So, as you know, ableBanking got me hooked up with early access to a Money Market Savings Account, and I decided to use mine as an orthodontia account for Miss Sonia, who has a small mouth and will most assuredly need some teeth help.
It’s going to be painful to pay for orthodontic work no matter how you slice it, but it’s going to be a lot less painful if we have money set aside for it.
As least I think it will.
I’ll let you know.
I can let you know right now what I think about ableBanking, though.
After I got my account set up, my $25 to give to charity appeared (ableBanking gives you $25 to give to charity just for opening your account, plus a yearly bonus to donate to charity).
As you know, I’m a big fan of the work that Living Water does, so I knew I wanted to donate my money to them.
ableBanking lets you donate to any 501(c)3 charity, which is wonderful…so much better than having to choose between a few pre-decided options.
I had some trouble locating Living Water in the database, so I called customer service and the representative I dealt with was very helpful. He couldn’t find the information I needed right away, but promised to call me back the next day, and he did.
I’m so happy that I was able to donate my bonus to support the important work of supplying clean water to people in need (the $25 donation will get clean drinking water to 25 people for a whole year!)
And I’m also delighted that every year, I’ll get another bonus to send to Living Water.
Are you wondering how ableBanking is, well, able (heh!) to offer these bonuses?
It’s not because they skimp on paying you interest…ableBanking offers the fifth highest money market interest rate in the country.
And it’s not because they skimp on customer service. Every representative I’ve dealt with has been great, and it’s not at all hard to find contact information when you need help.
No, ableBanking is forgoing the traditional marketing model and sticking with online-only methods to spread the word. This means their marketing budget is significantly smaller than that of most banks, and they can pass those savings on to you in the form of bonuses for charity.
You can read more about that in this Forbes article on ableBanking.
Since ableBanking is fairly new, they just offer money market accounts and CDs, but this actually appeals to me. I like simple!
Online savings accounts are a huge part of my budgeting strategy (they work so much better for me than the envelope system), and I heartily recommend that you use them. Online savings accounts are just far enough out of reach to make you not-so-tempted to dig into them on a whim. And setting up automatic monthly deposits (that’s what I did for my orthodontia account) makes it easy to stick to your savings goals.
You can open as many ableBanking accounts as you want so that you’ve got one for each of your savings goals.
So, go open an account of your own…it’s free! You’ll be so glad you started regularly saving, and you’ll be able to help out your favorite charity as well.
Oh, one last thing….ableBanking has a feature that allows you to donate money to your charity from the balance of your ableBanking account. The benefit of giving that way is that no credit card fees are associated with the gift. This means the entire donation is received by the charity you choose (charities generally have to pay fees to receive credit card donations.)
disclosure: ableBanking gave me early access to a money market account, but I was not paid to review the account or to write this post. I am excited about their emphasis on charitable giving, though, and I want you to be excited too! And I really think that you should try online saving…it might change your life.
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Have you tried using online savings accounts yet to help you meet savings goals? Do share! You can help inspire other readers to do the same.
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Today’s 365 post: She’s a window cleaner.
Joshua’s 365 post:
Joyce
Sunday 20th of May 2018
I'm looking for a way to set aside funds for my disabled adult niece. Her parents have mismanaged her finances. I want an account I can deposit in and she can withdraw from as her needs come up, all online. Her disability keeps her home bound. Is able banking a pissible choice for that? She has a bank account that her disability check goes into, but the balance has to stay under $2K. My thought is that we transfer her excess $$ each month to an Able banking account that can be accessed if needed, too. Her monthly expenses are very low.
Kristen
Monday 21st of May 2018
I'd actually recommend a CapitalOne 360 account for this...their bank account rules are a little bit simpler.
Jori
Friday 12th of February 2016
I came across this post looking for reviews regarding AbleBanking. I like their idea but I have seen some scary reviews. I let them get the best of me because I am a little nervous about putting so much trust into an online bank. I've gotten so used to the idea of having a physical bank to go and talk to if I need to. It helps to talk face to face with a human being when it comes to trusting. Some reviews said that they changed their interest rate a few times during a few months. It's hard to know if what they're saying is accurate, but like I said it makes me skeptical. Have you noticed anything like that during your time with them? Also, do they require a minimum deposit of $250 every month or just to open an account and from there you can put as much in whenever you want? Or how does that work?
Kristen
Friday 12th of February 2016
The minimum deposit is just to open the account, yup!
All banks change their interests rates, depending on what the market is doing. I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary in that regard with Able Banking. I hope that helps!
Rebecca
Thursday 26th of July 2012
I haven't been able to read through your other posts about AbleBanking, but I recently set up a couple of ING Savings accounts. Would you recommend ableBanking instead of ING? Or both?
Kristen
Thursday 26th of July 2012
Well, I think you'd be happy with either. If you're nervous about the fact that ING was recently bought by a large bank (Capital One, I think?) and you want to support a charity with your savings account, then ableBanking is probably a better choice for you. Also, ableBanking spends less of its money on advertising, so that may be appealing to you if you are frustrated with the marketing that's so prevalent in our culture.
But if you need more choices (loan options, retirement savings, etc.), ING may serve your needs better.
ING started out as a little independent company like ableBanking, so I'm a little sad that they've been bought out by such a large company. ableBanking reminds me of how ING used to be back in the early 2000s. ING used to be really different than most other banks, and ableBanking is definitely doing things differently. I like companies that buck the trends, you know?
Karen
Wednesday 25th of July 2012
Hi, I have a question. Mostly because of your recommendation, I set up an ing savings account. Now, I am wondering, do you have a mortor-and-brick bank as well as your ing and ablebanking online savings accounts? If so, does your bank charge you to transfer money to these different accounts? I'm just wondering how you work around that. Thanks!
Kristen
Wednesday 25th of July 2012
I do indeed! We maintain an account at a credit union and there are no fees for transferring money. Does yours charge for that??
Liz
Wednesday 25th of July 2012
I do use online accounts for savings. Auto investments make it so easy to save! Even if it is only $10 a month. I started putting just $10 a month into an account for my youngest son. It's not much to part with but over time it builds and one day he will be glad to have it! As far as braces, my husband has a medical flexible spending account option through his employer. This is a great thing if you have one available to you! If you know you have a big medical expense such as braces to pay you have money deducted from your paycheck (before taxes!) and put into this account. I had $92.30 a month deducted from his pay each week. Meanwhile I paid the orthodontist $200 a month. At the end of the year I submit my receipt for $2400 from the orthodontist and get a check from the FSA for $2400 to reimburse myself. I then put that check into my savings account.
Kristen
Wednesday 25th of July 2012
We do have an HSA...it's a little different than an FSA. But I will definitely keep that in mind.