Bank of the West is paying a $100 bonus for opening a new checking account.
Although the offer is available nationwide, we wouldn’t recommend it to anyone outside the 20 states where Bank of the West has more than 700 branches.
That’s because it doesn’t provide free use of ATMs at other banks — a great perk [...]

With CD and savings account rates plunging to record lows every week, it may be the time to consider a more lucrative alternative — social or peer-to-peer lending.
This is where you loan money directly to worthy borrowers through a Web site, rather than putting your money in a bank and allowing its loan officers to [...]

You can land a $50 bonus and top rate with Ridgestone Bank’s checking and savings account combo.
Its Momentum Savings account pays 2.50% APY on balances between $2,500 and $50,000.

That beats the best nationally available savings account rate, 2.25% APY from SFGI Direct, and matches the best deals on 24-month CDs.
To qualify for that rate you [...]

A small bank in West Virginia has taken over the top spot in our rankings of the best, nationally available savings accounts.
SFGI Direct is paying 2.25% APY with a minimum deposit of only $500.

SFGI Direct is the online division of Summit Community Bank, headquartered in Moorefield, W.Va., which has branches throughout the state and [...]

Add a new bank to our list of the top-paying, high-yield checking accounts.
It’s Royal Banks of Missouri, a 40-year-old institution with six branches in the St. Louis area.
It’s Majestic Checking Account is offering 4.30% APY on balances up to $25,000.
That’s the second-best rate we know of on a nationally-available checking account, topped only by [...]

If you want to take advantage of the best money market rates you’ll have to give three online banks that have been thoroughly trashed by our readers another chance
AmericaNet Bank, Redneck Bank, and Evantage Bank are all paying 2.0% APY on their “Mega Money Market” accounts.
That’s the best, nationally-available deal since EverBank cut the [...]

Ally Bank lowered its CD rates twice in the past two weeks after the government threatened to withdraw government support from its owner if it paid savers too much.
How much is too much?
A letter from Sandra Thompson, director of the FDIC’s Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, infers that she doesn’t want to find [...]

It’s a topsy-turvy world when checking accounts are the most lucrative investment around.
Yet that’s the case.
Hundreds of community banks across the country are paying 4% APY or more on high-yield checking accounts at a time when savings accounts, money market accounts and certificates of deposit are paying half that much.
Some banks limit these accounts [...]

If you’d ask us a week ago, we’d have said ShoreBank in Chicago and Heartland Bank Direct in St. Louis had the top-paying savings accounts.
At the time, ShoreBank was paying 2.45% APY and Heartland 2.30% APY.
We aren’t sure any savings account paying less than 3% should be considered a high-yield savings account, but that’s [...]

AmTrust Direct has won lots of attention from Bankaholic over the years.
It continues to have one of the top-paying money market accounts in the country, and back in 2006 we praised the awesome 5.51% it was offering on 6-month CDs.
But the online division of AmTrust Bank in Cleveland is overhyping its current CD rates when [...]

It’s great to have money stashed away to pay for all of those holiday gifts without running up big credit card bills.
That’s the advantage of joining a Christmas Club at your bank or credit union.
You make a deposit every month or sign up for a payroll deduction from every paycheck. You can start [...]

We don’t think anything paying a pathetic 0.10% should be promoted as a “high-yield” savings, checking or money market account.
Yet lots of banks and credit unions are doing that as they cut rates to virtually nothing on accounts that haven’t lived up to their name for months — if they ever did.
We’re talking about you, [...]

Community First Bank of Howard County is offering some competitive CD rates (2.75% for 24 months with a $500 minimum deposit.)
The bank, with three branches in Kokomo, Ind., can afford that because it pays almost nothing on its money market and savings accounts.
How little? Try 0.10%, even on deposits of $500,000 or more.
But what [...]

It pays 0.95% APY whether you invest $1,000, $10,000 or $100,000.
That’s well below the national average of 1.57% for two-year CDs and comes from the latest acquisition of Wells Fargo & Co. — the big San Francisco-based bank that delighted Wall Street this week when it reported earning $3 billion in the first quarter.
The Dow [...]

