The good people at Intuit, parent company of TurboTax have provided me with a card to giveaway for TurboTax Online Deluxe 2009! The Deluxe edition works to maximize all of the deductions you may have.  This includes both Federal and State tax returns.

Here’s a little bit about what makes TurboTax easier to file with from Tax Break (the TurboTax Blog):

• Guiding taxpayers step-by-step. Built-in guidance for more than 350 possible deductions and credits, including the 2009 Economic Stimulus, helps taxpayers get the biggest tax refund possible. More than 95 percent of U.S. taxpayers could benefit from the Economic Stimulus and the average American family could receive up to $13,000 in tax benefits
• Checking as they go, so there are no detours. Real-time error check immediately flags errors and missed information. Customers can fix mistakes as they go or come back later when they have their information in hand.
• Double-checking for commonly overlooked deductions and credits. TurboTax customers won’t miss important credits such as the earned income tax credit. An estimated 5.6 million eligible taxpayers failed to claim this credit last year, potentially missing out on as much as $4,600.
• Providing instant answers. Customers have easy ways to get answers to their questions – when and how they need them. Among these: instant answers from other TurboTax users and tax experts online via the TurboTax Live Community.
• Including audit support with every return. The TurboTax Audit Risk Meter helps customers avoid common errors and reduce their risk of an audit before they file. A downloadable Audit Support Center assists customers in the unlikely event they are audited.
• Instantly transferring investment and wage information. TurboTax customers can easily, accurately and securely import 1099 investment and W-2 wage information from more than 140 financial institutions and payroll providers directly into their tax return.

To enter the giveaway just leave a comment below telling me something you do to help save on your taxes.

The contest will run until midnight February 12th, 2010 EST.  Make sure you leave a valid email so I can contact you to send you the card. Only valid comments will be entered (I reserve the right to eliminate comments I feel are spam).  If I don’t hear back from the winner after 48 hours I may pick another winner.  Winners will be chosen randomly using Random.org.

Here are a few other TurboTax contests going on right now to help you improve your chances of winning:

TurboTax Premier: Free Turbo Tax Software! at Money Smart Life
TurboTax Premier: *Tax Tips for 2009 Tax Year (and Tax Software Giveaways) at Moolanomy
TurboTax Deluxe: Tax Documents Have Been Sent. Time To E-File Your Taxes For Free With Our TurboTax Giveaway! at Bible Money Matters
TurboTax Premier and Deluxe: The Mother of All TurboTax Giveaways! at Budgets are Sexy
TurboTax Premier and Deluxe: TurboTax Free Giveaway! at Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge
TurboTax Premier: Win a copy of TurboTax Premier right HERE! at Clever Dude
TurboTax Deluxe: It’s Tax Season – Free Turbo Tax Giveaway! at My Next Buck

Hurry if you want to get in on these additional contests as some of the deadlines are approaching quick!

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

TurboTax Online Deluxe 2009 Giveaway

On November 6, 2009 The Worker, Homeownership and Business Assistance Act was signed into law.  This move has resulted in the extension or expansion of the first time home buyer credit which was enacted previously.  In order to receive the first time home buyers tax credit you must first understand who qualifies and how you should proceed in order to get the most benefit from the tax credit.  Here we look at two frequently asked questions regarding the first time home buyer credit.

Who qualifies for the first time home buyers credit?

Anyone who is purchasing a home for the first time is eligible for the first time home buyers tax credit.  By law a first time home buyer is considered a buyer who has not previously owned a primary residence in the last three years.  If you own a vacation home or rental property that is not used as your principal residence you still qualify as a first time home buyer.  Married couples can expect to have both histories taken into consideration, if one person owned a principal residence in the previous three year period both parties are eliminated as a first time home buyer.  Anyone who has purchased a home after the November 6th extension is subject to income limits in order to qualify.

What forms are needed?

Qualifying taxpayers must submit the necessary documents in order to receive the tax credit.  When filing your 2009 tax return you will need to submit the following along with your paper return (no electronic filing):

• Form 5405- First Time Home Buyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit
• Form HUD-1, Settlement statement with buyers’ names, signatures, property address, sales price and date of purchase for conventional home sales.
• Executed retail sales contract with the same information as a settlement statement if you are unable to provide the settlement statement.
• New home construction, which does not yet have a settlement statement, requires a certificate of occupancy with the owner’s name, property address and date.

