Ever since I was a young kid, I have been a fan of Benjamin Franklin.

As a  polymath, he was known for being an  author, printer, scientist, inventor, and political statesman. I found stories regarding his scientific experiments and inventions quite fascinating.

In honor of Independence Day, with Ben Franklin being one of the members of the draft committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence as well as being one of the 56 men who signed the document, I thought it would be a great time to share some quotes about money attributed to Benjamin Franklin- many of which are still used quite often today.

• A penny saved is a penny earned.
• An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
• Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship.
• Content makes poor men rich; discontent makes rich men poor.
• He that is of the opinion money will do everything may well be suspected of doing everything for money.
• If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher’s stone.
• Remember that time is money.
• I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it.

Hope you enjoy and Happy 4th!!

photo credit: raggio(ALL4HIM)productions

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With interest rates hovering at fairly historical low levels, maximizing the return on your savings is still very important. Online bank accounts are a great place to keep your emergency fund, as you can keep a degree of separation, making it easier to truly use it for emergencies only.  While savings account rates are pretty  low historically right now, they will likely begin to rise some time in the fairly near future.

Why open an online savings account?

An online savings account can offer some advantages that traditional bank savings accounts do not offer, such as:

• Higher interest rates
• Minimum or no fees for transactions or maintenance
• Not as accessible as a regular savings account

Below are some of the top online bank accounts and interest rates updated as of June 6th,2010

SmartyPig- 2.15% APY (on balances under $50,000)

Smartypig is not a conventional savings account per se, but is FDIC insured, and accounts are held at West Bank. Smartypig is a goal driven savings program, where you can set savings goals that you can make public to others to keep yourself accountable, and  friends or family can also contribute to your goal.

• FDIC Insured
• The minimum requirement for a savings goal is $250.
• A minimum deposit of $25 is required to start and maintain a savings goal, minimum monthly contribution of $10 per goal. One time contributions can be made.
  
• Interest accrued daily and posted quarterly.
  

Discover Bank- 1.40% APY

Discover Bank High Yield Savings Accounts, one of the newer online high yield accounts on the block, currently offers a very competitive 1.35% APY. While it does have a minimum deposit of $500, if you have that much save already it is not much of an issue, as there is no minimum balance required thereafter.

• Minimum deposit of $500 required
• No minimum balance
• FDIC insured

Ally Bank- 1.29%

Ally Bank, formerly GMAC Bank, was named 2009’s Best Online Savings Account by Kiplinger Magazine, this past December. Offering competitive rates and great customer service, Ally has become quite popular since

• No fees, no minimums
• FDIC insured
• Daily compounded interest
• No minimum to open

HSBC Advance -1.10%

HSBC Advance (formerly HSBC Direct)- HSBC Advance is an online banking arm of HSBC bank, which does have physical branches.  Unlike many other online savings accounts, you can access your money via ATM. Named “best online savings account” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance in 2006.

• FDIC Insured
• $1.00 minimum to open account
• No fees for transfers, does not have to be HSBC checking account
• Can withdraw funds via ATM
• No minimum balance

ING Direct-1.10% APY

ING DIRECT is one of the oldest and well-known online high yield savings account. I’ve had an ING Orange Savings Account since 2002 (wow, has it really been that long?), and have been please with the service and competitive interest rates over the years.

• FDIC Insured
• No fees or minimums
• Ability to set up “sub accounts” for different savings goals

FREE trial – Get out of Debt with DebtGoal

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Another one bites the dust! Another year, that is. I started Think Your Way To Wealth in February of 2008, so it has almost been a year that I have been sharing articles and other thoughts with you. I have had good success with the blog as well as my finances, but am looking forward to an even better 2009!

Thanks to all of the readers out there, for all of your support!

Below are some of my favorite posts from throughout the year:

February

Which Seinfeld Character Are You Most Like When It Comes to Money?

Use Extreme Measures to Eliminate Your Debt or Increase Savings

March

30 Ways To Stretch and Maximize Your Dollar

Top Ten Ways To Aggravate Your Spouse or Signficant Other With Your Frugality

April

Lower Your Medical Bills Through Negotiation, Cost Comparison, and Haggling

Lies We Tell Ourselves While Spending Money

May

10 Great Ways For College Graduates to Start Off on the Right Track with Their Finances

The Easy Way to Budget for Irregular Expenses Using A Separate Checking Account

June

Tweaking the Debt Snowball to Fit Your Life

10 Money and Life Lessons I Learned from My Father

July

Why Making More Money Trumps Spending Less in the End

6 Key Tips for Starting a Part-Time Business

August

The ABC’s of Personal Finance, Saving Money, and Investing on the Internet

25 Smart Budget and Money Saving Tips for College Students

September

The Peril of Living Paycheck to Paycheck- Are You One Step Away from a Financial Disaster?