Here’s why you should never trust your savings to offshore banks.
Millennium Bank, based in St. Vincent and the Grenandines, started advertising suspicously high CD rates back in 2004. And it wasn’t shy about going after the big money, placing ads in glossy magazines aimed at wealthy consumers.
Millennium typically offered 1.5 to 2 percentage points more [...]

“This is weak man.”
That’s how the hilarious E*Trade Baby would undoubtedly describe this offering from the online broker’s banking operation:
1.00% APY on certificates of deposit ranging from 12- to 24-months.
Just drop $1,000 into your E*Trade CD, watch compound interest work its magic for a year, and take your hard earned $10 to Taco Bell. [...]

Let’s face it. Rates really suck right now.
It’s hard to get excited about building a nest egg when even the most lucrative CDs, savings and money market accounts are only offering 2% or 3%.
But maybe you’ll be able to whip up a little more enthusiasm after seeing our pick for the worst rate of the [...]

… To convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA.

This is one of the few, small advantages we can think of to the big decline in stock and mutual fund prices.

Since you contributed pre-tax dollars to a traditional IRA, you must pay ordinary income taxes on your contributions and any earnings when you convert to [...]

Lots of banks, especially smaller banks, are trying to woo customers with “step-up” certificates of deposit.
They promise buyers that they can “step up” to a higher interest rate if the bank raises the advertised rate on that type of CD any time during the term of the loan.
Most banks will let you step up once. [...]

Every year, millions of Americans file their 1040s and end up having to pay taxes, even after all possible deductions have been taken. Many are able to itemize, while others are eligible for dependent care credits or above-the-line deductions for their retirement plan contributions. But those who have enjoyed short-term market gains or other investment [...]

While you would probably love to be able to reap the gains of the stock market, you may not be willing to endure the risk and volatility that comes with that territory. At this point, you may be too close to retirement to be willing to subject your portfolio to a possible market downturn. However, [...]

Millions of Americans are more than willing to purchase life insurance on themselves and their loved ones in case of death, disability insurance in case of disability and long-term care coverage to cover assisted living expenses. However, many of them are not aware of simple legal document that can greatly aid their families in the [...]

Millions of Americans that save money in their IRAs or qualified plans have no intention of withdrawing that money until after they reach age 59 ½. Unfortunately, there are times when circumstances dictate that this is absolutely necessary. Any number of of misfortunes, such as medical expenses from an uninsured accident or an extended period [...]

Hedge fund activity currently constitutes approximately 30 percent of all equity trade volume. So if you have any experience with equity trading, or even a slight interest in this type of venture, then you’ve probably been tempted to get involved with one of these notorious private investments funds. And make no mistake, [...]

For millions of Americans, fixed annuities provide safety of principal, tax deferral and higher rates than those offered by banks and other traditional savings institutions. However, one disadvantage inherent in most fixed annuity products is their inability to keep up with inflation over the long term.
For example, assume that you invest $100,000 into a single [...]

While many older Americans are afraid of the stock market with its risk and volatility, their perception of bonds and other fixed-income securities are often very different. Even though the values of many fixed-income investments fluctuate in the secondary market, the interest that they pay remains constant. Furthermore, the rates on many of these instruments [...]

The last several years have seen an explosion in the equity-indexed annuity arena, with a growing number of companies offering more and more products in this category. But while these hybrid annuities can provide many benefits to investors for whom they are suitable, they can also pose some risks to those that do not understand [...]

For millions of Americans, the choice between term and permanent insurance can be a confusing one. A number of variables factor in to whether one is more appropriate than the other for most consumers, such as debt level, health and longevity, and the size of one’s estate. There are a number of arguments on both [...]

Many investors are constantly looking for ways to increase their investment returns, particulary in their IRA accounts. Those who have stock in their IRAs can use a simple option trading strategy to increase the returns they are getting from their stock holdings. This strategy, known as covered call writing, is a conservative way to generate [...]

If you count yourself as one of the masses that is sick and tired of the daily grind of your mindless job, then getting out and starting your own business is a real possibility. It may seem like a daunting task; but you can get into business on your own with as [...]