Note:  Form 5405 can be used for both first time home buyer tax credit or the repeat buyer tax credit.

What information is needed?

You will want to make sure you qualify for the tax credit before you file your tax return.  Understand income eligibility as well as what homes qualify for the tax credit.  There are a variety of requirements that have to be met based on what type of home you have purchased,  your marital status and the date when the home was purchased.  Depending on what year you wish to claim the tax, the requirements and eligibility may be different.

The first time home buyers tax credit applies to any first time home buyer who has purchased their home on or after January 1, 2009 until April 30, 2010.  This tax credit is equal to ten percent of your homes purchase price with a maximum credit of $8,000.  Home buyers who have purchased their home after November 6, 2009 are subject to the following income limits;  $125,000 for individuals and $225,000 for married couples.  To claim the first time home buyers tax credit you must submit Form 5405 and all other required documents with your 2009 tax return.

Due to the number of scenarios in which first time home owners find themselves, it is important to research and fully understand this tax credit in order to receive the maximum benefit.  Note key dates and eligibility requirements.  In addition there are also tax credits available for repeat buyers who have owned their home for five consecutive years out of the prior eight years.  Anyone in the military, Foreign Service or intelligence community may be eligible for expanded tax credits.

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit – Who It’s For And What Is Needed To Claim It

Eating is a basic human need, yet for many it is often surrounded by mystery, mystique and confusion – differentiating healthy from non-healthy is often a difficult task.  This, coupled with the challenge of eating healthy while on a budget, intensifies the issue to epidemic proportions.  Searching out the proper way to eat, while also saving on costs, can be an overwhelming task.  Below, I outline the best ways to eat well on a budget, and I hope this will aid in your mission!

Before beginning, I want to point out that these are general guidelines.   As the director of fitness and wellness at the American Institute of Healthcare & Fitness, we assess patients with a full day comprehensive wellness exam, and part of their day is spent with a nutritionist.  Family history, lifestyle, blood work results and genetic risk factors all come into play when designing an eating plan, and should be an important factor and consideration for you as well.  That being said, there are important guidelines out there that everyone can benefit from, while improving not only health, but quality of life as well.

First of all, planning is essential. Before going the store, plan ahead for how you will maneuver the grocery aisles by bringing along a list of all the foods you need to support your lifestyle.  This will prevent you from buying on impulse by sticking to the list you made ahead of time.  You can even get grocery lists for your phone now that you can save and use to compare prices of certain products in competing stores.  This also makes putting your list together a snap. Most meals should consist of protein, carbohydrates and good fats.  Eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, beef, cottage cheese and protein powders are great sources of protein.  For carbohydrates eat your veggies, some fruit and limit or completely eliminate your starchy carbohydrates.  Don’t forget to get your good fats from fish, olive oil, almonds, avocado’s, etc.

Also keep in mind, you can buy tons of great food in bulk that can be stored in your pantry or freezer. Tuna, Nuts, Olive Oil, Beans, and other healthy items can be bought in bulk to save money and can go right into your pantry.  Frozen chicken breasts, turkey breast, lean beef, fish, etc can go into your freeze, saving you a ton of money and preparing for months ahead.  A full pantry & freezer loaded with the essentials – healthy items – is a must.  Buying generic also helps cut costs: Shop for VALUE!  Brand loyalties are a thing of the past as many store brand items are just as good as the highly marketed name brand foods, just less expensive.  This goes for some of your nutritional supplements as well.

Nothing can ruin your budget faster than being so hungry that the drive through lures you in.  Once your blood sugar drops, so does your will power.  Items such as homemade trail mix with nuts and seeds and other foods will help with this.  One great way to prepare snacks for the week is planning ahead at the beginning of the week.  Cook up a batch of food in the beginning of the week and the divide it into zip lock bags.  When you are getting ready to leave the house you simply grab a zip lock bag or two and you have all your meals for the day.  The crock pot is also an incredible tool for those wanting to eat healthy on a budget and save time.  Simply put chicken in the crock pot in the morning and then when you get home at night add some veggies and you have a meal.  Take the left overs and use them for meals later in the week by using the zip lock bag trick.

