Comments on: My Finances and Saving System With ING Direct

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 12:27:04 +0000

@Scott – Account names can only contain numbers letters and spaces, so a savings goal and amount would be fine.

Transfers between accounts and an electric orange account checking are instant, free, and unlimited.

I have never had a problem with the 6 transfer limit, but it is a federal law for savings accounts I think. I would need to look into it more, maybe in a future post. Contacting INGs service force would get you a quick answer.

Let me know if you find out anything or have any other questions.

By: Scott

Scott — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 22:59:44 +0000

I like your system. It’s very similar to what I’m looking to set up soon. I’m trying to decide between something like ING with multiple sub-accounts, or just having it all in a lump account, and having a spreadsheet that “splits” it up, so I’ve been doing a lot of research on ING.

I have a couple questions:

Are you able to rename your sub-accounts? I’m wondering what would happen if I wanted to change my savings goals, or even to put the total dollar amount we want to achieve in the name, so I can see at a glance how close to the goal I am.

I know even with ING, you are only allowed 6 transactions a month (I think only withdrawals are limited), just like all other savings accounts in the US. What happens if you go over? Do transfers between savings sub-accounts and/or the ING checking account count toward the 6 transactions? Do each of the subaccounts have a 6 transaction limit, or is it 6 for all of those accounts?

I’m glad I stumbled on your site! My wife and I are taking the plunge of doing our finances together this year, instead of me handling it all, so I’ll keep reading your site for inspiration.

By: ING Direct Drops Electric Orange Rate to 0.5% | The Happy Rock

ING Direct Drops Electric Orange Rate to 0.5% | The Happy Rock — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 04:54:35 +0000

[...] or my free email subscription to receive free updates. Thanks for visiting!Just as I was praising ING for my great financial system, they go and drop the interest rate on the checking account on December 17 [...]

By: Andy @ Retire at 40

Andy @ Retire at 40 — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:25:48 +0000

This post has been featured on the 89th Carnival of Money Stories at Retire at 40.

Cool way of sorting out your finances. Hope it goes well.

By: bill@money-saving-tips

bill@money-saving-tips — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:27:52 +0000

I didn’t know they could create new accounts on the fly like that. Very cool. That would work well with the “envelope budgeting” method. Many people used to budget that way, but it’s tough in a cashless society.

By: pranky

pranky — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:00:37 +0000

Very nice and also useful way of managing all of your money by using separate savings A/C.

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 21:54:35 +0000

We use a pretty similar system with ING. The only difference I can tell (assuming I understood you correctly) is that we have 2 checkings one and ING and one at a CU. One checking is specifically for bills, the other is for other stuff…
But I am with you in my love for ING… I hope they keep it up!

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 01:18:09 +0000

@Jeff- Thanks

@Ray – I like the weekly auto transfer, which would work for bills but not savings…the Rockette’s check doesn’t show up on regularly scheduled intervals. In general I like to do things by hand, but I think if I broke it down to a weekly level, I could be less hands off.

@Frugal Dad – We still have a local Wachovia account with a little money it for quick check writing, backup options, and counter services. I don’t think you will regret moving to Electric Orange though. You can sign up and make the transition slowly if you want. It took us a few month of transition to get comfortable and switch everything.

@Mike – In general, the replacement funds are for things that we know we want or need to replace in the future. The money doesn’t burn a whole in our accounts though. We will see what happens if the TV fund gets finished off and sits for a while though.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 22:24:03 +0000

Clever way of managing a budget, but I have a question about the replacement accounts. Doesn’t separate replacement accounts encourage you to replace it earlier if your account balance is high enough for the item you want or spend everything in that account?

By: Frugal Dad

Frugal Dad — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 17:12:55 +0000

That’s a pretty sweet system! And I thought I had a lot of ING sub-accounts (8). I have yet to take the plunge and open an ING Electric Orange checking account, but after looking at your setup it would make things much easier than transferring in from my external bank. I could always keep a little here locally to satisfy my paranoia over having money nearby.