Teaching Kids the True Value of Money

October

Is it a Smart Move to INCREASE Your 401k Contributions Now?

Asset Allocation and Your Age- Finding the Proper Allocation that Makes You Comfortable and Reduces Risk With Your Retirement Investments

November

Is Lifestyle Inflation Keeping You in Debt or from Saving More Money?

10 Tips for a Financially Stress Free Christmas

December

Debt Reduction by the Overwhelming Force Method

Should You Try to Get Rich Quick or Just Get Rich Slowly?

I also participated in 3 carnivals this past week-

The Skilled Investor hosted the Carnival of Financial Planning and included my article “Going from Debt to Wealth- A Closer Look at Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps Plan”

The Fraud Files Blog hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance # 185-Cheesehead Edition, and included my article “How’s my 401k doing in the current market? I’m not really sure!”

Ask Mr. Credit Card hosted the Carnival of Debt Reduction #169 and included my post “Debt Reduction by the Overwhelming Force Method”

Also, Ben from Money Smart Life posted The Best Money Posts of the Year and was kind enough to include my article “35 Ways to Kick Start Your Debt Snowball”. Be sure to check out all of the great articles included.

If you haven’t yet done so, be sure to subscribe to the Think Your Way To Wealth RSS feed, or via email to get all of the latest posts and updates free.

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• Weekend Roundup- It’s not the Heat, It’s the Humidity Edition
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• Weekend Roundup- Quick Holiday Edition
• Weekly Personal Finance Links- Spring is in the Air Edition

Happy New Year from Think Your Way To Wealth!

I hope you and your family have a prosperous 2009 and achieve whatever financial goals you are striving for!

Photo by Jerry

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• Developing A Burning Desire to Improve Your Finances-Part I- Motivation

Merry Christmas!

Best Wishes and Happy Holidays to everyone!!

My family and I will be spending the afternoon visiting family, after a morning of watching our kids (ages 2 and 4) open presents in a near frenzy.

Hope you are enjoying the holiday season with your family, friends, or those you love.

Enjoy the day and try to relax a little!

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Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was arrested this morning on a variety of charges, including that he tried to sell the U.S. Senate seat now vacated by President-Elect Obama. As the governor of Illinois, Blagojevich has the power to name the replacement in the senate.

How much does a U.S. Senate seat cost these days? According to a Wall Street Journal article, Gov. Blagojevich was looking for a job for his wife in the range of $150,000 per year, and that a unnamed person apparently approached the Governor with an offer of $500,000 in exchange for giving another unnamed person, called “candidate 5″, the seat.

Was his asking price enough?

President-elect Obama spent over $800 million on the Presidential election, and Sen. McCain spent over $500 million. (Source: Wall Street Journal). It seems that a seat in the U.S. Senate should be worth more than 500k. Certainly it is not worth as much as becoming president, but I think many senatorial campaigns spend in the $10 million range. Was he offering a discount since it wasn’t a full term? I am not sure, but $500k or a $150k/year job does not seem like a whole lot for a job with that much power and influence-especially when candidates spend $5 to $10 million dollars or more to get elected.

Seriously though, this is pretty disturbing stuff. I am glad that it was stopped before it actually happened, but it does disturb me that some politicians see their office solely as a means to increase their own net worth and live a lavish lifestyle, to the detriment of taxpayers.

What are your thoughts on these allegations? Are you shocked, or have you come to expect these types of things? Do you think his asking price was too low?

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I ran across an interesting animated video called “Money as Debt” by Paul Grignon on the internet recently. It is an interesting look at money, the banking system and argues that money is created by the creation of debt. While some people may see this as an “evil banking system conspiracy” video, I do think there is some information here that you may not know, and it seems fitting in light of the current economic situation and banking and credit crisis.

Note: The entire video is about 47 minutes long, so you may not want/be able to watch it all in one sitting. Also, the 1st 10 seconds or so are blank, but the movie will start.

Money as Debt

How do you think money is created? Do you think an alternative system should be looked in to?

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Have you gotten into the Christmas spirit yet? I haven’t quite gotten there yet, my wife usually does on Thanksgiving Day and likes to call me the Grinch because I’m not quite as in to it as she is. I’m getting there though. I’d actually rather be called Scrooge, but that’s just a personal preference……..

I participated in 3 carnivals this past week.