Eating well doesn’t have to be a mystery if you pay close attention and plan effectively.  Eating well on a budget is just a matter of paying attention to what you are buying and where you are buying it.  Trade the cookies, chips, ice cream and fast food for  fresh fish, eggs, meat and veggies and you will save money but also enhance your health so you will not only look better but feel better which in turn will enhance every area of your life including your income.  The better you eat the more healthy, energetic and vibrant you will become which is sure to affect your income in a positive way!

John Rowley, Director of Fitness & Wellness at The American Institute of Healthcare & Fitness (www.aihfwellness.com)

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

Eating Healthy on a Budget

Ever have one of those weekends that you are both looking forward to and dreading all at once? We had that last weekend.  Two kid’s birthdays in one day will do that to you.  First up was our oldest daughter’s tenth birthday (happy b-day honey) where we took some of her friends to the roller rink and a party.  Right after we raced home to get our son’s third birthday going (happy b-day dude).  For our son’s we had family and friends over for appetizers, pizza, and cake.  The little guy is three so he doesn’t need a full-blown party out somewhere.  And having friends and family come over allows them to wish our daughter a happy birthday as well.

So it was a hectic weekend of cleaning, planning, running around, celebrating, cleaning…  But the kids had a great time so it was all well worth it!

Hey, if you can plan it out, try not to have your kids a couple of days apart!  It makes things real hectic.

Brother MFC 790CW Printer

Also wanted to mention a bit of productivity help I received some time ago – a Brother MFC-790CW All In One printer.  Why is it productivity help? It has a scanner that allows me to make copies and scan to PDF (and other formats).  I’m finding with tax time rolling up I’ve been putting receipts together like a madman, searching all over the place for them (I’m usually more organized but our move knocked me out of whack a bit).  But recently I’ve been scanning receipts to PDF as I get them and putting them in a folder marked taxed on the computer.  This way I don’t have to run around like a headless chicken looking for receipts come tax time!  I’ve also been able to download forms, fill them out and sign them, then scan them to PDF and email them rather than snail mail them.  Awesome!  The printer has a fax function but I don’t have a phone line set up for it.  Oh, I forgot one of the best features – it’s wireless!  I use a laptop and usually sit at the dining room table.  With our other printer I would have to carry the computer back to the printer to plug it in in order to print something out.  Now I can hit print and get my documents when I need them (though actually my son loves to run to the printer and get them for me).

And now for some great articles I’ve come across since my last link-up:

How To Improve Your FICO Credit Scoreover at Amateur Asset Allocator
The Samurai Fund at Financial Samurai. FS asked fellow bloggers to pick stocks based on their site names to see if we, as a group, could do as well as the S&P 500. My stock is Berkshire Hathaway, BRK-A, as in Broke. We’re doing well so far. Follow along if you want to see how the experiment goes.
The Top 50 Get Out of Debt Blogs To Watch in 2010 at Evan Carmichael. Yeah, Free From Broke is up in there!
Check out InvestorGuide.  Besides having great content on investing they have also started running some of my articles as a contributor.  Give them a look!
Bundling: Paying Extra For Crap You Don’t Want at Weakonomi¢s
E-File 101- Options for the Fast and Simple Way to Electronically File Your Taxes at Think Your Way To Wealth
DIY Alternatives to Processed Foods that Save You Money at Steadfast Finances
Bachelor’s Guide to Savings at Single Guy Money
How to Invest Now With Little Money to Start at Personal Dividends
7 Money Lessons From Monopoly at Financial Highway
Control Your Spending With A Budget at Canadian Finance Blog
How Conan O’Brien Wants You to Succeed at Budgets are Sexy
How The Credit CARD Act Of 2009 Might Be A Bad Deal at Simple Debt-Free Finance

And here are a couple of carnivals Free From Broke took part in:

Carnival of Personal Finance – Support Haiti Edition at Million Dollar Journey
Festival of Frugality at Ultimate Money Blog

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

Links 01-31-10

Ok, I need all of your help! Free Money Finance holds an article contest to vote on the best personal finance article of the last year.  Today my article is up in a tough bracket against The Centsible Life.

My article Traits Keeping You From Being Rich is up.

In order to vote all you have to do is visit the contest page here and leave your vote in the comments.  Write in TRAITS in your comment to vote for me.

The contest is going through the weekend.

This is mostly pride but there is a good cause behind it.  The top articles that win in the end will have money donated to a charity of their choice.  My choice is Doctors Without Borders, which I wrote about earlier when I talked about Haiti Relief.

