Budget Freak

I have a savings account at Ing Direct. It’s great. My money’s earning 4.50% APY, it was easy to set up, has a great web interface, and it’s easy enough to take money in and out (even though it takes a few days). In my last statement they sent me a flyer introducting their new checking account, Electric Orange. The checking account offers no fees, a 3.0% APY, free bill pay, and a Mastercard Debit card for instant access to your cash (via the Allpoint network of ATMs). One catch is they don’t give you any actual paper checks. You can still request paper checks by filling out the name and address of the check recipient via their website, and they’ll send the check in 2-3 days. You can also send an electronic check immediately if you have the person’s checking information (more on this later). Another issue is depositing money. Since there is no bank branches, you can’t exactly go in and deposit a paper check. You can mail in your checks and they’ll be deposited in a couple days, but it still could be a hassle if you need that money right away.

At first, I sort of dismissed the idea, but the more I thought about it, the more it grew on me. I hardly ever write paper checks anymore (maybe 1 a month). Nearly all my banking is done online. I have a Washington Mutual checking account right now that’s earning exactly 0% interest. I decided to give it a try. I filled out the easy application online and transferred $100 from my savings account to my new Electric Orange Checking Account, just to test it out. They sent me a cool looking Debit card 3 days later and I was all set, finally earning interest in a checking account.

Now, let me tell you why this account rocks. My roommate and I split the bills and rent every month. He usually pays the full rent, I pay the bills, and then we reconcile at the end of the month. I usually end up oweing him a couple hundred dollars a month. Before I would just cut him a check, but now, I wanted to try the electronic check route. Last night, we calculated all the bills, and I ended up oweing him $530. I logged into ING’s website, checked my available balance, and… uh-oh… I only had $100 available! I transferred a big chunk of money from my wamu account to my ING checking, but the transfer was still pending. My money was in limbo, and wouldn’t be available for another 2 days. Ordinarily, he’d have to wait, but, the great best part about the ING accounts is that you can transfer money immediately between your savings and checking. I quickly transferred $500 from my savings to checking, and that money was immediately available.

Filling out the electronic check form was pretty easy. It just asks for an email address and routing and account numbers for the person you’re transferring money to. This might be an issue for the person recieving the money, as your account information is sensitive information, but then again, it’s printed on every paper check you have, so how sensitive is it really? Anyways, filled out the quick form, put in the dollar amount and clicked send. My roommate got the email a minute later, verified his account information, and the money was transferred. It still takes 2 days for the transfer, but the whole process took about 2 minutes from sending to recieving. It’s much quicker and easier than writing a paper check and a trip to the bank. Plus, my roommate is now saved as a contact through ING website, so next time I need to send money, I just have to enter the amount and press go.

I’m so impressed with the Electric Orange Checking Account, that I switched my direct deposit at work over from Washington Mutual. I’m thrilled I can actually earn a decent amount of interest on a checking account. I’ll still keep my WaMu account, but only as an emergency account if I quickly need to cash a check or visit a branch. But for now, all my banking will be done through ING.

Edit: The ATM network is Allpoint Network, which, among thousands of other locations, are in most Rite Aids, Targets, and Costcos.

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