Don't just put it under the mattress

This post by Donnie reminded me that having and sticking to a budget is a bit pointless if you're not also saving money not only for retirement but also in an emergency fund. If you watch Suze Orman, you know that, (along with being a bit crazy), she is constantly hounding people to have at least 3-6 months of income saved in an emergency fund, as well as a monthly contribution to a retirement fund. This is something my church has also recommended for years, for which I am very grateful.

Now, I wish that we were at place financially where we had 3-6 months income saved as well as a healthy start in a retirement fund. We do the latter, but sadly, not the former. We do, however, have a smaller emergency fund, which we are slowly growing, stowed away safely in an ING Direct Orange Savings Account.

In harmony with my recent post all about PearBudget, I'd also like to sing the praises of ING Direct Orange Savings accounts. Also discovered through SimpleMom, this is an (ironically) simple way to earn decent interest (it has recently dropped, but is still 2.4%) with no fees, and a direct link to your checking account.

A few other things I love about the ING Direct Orange:

• You can have multiple accounts within the same account--for example, I have an account set up called limabeanhome (money from my business), an account called emergency fund, an account called christmas (which, as you can imagine is empty at the moment).
• The accounts are very simple to set up and don't require any minimum balance.
• All correspondence is done electronically, and they have many security measures in place to protect your information.
• The money can be easily accessed at any time--at your request, it will be deposited back into your checking account where it originally came from.

They also have a great referral program. If you're interested in setting up an account and plan to have at least $250 dollars as your initial deposit, they will automatically give you an extra $10 to add to that amount. Leave a comment and your email if you're interested in the extra $10 and I'll send you a referral via email. If you're setting up an account with less than $250, just go here and set it up now. You can even start it with $1.00. Seriously.

It is such a relief to have even a small amount in a savings account, especially when you know it's safe and earning some interest.