Make sure you check out all of the other articles as well.  This really is a cream of the crop contest!

So let’s see how strong the Free From Broke community is and let’s see if we can get to the next round!

Thanks!

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

Need Your Vote! Free Money Finance March Madness Contest Round 1

On behalf of the government I’d like to thank you for your generous taxes.   Thank you for paying too much in taxes every paycheck.  We love the interest free loan!  We’re trillions in debt and every bit helps.  When we borrow from other countries by selling Treasuries we have to offer them interest for the loan.  Can you imagine what the interest on trillions in loans comes out to?!? But by not adjusting your W-4’s you help to keep the United States afloat, if only a little bit.

Look, I know we’re in a recession and times are tough.  It’s scary out there!  Unemployment is hovering around 10%.  We would hate to have to cut more government jobs or programs so we all love that you extend a free loan to us.  We understand you could use that money every paycheck.  Even an extra $20 can help with groceries.  Or it could even be used to build up an emergency fund, especially in these trying times.  But you choose to give the money to us instead where we can do what we want with it then give it back to you sometime next year in one lump sum.

Hey, we love that lump sum.  Know why?  Most of you will go out and spend it in one big bang.  Maybe you’ll get that vacation or upgrade your furniture? Perhaps you’ll be paying off credit card charges from the holidays (oh, thanks from the credit card companies for that one).  We love it because you’re helping to prop up the economy with your spending!  Seriously!  Don’t go adjusting your W-4.  We have a lot of things to take care of here and we can use the extra dough.

In all seriousness though, why do so many people covet that big tax refund?  Yes, the extra money feels good to get but you could be doing so much with it over the course of the year instead of in one large amount. When I’ve tried to mention to some people that they could have more money in their paycheck they automatically tune me out and insist on the big refund.

What really gets me is how many people NEED that large refund.  You depend on it to get by.  For some it will make or break your finances.  This is evidence on so many levels that you need to get a handle on your money.

How many times have you looked at your paycheck stub and cursed the taxes that were taken out?  I know I have.  It’s shocking to see how much more you could have been making without taxes.  So why add to that?!?

The IRS has information on calculating what you should withhold on your W-4 form and it continues to their withholding calculator. You should be receiving your W-2 (what you made at work) and your 1099 (what you made on investments and such) forms soon.  Take the information and use it to complete the withholding calculator to give you an idea of what should be withheld.  Use the results to complete a new W-4 form so you can pay the proper amount of taxes rather than overpay.  When in doubt ask a tax professional.

Stop giving the government a free loan.  It’s your money; you should have it in your paycheck!

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

The Government Thanks You For Your Taxes

If you’re like most people, you find the process of retirement planning somewhat intimidating.  There are lots of numbers, calculations and assumptions to make before you can decide how much you need for to save each year, how much you’ll ultimately need to retire, how big a mortgage you can handle and what type of insurance to buy.

But there’s an easier way to plan that allows you to focus on some very clear and simple goals.  Professional investors have for years been using financial ratios as shortcuts to evaluating the financial health of large companies.  By looking at a few key ratios, investors can get a quick and comprehensive assessment of what sort of shape a company is in.  The beauty of the ratios is that they compress mountains of data into one simple number that conveys a great deal of information.

Well, you too can use ratios for managing your own finances.  Now, there are differences between individuals and companies.  For one, individuals have a goal of retiring some day, and companies in essence have perpetual existence.  So the financial ratios that a company might have in 2010 could be just fine in 2050.

But individuals need to progress down a clear path that starts when they enter the workforce in their 20s (with a job and no assets) to when they leave the workforce in their mid 60s (with lots of assets and no job).  So how do you live your financial life each year with that transition in mind? That’s why I developed the ratios; to help you make that transition over your working career.  The ratios start at age 25 and lead you down the path to a secure retirement at 65, while showing you where you need to be each year along the way.

Ratios are actually used in all walks of life to simplify complex decisions and data.  For instance, if you follow sports, ratios are everywhere.  Take baseball for example.  You could get a spreadsheet of every at-bat a player had for the season and what happened, or just look at his batting average, which is a ratio of hits to at-bats.   If you like to bake, a recipe that calls for 2 cups of flour to 1 cup of milk is a ratio of 2:1.  Or if you’re into fixing cars, transmissions have gear ratios.

