What Makes A Good Investment?

The old saying goes that one man's junk is another man's treasure. The same wisdom applies to financial investments. Back in the late 1990s, when I was contemplating writing my stock broker's exam, I learned some suprising statistics about personal savings. To summarize, the fact is, North Americans have a hard time saving money, primarily because they go about it with very little guidance. Every pre-college student should learn more about investment and savings than just the mathematics of calculating the interest on a loan or a savings account. But that is unfortunately not the case, even though the financial health of the nation depends on this knowledge.

How to: Open an Online Savings Account

If you're anything like me, you hate doing paperwork... and waiting on things... and going to the post office... and so on. When most people consider signing up for an online savings account, the potential hassle and time it takes are among their top concerns.

Thankfully, it's actually pretty painless (and it seems to get easier each year). The signup process for an online savings account usually works as follows.

ING Direct Orange Savings Review

The ING Direct Orange Savings account is one of the most recognizable names in online savings. ING Direct was one of the first banks to offer a high interest rate on online savings account (most banks offer a measly half a percent or so). This high interest rate coupled with with a good reputation makes ING Direct Orange an attractive option for anyone who needs to stash some money away, earn interest, and stay liquid.

HSBC Direct Review

The HSBCdirect Online Savings Account is a popular choice among consumers. HSBC was one of the first "big name" banks to offer a high interest rate on online savings account (most banks offer a measly half a percent or so). This high interest rate, coupled with with a blue chip reputation, makes HSBCdirect an attractive option for anyone who needs to stash some money away, earn interest, and stay liquid.

Emigrant Direct Review

This review was last updated on 8/16/2006.

The Emigrant Direct American Dream savings account is one of the most popular online savings accounts. Along with ING Direct, Emigrant was one of the first banks to offer a high interest rate (most banks offer a measly half a percent or so). This high interest rate coupled with with a good reputation makes Emigrant Direct an attractive option for anyone who needs to stash some money away, earn interest, and stay liquid.

NYT on Online Savings Accounts

If you need a primer to the world of online savings accounts, the article Going Online for Savings (The New York Times) is a pretty good place to start. Hopefully that link won't rot and require registration later. One interesting tidbit:

Other banks are crowding into the field. Among the bigger players, Washington Mutual introduced a pilot in November, and  Wachovia is "strategically evaluating a number of high-yield offerings online in a way that makes sense for our brand and our business model," a spokesman, Doug Caldwell, wrote in an e-mail message.

The big boys are comin' in. That, dear readers, is good for us. When banks compete (especially online, where feature comparison is easy, and user loyalty low) the consumer wins.

Meanwhile, we at OSAWatch plan on mainly covering the current big names in online savings: ING Direct, Emigrant Direct, and HSBC Direct. I hope to have in depth reviews of each of their offerings in the next week or so.

Welcome to the new OSAWatch!

The popularity of high interest online savings accounts is booming, and I expect the trend will accelerate in the future. I grew frustrated searching Google to find a place that tracked the latest deals, interest rates, etc. Why isn't there a site that does that?

The answer to that question, is, of course, OSAWatch.com. Check this space soon for regular updates!