36-month leader on our CD Rates Leaderboard?

Who else, but Melrose Credit Union.

The New York City-based credit union is back on top with its ever-steady 2.17% APY with a $5,000 minimum deposit. (Quaint Oak now offers 1.80% APY with a $500 minimum deposit, four-tenths of a percentage of a point less than its final leader rate.)

Tennessee Commerce Bank has been just behind Melrose since March 2. The bank, which has a single location in Franklin, Tenn., continues to pay 2.15% APY with a $2,500 minimum deposit. <

Read more…

Bank of Sullivan invites consumer to take advantage of their best interest rate reward checking account called Priority Plus Checking. The bank lets you earn an interest rate of 3.25% for your account balances up to $25,000. you can also save up to $25 for ATM fees since you can refund it if you meet the following requirements:

• subscribe to electronic bank statement
• make at least 12 purchases at the point of sale using your debit card
• setup at keast one direct debit or direct deposit per statement cycle
• use online banking once per statement cycle
• setup a one bill payment per statement cycle

Bank of Sullivan will require you to deposit a minimum balance of $100 to open an account and enjoy their high interest rate reward checking account.

Individuals who want to open an account will have to visit Bank of Sullivan.

Read more…