For the field of personal finance, I have developed a set of 8 unique ratios that individuals can use to determine how much they should be saving each year, how much they should have saved at their age, how much debt they can incur, how to invest their retirement assets, and how to buy the insurance necessary to protect their income and assets.

The goal of the ratios is to get you to a point where you can retire in your mid 60s on about 80% of what you were earning prior to retirement.  But to get there, you need to be hitting specific benchmarks along the way from ages 25 to 65. The ratios serve as a road map to help keep you on track.

Here’s an example. One of the ratios I developed is call your “Capital to Income Ratio.”  It tells you how much investment capital (retirement savings) you should have at your age if you want to be on track to retire at 65.  It’s incredibly easy to use.  You just take your household income and multiply it by the ratio, and there’s your answer.  So if you make $100,000 and your Capital to Income Ratio for your age is 3, it tells you that you should have $300,000 saved for retirement.  If you have more than that, great.  If you have less, then you can quickly determine what the gap is.

By using ratios, you’re imposing a certain amount of simple discipline that will help drive you toward your long term financial goals each year.  And the clearer the goals are, the easier it is to get your financial life organized around them.  That’s why ratios are so powerful.  They’re simple and clear.

If you’re interested in learning more, consider my book Your Money Ratios: 8 Simple Tools for Financial Security, www.yourmoneyratios.com.  This is a guest article from the author of Your Money Ratios, Charles J. Farrell.

Copyright Charles J. Farrell. All rights reserved.

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

New Financial Tools Make It Easier to Plan for Retirement

Do you remember 2000? I do.  Technology stocks were all the rage, the US had a bitter, close election between George Bush and Al Gore, and the word terrorism meant nothing to the average person.  These past ten years have flown by and these next ten years will fly by just as quickly.  If you truly devote yourself to sound financial values you will be amazed at where you will be in 2020, just ten years from now.

You will not need to win the lottery or rob a bank to transform yourself from broke to wealthy and secure financially. You simply have to take control of yourself and your finances.   Money rewards the wise and punishes the dim-witted over time.  The power of compound interest exaggerates the effect of this to an even greater degree.  Instead of buying a new $30,000 car, buy a reliable, used $12,000 car.  The $18,000 you save could end up being $40,000 in ten years and $200,000 in thirty!

How much money you make is obviously very important.   It is a lot easier for a surgeon to succeed financially than a teacher, however playing “defense” financially is even more important.  I have seen teachers and nurses out save lawyers and engineers far too many times.

The first thing that you need to do, no matter what situation you are in, is to see how much money you bring home monthly and where the money you are earning is being spent.  Create monthly budgets and do everything in your power to curb your spending.  Ideally you should save around 20% of your take home income, but the more the merrier.

Next you should pay off any debt, especially credit card debt. The average American has over $8,000 worth of credit card debt to his or her name, which is crippling!   I suggest that you “debt snowball” a term popularized by Dave Ramsey.  This means that you will be paying off your debt in order from the smallest you owe to the largest.

Paying off your debt could take a while depending on what situation you are in, but in the long run it does not matter when exactly you get out of debt, just that you do end up getting out of debt.  As long as you stay completely committed to turning your finances around, you will be out of debt before you know it.  Once you are out of debt you will be amazed at both the piece of mind you have financially and the things that you can now do with your money.  Invest 20% your money in a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds, and even real estate and you will have completely transformed in just a decade.

You cannot realistically go from being broke to being a billionaire in just 10 years, but you can completely turn your finances around.  Becoming “free from broke” will change your life in every way imaginable.  You will live better and healthier and you will be doing the right thing for you and your family.

In ten years when we laugh about how silly we were to use ipods, watch youtube, and use gas to fill up our vehicles, you have the ability to completely change your life for the better.

This is a guest article from Evan at StockInvesting101.  Evan is a college student who has started to blog about the stock market and personal finance.

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

What Will The Next Ten Years Be For You Financially?

Your financial life has a certain trajectory—similar to a train on a track.  There will be twists and turns, but you can easily determine where you will end up if you stay on the financial track you’re currently on.  What if the traditional methods of working hard, cutting expenses, and saving don’t work for you?  Brown bagging it every day won’t cause you to jump tracks and end up somewhere completely different.  The guy living in the mansion overlooking the ocean didn’t buy that house by clipping coupons, and the chick passing you in a $400,000 Maybach didn’t get that way by eliminating her morning latte.  For most of us, the gap between where we are and where want to be is so wide that we’ll never be able to close it by following traditional financial advice.

