savings

How to create buckets in an Ally savings account

Ally has just added the ability to create Buckets, flexible sub-accounts that allow you to save for particular goals. Here’s how to use them. I guess you could say that I’m a pretty big fan of Ally. Maybe it’s that … Read MoreRead More

Is the 15% rule for investing before tax or after tax?

Once you’re out of debt, you’re ready to start saving for retirement. (Before you’re out of debt, you’re probably better off just focusing on that, though I think an exception is fair for extremely large debts like mortgages). A good … Read MoreRead More

When to create a savings bucket

A bucket is my term for a savings account, used for either one-time or ongoing purchases. It’s certainly not a standard financial term. I don’t see it used much on personal finance sites. But the analogy should be clear enough. … Read MoreRead More

Ally now makes it easier to set up multiple savings accounts

Ally has changed the way that you can create multiple savings accounts. This can make your savings plans much easier to implement. Update (February 2020): Ally now allows actual buckets! Read my review here. I’m a big fan of Ally. … Read MoreRead More

Red and purple

When savings rates change, is it time to switch banks?

So we all now know to not keep our savings in a big bank, or other entity that clearly doesn’t care about keeping your business. But what if you’ve already done this? What if you have your savings accounts in … Read MoreRead More

Frankfurt skyline

Why you don’t want a savings account at a big bank

I talk about investments a lot, but there there’s a lot more to saving money than investing. Investments are “illiquid”, meaning you can’t just get at the money if you decide you want it. There are tax and penalty consequences … Read MoreRead More

Purple flower

How to open a savings account with Ally

(Note that I don’t receive any commissions for posts like this. This is just, like, my opinion, man. Nevertheless, please read my disclosure policy.) For the longest time, the standard for an online savings account was a bank called ING Direct. … Read MoreRead More

Red buckets

Where to put your buckets

[Hi all. I’m at FinCon this week, and while I wanted to write a post about it while I’m here, it’ll have to wait until I get back. In the meantime, the show must go on!] I’ve talked about the … Read MoreRead More

Roulette wheel

Where do you put short-term savings?

I was asked this question recently: “I have about $10,000 that I don’t need to touch for a while, and I was thinking of investing it so I could make the most of it. Where do you recommend I put … Read MoreRead More

Bucket being filled

How to pay for non-emergencies

We know what an emergency is. It’s an incident that is both unexpected, urgent, and unavoidable (and unfortunate). When you have an emergency, you use money from your emergency fund. (And if you have debt, here’s how you can still … Read MoreRead More