Showing posts with label Alternative Savings Ideas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alternative Savings Ideas. Show all posts
Monday, July 16, 2007
Social Lending Finds Success On Facebook - Best Savings Account News
Some people are finding their best savings account to be the money they lend out through peer to peer lending. To lend wisely though, you're completely dependent on the risk analysis of others. Now Facebook.com has entered into the fray through it's connection with Lending Club, hoping that their users will find lending through their site profitable and their best way to use their savings that would otherwise just sit in an ordinary savings account.
Is UPromise Your Best Savings Account?
Upromise, of course, is designed to help you save money for your kids education, so perhaps the question should be whether UPromise is your best savings account for that particular purpose.
What caught my eye was the ad below where you save money every time you pump gas. Wow, has that ever gone up!
And the reason most people give for NOT saving money is that they don't have any money left over after shopping. This is a method of forced savings and for many people one definition of the best savings account is going to be "forced savings".
This also makes you keep the money for a longer term goal... as a college savings account.
Upromise’s mission is to help families realize the dream of college. The Upromise Services division includes our popular Rewards Service, which allows families to automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases at more than 20,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, thousands of retail stores and more than 350 online shopping sites. Upromise’s partners include Citi, ExxonMobil Corporation, McDonald’s, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others the best merchants.
More than seven million parents, grandparents, and family friends have joined Upromise – and our partner contributions today represent the largest private source of college aid in America. Upromise also makes it easy for families to invest in tax-advantaged college savings plans and to use contribution to pay off student loans. The 529 college savings plans are offered through Upromise Investments, Inc (member NASD/SIPC).
Who knows, in certain circumstances this might be your best savings account.
What caught my eye was the ad below where you save money every time you pump gas. Wow, has that ever gone up!
And the reason most people give for NOT saving money is that they don't have any money left over after shopping. This is a method of forced savings and for many people one definition of the best savings account is going to be "forced savings".
This also makes you keep the money for a longer term goal... as a college savings account.
Upromise’s mission is to help families realize the dream of college. The Upromise Services division includes our popular Rewards Service, which allows families to automatically save money for college while making everyday purchases at more than 20,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, thousands of retail stores and more than 350 online shopping sites. Upromise’s partners include Citi, ExxonMobil Corporation, McDonald’s, JCPenney.com, LandsEnd.com, Sears.com, and hundreds of others the best merchants.
More than seven million parents, grandparents, and family friends have joined Upromise – and our partner contributions today represent the largest private source of college aid in America. Upromise also makes it easy for families to invest in tax-advantaged college savings plans and to use contribution to pay off student loans. The 529 college savings plans are offered through Upromise Investments, Inc (member NASD/SIPC).
Who knows, in certain circumstances this might be your best savings account.
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Is Kiva Your Best Savings Account Option?
Could an account that pays no interest be your best savings account? Don't laugh. It just might be. Consider this option to be a "virtual tin can in the back yard" kind of savings account.
I'm talking about Kiva.org the non profit entity that lets you become a microlender to entrepreneurs in developing countries.
They are a channel so your dollars can be put to work helping an entrepreneur build their business. Typically these are small loans under $2000 that may mean all the difference in the world to someone who'll never have access to a credit card or other source of credit to expand a business.
So how could this be someone's best savings account option?
As I've said elsewhere, the best savings account is one where you'll get your money back. Very very few of these loans default. If you lend a small amount for each entrepreneur, say $25, there's a very small risk.
Also, this may be be your best savings account because you can't touch the money you put in until the whole loan is paid back. There's no temptation to dip into this fund.
Unlike other savings accounts though, this one may give you a particularly good feeling because you got to help someone improve their life.
Now, it's not the best savings account when it comes to getting a return on your money. There's no taxes but your money will lose value due to inflation.
But if you think of it as money you're giving away to help people and then, years later, when you need it in an emergency it becomes available, it might be the best savings account you could ever get because - there's money there!
I hope you'll forgive this tongue in cheek plug for Kiva.org.
I'd rather have $10,000 to put into Kiva.org loas today than $10,000 to put into a 401K at any given moment.
But someday, if I need it, that $10,000 will be there after helping lots of people and being "recycled" many times.
I'm talking about Kiva.org the non profit entity that lets you become a microlender to entrepreneurs in developing countries.
They are a channel so your dollars can be put to work helping an entrepreneur build their business. Typically these are small loans under $2000 that may mean all the difference in the world to someone who'll never have access to a credit card or other source of credit to expand a business.
So how could this be someone's best savings account option?
As I've said elsewhere, the best savings account is one where you'll get your money back. Very very few of these loans default. If you lend a small amount for each entrepreneur, say $25, there's a very small risk.
Also, this may be be your best savings account because you can't touch the money you put in until the whole loan is paid back. There's no temptation to dip into this fund.
Unlike other savings accounts though, this one may give you a particularly good feeling because you got to help someone improve their life.
Now, it's not the best savings account when it comes to getting a return on your money. There's no taxes but your money will lose value due to inflation.
But if you think of it as money you're giving away to help people and then, years later, when you need it in an emergency it becomes available, it might be the best savings account you could ever get because - there's money there!
I hope you'll forgive this tongue in cheek plug for Kiva.org.
I'd rather have $10,000 to put into Kiva.org loas today than $10,000 to put into a 401K at any given moment.
But someday, if I need it, that $10,000 will be there after helping lots of people and being "recycled" many times.
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