What’s the solution? If you’re tired of scraping by you’ve got to create.  If you want to move out of your apartment or make more than minimum wage, you’ve got to create.  If you want a big house overlooking the ocean, to travel first class, to quit your job, or to drive your dream car, guess what?  The answer is in the other 8 hours.  The answer is to shift from being a full-time consumer to being a part-time Cre8tor.

A what?  A Cre8tor is a creative entrepreneur who has a day job but wants more.  He isn’t content with the status quo, and is less than thrilled with the thought of working another 40+ years.  He knows that the only way to “jump the tracks” to get to a new financial level is to do something different during the other 8 hours.  A Cre8tor utilizes his strengths, passions, and/or expertise to create something unique and valuable—maybe he’ll start a blog, work on an invention, write a screenplay, or start a business.  If you settle for a paycheck, you’ll only be worth what your employer pays you.  But if you create something valuable, there’s virtually no limit to your worth.

A long commute, brainless boss, and an empty bank account can wreak havoc on your outlook, hope, and purpose, but a side project or venture can bring inspiration to your life.  When you’re passionate about what you’re creating during the other 8 hours, you can endure even the worst day.  It will change your whole morning routine.

Creating provides purpose and it provides a reason to get out of bed in the morning.  It provides the hope that life can improve.  When you create, it engages your mind and your soul.

Should you really spend some of your precious other 8 hours creating, or would we be better off having fun and enjoying ourselves?  Studies show that most of us are not fulfilled mentally or emotionally in our day jobs.  We work, not because we are passionate about what we’re doing, but for a paycheck.  Even though you might be stuck at your day job doing something that doesn’t fully capture your mind and heart, that doesn’t mean what you create during the other 8 hours has to feel like work.  In fact, it shouldn’t feel like work at all.  I want you to be excited and passionate about what you create and about the potential results you can achieve.

With very few exceptions, anybody who has attained any level of financial success has created something.  It might be a book, a CD, an invention, a website, or whatever. Look around you.  Everything you see was originally just an idea in someone’s head.

You are living in the most exciting and mind blowing time we have ever experienced.  It is rich with opportunities that literally didn’t exist just a few years ago.  Unless your last name was Rockefeller or Carnegie, it used to be incredibly difficult to become rich.  Becoming a millionaire wasn’t even a dream or an ambition.  It was such an impossibility that it wasn’t worth a moment’s thought.

Because of technology, efficiencies, and a global economy, it’s much easier to become wealthy with much less effort than at any other time in history.  As a Cre8tor, you’ll add more excitement and purpose into your life.  You will live your passion and make more money.

About The Other 8 Hours & Robert Pagliarini
In his new book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose, Robert  empowers people to live life to the fullest by radically changing the way they spend “The Other 8 Hours” – the 8 hours not spent sleeping or working.   To learn more about becoming a Cre8tor and to get several free tools and resources, go to other8hours.com.  [Ed. Note: This has been a guest article from Robert Pagliarini.  I can relate to what Robert is writing here and I see the reasons why I started this site in this article.  I'm hoping the book is as enticing as what Robert has written here (my copy just arrived).]

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

Make More Money and Live Your Passion: Become a Cre8tor

I’ve had a savings account with ING Direct going back to 2003.  I was at my parent’s house doing my taxes on their computer with Turbo Tax.  At the end of the session an ad popped up with an offer to sign up to ING Direct and get what I recall a $50 bonus.  I had heard of them before but being 2003 I was skeptical of online banking.  But since ING Direct required a dollar to sign up I figured it was worth doing for nothing more than the $50 bonus.

So I signed up and waited out the bonus period.  Then I realized the interest rate I was getting with ING Direct really was a lot better than my brick and mortar bank.  I kept the online account and added to it.  And added to it.  And bought CD’s.  And set up automatic transfers.  And told all my friends.  Today I can honestly tell you that I have made thousand in interest in my ING Direct savings account!  I would not have that with my brick and mortar!

Let me count the ways I love ING Direct:

1. You give me much more interest than my brick and mortar bank.  I recall rated being near 5% at one time.  That was great!  Even though rates are much lower these days they are still MUCH more than what my other bank offers.  Everything counts and everything earns more interest.  What I would get in cents with my other bank is dollars with ING Direct!

