Free From Broke

A Personal Finance Blog for Regular Folks

Bank

What is FDIC and How it Makes Our Lives Better

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The FDIC has been in the news a lot in recent years, but during quieter times the agency and what it does are invisible to most Americans.

The closest we get to it is the sign in the bank window that says, “Member FDIC”.

The FDIC is sort of like a giant insurance company for the entire US banking industry (in fact it stands for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation).  The fact that we usually don’t know what it does is an indication that it’s doing the job it was meant to do.

The History of the FDIC

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EverBank Online Yield Pledge Checking and Money Market Review

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If you’re tired of your bank hitting you with fees for nearly everything you do, then paying you a microscopic amount of interest to keep your money on deposit with them, you may have a viable alternative.

EverBank is an alternative to traditional banks if you’re looking to avoid excessive fees while also earning above average interest rates.

Alternative to traditional banks

EverBank is an “online bank”, which is to say that you can conduct all of your banking online without ever having the need to go into the bank itself.

It’s based in Jacksonville, Florida, has well over $13 billion in assets, and has been around since 1961 though obviously not in its online form.

The bank offers 24/7 customer service (by phone), and since it is a bank, your depository assets are covered under FDIC for up to $250,000.

As part of its online model, you can deposit checks from your home computer—all you need to do is add the deposit information into your account online, endorse and scan both sides of the check, and your funds will be available the next business day.
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ING Direct Financial Independence Days Sale – 2012

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ING DIRECT is at it again!

ING Direct Financial Independence Days SaleTo help celebrate our country’s independence, ING DIRECT is offering up some juicy deals to help you achieve financial independence.  As our country’s independence was declared in 1776, you’ll find many of the offers play of the ’76 theme.

Hurry up and check out the offers as they as are only around June 30th thru 11:59 pm ET, July 3rd.

Here are the ING DIRECT Financial Independence Days Offers:

Liberate from Checking Fees

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Benefits of an Online Checking Account

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What kind of benefits does an online checking account provide over a standard checking account with a traditional brick-and-mortar bank?

Should you be enticed to try an online checking account or stick with the options in your local area?

4 Benefits of an Online Checking Account

Here are a few benefits of switching to an online checking account.

Interest on Deposits

For your average brick-and-mortar bank, offering interest on the deposits held in the checking account isn’t necessary.
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What Do Bank Routing Numbers Mean?

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Bank routing numbers, or “routing transfer numbers” (RTN’s) appear on virtually all of our checks and other demand instruments, but as common as they are most of us have no idea what their purpose is.

Occasionally we’re asked to provide our bank’s routing number—such as for direct deposit of income tax refunds—but this does little to clear up the mystery behind them or why they’re so important.

Think of it this way: each of us has a checking account number—the bank has its own identification number, and that’s the bank routing number.  That number is at least as important to the bank as our checking account numbers are to us.

Where do you find a bank routing number?

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