Extremely. That’s the conclusion I’ve come to after using them only for a few months now. I’ve written some stuff about them before, but now I feel compelled to dedicate a post to the most awesome online bank in the world!

I know I’ve mentioned it before, but ING’s setup is so easy, secure, and just plain user-friendly that it’s a breeze to do just about anything. I’d be amazed to see an online bank that has a better looking, easier to use site. I don’t think there is one.

How bout those interest rates? You won’t find anything even close at your local brick and mortar bank. I haven’t done much checking against online banks, but I know they are extremely competitive. Even if they aren’t quite the highest, their other features should more than make up for it.

It’s so easy to open sub-accounts on ING. Once you have your main savings account set up, it literally takes less than 1 minute to add a sub-account. I totally dig this feature. I now have 6, yes 6, different savings accounts on ING. I have different ones for various reasons: long term savings, a car fund, my emergency fund, one for vacations, one for taxes, etc. It even lets you name them whatever you want, so it takes about 2 seconds to see how much you have in each different one.

One last thing I love about ING: their referral program! They give you the opportunity to make up to $500 just by referring friends/family (50 people x $10) who open an account with at least $250. Better still, the people you refer get a $25 bonus for using the referral, so there’s incentive there too.

It’s pretty simple: ING rocks. Anybody else using them? If you’re not already, you should consider using them. I’d be happy to refer you.

With some experts calling for $4 a gallon gas by this summer here in the States, it’s going to be a lot more expensive to get around.  We need to make sure that our transportation needs are met without breaking the bank.

Keeping a car’s maintenance up to par is one of the most crucial aspects to its efficiency and life-span, but many people simply neglect to pay attention to it.  It’s a good financial decision to invest in preventative tune-ups as it pays for itself.  A tuned-up car will get a lot better fuel mileage as well as last a lot longer.  That said, here are some things to check out on your vehicle:

-Oil and Filter

-Air Filter

-Spark Plugs

-Fluid Levels

-Tire Pressure

-All the other good stuff mentioned in the owner’s manual.

None of this stuff is expensive to replace at all, and most can be done by yourself with some basic know-how and a few tools.  In addition to those listed above, put your car on a diet.  Take out whatever isn’t necessary, and you’ll take some strain off your ride as you cut its weight.  Your car will thank you immensely by keeping up on these things. 

A few more tips:  Aggressive driving severely hinders fuel economy and is hard on the car.  Tone it down a bit and save a bundle at the pump.  And the best tip of all?  Drive less.  It’s the easiest way to save money and miles on your car.  You can combine some trips, eliminate unnecessary ones, and walk or ride a bike to close destinations.  Walking or pedaling instead of driving not only saves money, but gives you exercise and helps the environment at the same time. 

John over at EZGreatLife had a really cool post recently highlighting his switch from ordering sodas at restaurants to simply drinking water.  I always have tried to drink water when I’m out to save a few bucks, but I never really appreciated how beneficial it is over time. 

Running an extensive calculation, John figured how much we can save by simply saying “no thanks, I’ll just have water”.  The results were incredible.  Eating out once per week, with the average drink cost of $1.75, equals $364 a year just on drinks.  For me, that’s like 3 months of car insurance, 6 months worth of cell phone bills, or 12 fill-ups of the Honda.  That’s crazy.

To take it even further, he figured how much we would save up if we took those savings each week for 30 years and invested them in an index fund.  Assuming the 11% average historical return for the stock market, we would have over $93,000.  Awesome.  Talk about an easy way to add significantly to your retirement nest egg.  What a perfect example of how small, continuous savings combined with compound interest and patience make for an incredible return. 

The effects of small changes over time are not limited to finances in this case.  Switching just one soda to a water every week saves a lot of empty calories over time.  We’ll say that our pop has 150 calories in it:  (150 x 52 weeks = 7,800 extra calories in one year).  One pound of body fat is equivalent to about 3,500 calories, so we are saving 2.05 pounds worth of calories just by switching one drink a week.  A 160 pound person, who burns approximately 85 calories per hour by walking, just saved 91 hours of walking those calories off. 

It’s hard to tell which is more eye-opening, the finance or the health benefits of making one simple switch.  All I know is that I’m going to definitely keep this in mind each time I visit a restaurant.  Thanks John for the awesome post!