2. You make it easy to save with automatic transfers.  Setting up automatic savings is such  powerful tool to start to accumulate wealth.  I always used to tell myself I would put money into savings but by the end of the month whatever was left after bills and rent would get spent leaving nothing for savings.  With automatic transfers into my savings account the money goes into the account before it has a chance to be spent.

3. You allow me to create sub-accounts to save for different purposes.  A great option with ING Direct is the ability to create sub-accounts.  You can use these accounts to save up for specific purposes.  When we were getting married we had a 0% interest offer from Amex.  We signed up and charged whatever we could to the card (within our budget of course).  Instead of paying back the full amount we only paid back the minimum (remember 0% interest).  We tool the balance of the money and put it into a sub-account we created called Amex.  When the 0% offer ended we took the money out of our Amex sub-account, which had been earning interest all along, and paid off our balance.  We used ING Direct to earn money off of our Amex charges!!  That’s just one of the sub-accounts we’ve set up.  Another is a sub-account for our daughter to save in so she can see her money grow and learn the power of compound interest.

4. Your customer service is to notch!  I’ve called many a company and service center.  ING Direct is consistently one of the best in customer service.  They are always nice.  They are always helpful.  And they know what they are talking about.  I’ve called them many times over the years and I haven’t had a bad call experience once.  Many a company out there can learn a lot from ING Direct customer service!

5. You give me a bonus for referring friends and give them a bonus too.  ING Direct has an awesome referral program.  If you refer a friend and they open an account with at least $250 then they get a bonus of $25 and you get a bonus of $10.  Your friends can then refer their friends and so on…  Make sure you get to all of your friends and family first!!

6. I save with your CD’s and sometimes you even give me a bonus for rolling them over.  ING Direct CD’s are easy to open up.  Like savings, they offer competitive interest rates.  They let you set up where you want your money to go when the CD matures including rolling it over into a new CD.  Sometimes ING Direct will give you a higher rate to roll over a CD.

7. You bought ShareBuilder.  I was intrigued with ShareBuilder when they were separate but didn’t sign up.  When they were acquired by ING Direct I knew they were being handled by a company with great customer service and products and my trust in them grew exponentially.  I now invest through ShareBuilder’s automatic investing program (and some real trades).  I can now say I own a little piece of Warren Buffet’s empire.  Oh yeah, ShareBuilder allows for fractional shares with their automatic investing.

8. Your Electric Orange checking is innovative and you have more ATM location than my brick and mortar.  We recently signed up for an Electric Orange checking account so we’re still discovering ways to use it.  Right now it makes for a great way to budget a debit card by only putting a specific amount of money in the account.  They also offer interest on their checking as well as bill/pay for your bills.  They will even mail out checks for you!  What really surprises me is they have more local ATM’s than my brick and mortar (a well known national bank) does.

9. You have a cool Tips & Tools section as well as We The Savers.  Long before frugal was popular, when folks were spending like water, ING Direct had a Tips & Tools section on their site full of savings tips.  I read the every month!  Then they created a blog, We The Savers, offering readers additional information as well as guest articles from awesome personal finance bloggers (check out my contribution: I’m Not Smart Enough To Save On My Own).

10. You sponsor the NYC marathon.  Awesome!  I’ve run it twice and both times it’s been the ING NYC Marathon.  Does this help most customers specifically?  Maybe not, but the NYC Marathon raises millions for various charities every year and find it real cool that ING Direct sponsors it.

11. You make saving easy and fun!  It always feels great to see how much I’ve earned in interest.  I love that they tell you the total since you started with them on their statement.  Signing up with ING Direct was a huge turning point in my fight to take control of my finances and eliminate my debt.  I earn interest. I save.  I continually see the power of compound interest.  Seriously, ING Direct is one of my favorite financial products.

These days there are a lot of banks out there that offer online accounts with competitive rates.  But I’ve always been happy with ING Direct and their customer service and usability is great!  I honestly tell all of my friends about ING Direct and I’ve gotten many thank you’s and no complaints.

Do you have an ING Direct account?  What is your experience with them?

(This article contains affiliate links for which I receive a referral fee if you sign up through the link.  I love what ING Direct offers whether you sign up through the links here or not.)

Copyright © Free From Broke - A Personal Finance Blog Please visit for more great content!

How I Love Thee ING Direct, Let Me Count The Ways