ING Slacking as a place to park cash - Any Recommendations

[ShokWaveRider]

All:

I am getting fed up with the poor returns of ING and am considering fireing (Excuse the Pun) them. 4.35% simply does not cut it in todays interest(ing) (Sorry Another Pun) climate.

I am looking for a place to put my annual $50k living and playing cash. I have heard a lot about folks like Emigrant etc. I would like to have a dedicated thread for this discussion so I can make a decision and move it.

Any help and comments would be appreciated. Especially if people are actually doing the same thing as I am. The Money must be 100% liquid. Save the few days to get it to a checking account etc.

Thanks

SWR

 

[maddythebeagle]

I have 1 dollar sitting in my ING account. Citibank, HSBC, ED, virtual savings....lots of them over 5%. Pick your poison

 

[brewer12345]

Yup. Hard to beat short term T bills if you pay state income tax, although obvipusly they wouldn't be totaly liquid.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Yup. Hard to beat short term T bills if you pay state income tax, although obvipusly they wouldn't be totaly liquid.

Florida, No State IT.

SWR

 

[KB]

I keep one year's expenses in my Emigrant Direct account. No problems yet and it's been at least a year since I opened my acct.

I also have one of their CDs.

 

[semtex]

GMACBANK, I am the only one using it?

 

[Donzo]

I opened up an E savings account with citicorp. they are paying 5% w/no fees, free checks. Easy to wire money into/out of. Been great so far.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Is bankrate.com's list of best interest saving accounts on track? They do list Emigrant etc.

SWR

 

[Cut-Throat]

Yup I use Emigrant Direct - Currently 5.15% - They seem to keep the rates up and transferring money in and out is a piece of cake.

 

[OAG]

7 Month CD (NCUA Insured): 5.75 Yield. (Good spot for next years RE Taxes). VyStar CU Florida.
28 Day T-BILL 5.191% in last weeks auction (Can be set up to immediately roll over at end of first 28 day period). VERY LIQUID at this term.
For good rates, longer term, Pentagon FCU 3,4, or 5 year (6.0 % Yield). $1,000 minimum.
Also Navy FCU has larger amount ($15,000 minimum) at 6.25% Yield for 15 month.
Safe fixed rate stuff.

 

[lazyday]

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but:

-I've read that ED is noticably quicker than HSBC at moving your money around, so you collect interest for more days. So if that matters, could move ED above HSBC as a choice, though I think HSBC may have more features--not sure.

-The quoted figures on 28 day bills do not fully reflect compounding, so the apy is even better than that.
But, if pure liquidity is important, it might not be worth it... I don't think this would add up to that much extra interest per year anyway, on $50,000. (That Navy CD has a bigger $ difference, but bigger liquidity difference too. 6.25% on 15mo sounds pretty good to me.)

Here's some more recent auctions, but not apy's: http://www.treasurydirect.gov/RI/OFBills

 

[d]

i'd suggest you use http://www.fatwallet.com/t/52/437553/ to find the most current rates

 

[Sheryl]

I use G E Interest Plus -

http://www.geinterestplus.com.   

 

[LOL!]

I have $0 in my ING account for the last few months.

I use Vanguard Prime MMF which has a 7-day yield of 5.11% which someone around here told me was about 5.25% APY.  That ain't bad considering you haven't tied up your cash in a CD.

As for liquidiy, Vanguard lets you transfer money via their web site to your checking account, but my bank gives me no-holds whatsoever on checks I deposit from my MMFs.  That is, I write a check and the money is available for me to use right then.
It takes longer to have money available from an ACH transfer, so I tend not to do that.

 

[Andre1969]

When I discovered these MMA's, ING was the first one I found. Later I stumbled upon Emigrant, and ended up transferring most of the ING money over there. I think I left about $250 in the ING account. I should probably just transfer it out and close it, but I figured I'd keep it open just in case. Like, if by some freak of nature, ING started paying more than Emigrant. Doesn't look like that's happening though.

 

[cube_rat]

Thank you for starting this thread! I, too have become annoyed with ING's failure to respond to the rising interest rates. Because of this thread, I've opened a Citibank account. I shall be transferring my emergency funds from ING rather quickly....

 

[cube_rat]

I use G E Interest Plus -

http://www.geinterestplus.com.   

I had a GE interest plus account.  I was happy with them until they wired  75,000 to another account in tim buck two, when I was closing escrow on a house.    I spent several hours tracking down my money all over the planet, all because someone hand wrote my account number incorrectly.  Sorry for the rant, but the GE name brings it out in me.

 

[Gumby]

I use Vanguard Prime MMF which has a 7-day yield of 5.11% which someone around here told me was about 5.25% APY.  

If your federal marginal tax rate exceeds 33%, the Vanguard Tax Exempt MMF (3.45% 7-day yield) is a better choice than the taxable Prime MMF.  It offers the same ease of use.

They also offer separate funds that are exempt from federal and state taxes in NY, NJ, PA, OH and CA.

 

[LOL!]

ING may be a slacking place to park cash, but the stock has been awesome. Up 100% in the last 2 years and it pays about a 3.5% dividend (at the current share price) or an 8% dividend from the share price of a couple years ago.

I want to personally thank all the folks who put their cash into ING savings accounts and beg you to keep those accounts overflowing.

Full disclosure: I own ING stock.

 

[TromboneAl]

I also use VB Prime MM. What are the advantages of using something like ING or Emigrant Direct??

 

[retire@40]

I also use VB Prime MM.  What are the advantages of using something like ING or Emigrant Direct??

ING and Emigrant are FDIC insured. Vanguard MM isn't.

 

[Sheryl]

I had a GE interest plus account.  I was happy with them until they wired  75,000 to another account in tim buck two, when I was closing escrow on a house.    I spent several hours tracking down my money all over the planet, all because someone hand wrote my account number incorrectly.  Sorry for the rant, but the GE name brings it out in me.

Yikes! Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[LOL!]

Besides the FDIC-insurance difference, the Vanguard MMF has a $3000 minimum balance. ING and Emigrant have $0 balance.

With the MMF, you can write checks. At least with ING, you cannot.

With the Vanguard MMF, you begin a long term relationship with one of the best and most reputable mutual fund families in the business.

With ING, you begin a relationship with large international finance company that sells load funds and variable annuities. (FD: I own NIVAX from ING in my 401(k), but it's closed to new investors).

 

[jazz4cash]

GMACBANK, I am the only one using it?

Nope........I'm there too, using the GM Demand Note account which is managed by Mellon Bank and currently pays 6%apy.  Minimum balance is only $1000.  Minimum withdrawal (by check) is $250.  Only downside is no FDIC, so some may wish to limit exposure.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Why does ED have such a poor rating on Bankrate.com 2 measly stars?

SWR