The Mighty Bargain Hunter hosted the Carnival of Personal Finance- Cyber Monday 2008 Edition and included my article “Going From Debt to Wealth- A Closer Look at Dave Ramsey’s 7 Baby Steps Plan”

My favorites from the COPF:

Death of Index Investing and Other Silly Stats at Four Pillars

Year End Retirement Account Moves at Cash Money Life

Living Almost Large hosted the Festival of Frugality #154 and included my article “Teaching Frugality to Kids”

Great reads from the FOF:

Frugality Goes Mainstream at Value for Your Life

Finding Low Cost Entertainment posted at Uncommon Cents

Ask Mr. Credit Card hosted the Best Crazy-Simple Money Hacks Edition and included my article “Tipping- Developing a Tipping Policy You Are Comfortable With“

Great reads from the MH Carnival:

Waste not, want not – old school tips posted at Miss Thrifty

Decorate this Christmas with a Budget at Where You Are Now

Other good reads from my RSS reader:

Prepare for an Increase in Mutual Fund Expense Ratios from Generation X Finance

Black Friday vs. Buy Nothing Day at The Happy Rock

3 Financial Spreadsheets at Mrs. Micah as part of the M-Network’s 12 Day’s of Christmas-which are all personal finance related.

If you haven’t yet done so, be sure to subscribe to the Think Your Way To Wealth RSS feed, or via email to get all of the latest posts and updates free.

• Weekend Roundup- Xmas Edition
• Weekend Roundup- Economy, Economy, Economy Edition
• Weekend Roundup- No A/C Needed Edition
• Weekend Roundup- The Election is Over Edition
• Weekend Roundup- Thanksgiving Week Edition

Here we are a little more than a week after one of the most (if not the most) historical elections in U.S. History, and the news media is already back focused on the economy and the related economic problems. Will the government bail out the U.S. automakers? Stay tuned and find out later this week, perhaps.

I participated in 2 carnivals this past week.

SVB at The Digerati Life hosted a unique and very creative Fierce Financial Tips: The Carnival of Personal Finance #178, Struwwelpeter Edition, and included my article “How 15 Minutes a Day Can Improve Your Finances”

My favorites from the COPF:

Eight Financial Questions for Success in a Bad Economy from Money Smart Life

The Way to Wealth: Nuggets of Wisdom from Benjamin Franklin-Heavy Taxes at Crackerjack Greenback

On a Quest to be Debt Free hosted the Festival of Frugality-The Veteran’s Day Edition and included my article “10 Ways to Save Time- Which Can Help You Save and Make Money”.

Great reads from the FOF:

Thrifty Thanksgiving Tips at Happy to be Home

12 Tips To Lower Your Heating Bill at FIRE Finance

Other good reads from my RSS reader:

Is Now the Right Time to Invest from Moolanomy

Tips to get out of the Financial Red Zone at Single Guy Money

If you haven’t yet done so, be sure to subscribe to the Think Your Way To Wealth RSS feed, or via email to get all of the latest posts and updates free.

• Weekly Personal Finance Links- Will the Stimulus Actually Stimulate the Economy?
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Update: Check out this post for updated details of Obama’s stimulus package proposal.

Now that the election is over, there is increased talk of trying to get a second stimulus package passed before Christmas, which could potentially include a second stimulus check. While nothing is certain yet, I imagine it is likely that president-elect Obama will have an influence on the package if it comes before he takes office; obviously he will if it takes place after he takes office.

Reuter’s recently published information on Obama’s proposal for a second economic stimulus package. Some of the highlights that might effect individuals personally include the following:

• Give businesses a $3,000 refundable tax credit for each new full-time employee hired in the United States over the next two years.

• Implement a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for homeowners making good faith efforts to pay their mortgage debt.

• Extend unemployment insurance for long-term jobless workers who have exhausted their benefits, and temporarily suspend taxes on those benefits.

• Temporarily allow penalty-free withdrawals of 15 percent from tax-preferred retirement accounts up to $10,000.

• Suspend rules requiring retirees to begin withdrawing from retirement accounts six months after they reach the age of 70.

• Reform the bankruptcy code to assist homeowners and remove legal impediments to encouraging more mortgage restructuring.

• In the longer term, Obama would roll back some of Bush’s tax cuts for the wealthy. He proposed a permanent tax cut of $500 for most individual workers and $1,000 for families. He also would eliminate taxes for seniors making up to $50,000.

• To help jump-start the economy, the tax cuts would be expedited through refunds based on 2007 tax returns. He would also provide a 10 percent refundable tax credit for mortgage interest to taxpayers who do not itemize their returns.

I am not sure if the penalty-free withdrawals from retirement accounts is a good idea, especially with so many people’s accounts having been battered by the falling stock market. Changing the rule on withdrawals after 70 sounds like a good idea to me though. If someone wants to leave their money in the account to have a chance at regaining some of their loses, that may help.

What do you think about some of the components of Obama’s plan?

To get the latest news and updates on the new stimulus package or checks, subscribe to the Think Your Way To Wealth RSS feed, or via email to get updates delivered for free.

