OMG. ING!

So, I know that I’m supposed to focus on geek-ish stuff, but this post is more about financial stability and how much I love online money/savings accounts. I’m not trying to push a product on folks, I’m just saying that doing some saving and investing online is a great use of technology … and it saves trees (as long as you go for paperless statements).

ING: I love these guys because they make it so, so easy to save and manage your money. I’m sure others do, too, but this is the one I have the most experience with. I use the automatic savings plan, which takes the same amount of money each week and puts it into my ING savings account. If saving money is the last thing you think about each month, this automatic approach is a great way to get yourself in the savings habit. You earn interest, can transfer the money out if you need it and the website is so user-friendly it almost hurts. 

eTrade: If you are curious about stocks and want to try your hand without paying huge commissions or feeling like a moron, I’d recommend eTrade. I’ve got a small amount of shares of Microsoft and Apple (ironic, I know) and it’s fun to tinker with it when you know you aren’t tinkering with your life’s savings. I had never traded online before and I must say I really like it. It’s not at all intimidating and is a great way to learn more about how the stock market works.

PageOnce: PageOnce is a new (and free) product that wants to be your one-stop shop for managing your internet savvy self. There are many of these sites out there, but I like this one because you can see your Netflix queue, Southwest points, credit card balances and ATT Wireless minutes all in one place. It’s also supposed to manage your social media accounts too, but I prefer FriendFeed for that.

Give these a try and let me know what you think! If you’ve got other online financial faves I’d love to know those, too!