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Making, earning, and saving money is not a zero sum game- just because you increase your salary, start living frugally and save more money, and get your finances on track doesn’t mean someone else loses. In fact, once you start accumulating wealth and get your money straightened out is a great time to give back to those a little less fortunate than you are. Besides providing for your family, paying for your kid’s college, and living the type of retirement lifestyle you want, building your own wealth can allow you to do something else:

Help others, especially those who do not have the means to help themselves, financially.

Think about what you can do for others if you are financially free. If helping others is not part of your motivation to improve your own finances and becoming financially independent, add it to the list. If you are able to do something to improve your financial position, you are more fortunate than many people in this country and around the world.

Some of the riches people in the world are also some of the greatest philanthropists. Prodigious accumulators of wealth are able to devote tremendous resources to helping reduce poverty.

• Bill Gates retired recently from the day to day operations of Microsoft to devote more time to his foundation

• Warren Buffett will donate most of his fortune to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Now you and I may never amass the billions of dollars of a Bill Gates or Warren Buffett. But that doesn’t mean we can’t contribute. Those of us who have the opportunity and the means to help other should, to the extent we are able.

How can we help in the fight against poverty?

Think local and global- Living on the outskirts of one of the poorer cities in the country, New Orleans, I have seen the face of poverty around me in my day to day life. But there are other parts of the world where even the people we consider poor here in America look fairly well-off. Do what you can locally to improve your community, but don’t forget to help others around the world as well. Help someone out on Kiva.org or donate to a worldwide charity.

Donate money as well as time- Even if you are unable to help financially at the moment, as you improve your personal financial situation, remember to give something back. You can also donate time to various organizations and charities, and even donate unused household items or clothes to organizations such as the Salvation Army or Goodwill Industries.

Spread the word-Let others know how they can help out as well. For example, if you are bringing donations to a charity, ask your friends and neighbors if they have anything they would like to get rid of. Let people know what charities you support (you don’t have to go into details about how much you give), or let them know that you volunteer time to a local organization. You will likely be surprised how many people will offer to help or want to learn more.

This post is part of the 2008 Blog Action Day on the topic of Poverty. Check out the link below to find out more!

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With all of the serious economic problems happening these days, I figured a little humor was in order. I remember seeing this on Saturday Night Live a while back (or it may have been on the web), and I ran across a transcript of the skit (starring Steve Martin as the husband) a while back, but never got around to posting it. The real funny thing about it is how true it is. If you only buy “stuff” you CAN afford, you will have a whole lot fewer problems when it comes to your finances. Hope you enjoy!

Opens with couple trying to balance their checkbook.

Wife: (sighs) I just can’t get these numbers to add up.

Husband: Like we’re never going to get out of this hole.

Wife: Credit card debt, does it ever end?

Announcer: (walks in) Maybe I can help.

Husband: We sure could use it.

Wife: We’ve tried debt consolidation companies.

Husband: We’ve even taken out loans to help make payments.

Announcer: Well, you’re not the only ones. Did you know that millions of Americans live with debt they cannot control? That’s why I developed this unique new program for managing your debt. It’s called “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford.”

Wife: Let me see that… (grabs book and starts reading) “If you don’t have any money, you should not buy anything.” Hmm, sounds interesting

Husband: Sounds confusing.

Wife: I don’t know honey, this makes a lot of sense. There’s a whole section here on how to buy expensive things using money you save.

Husband: Give me that(grabbing book back). And where would you get this saved money?

Announcer: I tell you where and how in Chapter 3.

Wife: Ok, so what if I want something but I don’t have any money?

Announcer: You don’t buy it.

Husband: Well let’s say I don’t have enough money to buy something. Should I buy it anyways?

Announcer: No.

Husband: Now I’m really confused!

Announcer: It’s a little confusing at first.

Wife: Well what if you have the money, can you buy something?

Announcer: Yes.

Wife: Now take the money away. Same story?

Announcer: Nope. You shouldn’t buy stuff when you don’t have the money.

Husband: I think I got it. I buy something I want, and then hope that I can pay for it right?

Announcer: No. You make sure you have money, then you buy it.

Husband: Oh, THEN you buy it. But shouldn’t you buy it before you have the money?

Announcer: No.

Wife: Why not?

Announcer: It’s in the book. It’s only one page long. The advice is priceless and the book is free.

Wife: Well, I like the sound of that.

Husband: Yeah, we can put it on our credit card.

Announcer: So get out of debt now, write for your free copy of “Don’t Buy Stuff You Cannot Afford.” If you buy now you’ll also receive, “Seriously, If You Don’t Have the Money, Don’t Buy It!” Along with a 12-month subscription to “Stop Buying Stuff Magazine.” So order today!

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