In an effort to help individuals identified as unbanked and underbanked open savings accounts, a new pilot program was created by the FDIC. The program will be identified by participating banking institutions as the FDIC Model Safe Accounts Template and will offer safe, low-cost transactional and savings accounts to lower-income households.
Some products to be offered include specific electronic deposit accounts that may not charge fees for insufficient funds or overdrafts. The hope with this new program is that in addition to good savings account rates, customers will have an opportunity to build credit and work toward financial security (Loan Safe).
Ryan Guina is an entrepreneur and writer. He has worked for Fortune 500 companies and served six years in the USAF. He writes about money management and small business topics at Cash Money Life and military money topics at Military Finance Network. You can follow his twitter feed.
Your credit report includes very important documentation of your credit history, which is used by lenders to assess risk as well as employers and other agencies which have a vested interest in how well you manage your credit and finances. For this reason, it is imperative each consumer not only take the necessary steps to improve their credit management but also to remain abreast of the information reported to the credit bureaus.
It is not the job of the credit bureau to determine if the information is correct.
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MoneyRates.com has previously detailed how people with savings accounts and other interest-bearing deposits have paid the price for the Federal Reserve’s low interest rate policies. What may be even more galling is that these policies aren’t working.
With the economic recovery clearly sputtering, it’s time to look at some possible reasons why the Fed’s low interest rate policies may not only be ineffective, but may actually be counterproductive.
- Low rates on savings accounts and other deposits take money out of the hands of healthy consumers. The idea is that low interest rates would stimulate the economy by making borrowing cheaper. However
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Q: Can you compare Section 529 college savings plans — I would like to know what you consider the top-rated plan?
A: It would be inappropriate for MoneyRates.com to recommend a given 529 Plan without knowing the investor’s state of residence, financial situation, and specific college savings goals. However, there are some tips that can help you make intelligent decisions about 529 plans:
- Match the product with your time frame. Since college savings tend to build up as your child approaches college age, as a general rule they should be more conservatively invested than longer-term savings, such as retirement savings. In
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Are you making a decent living earning enough? Yet, the trend is to be broke as soon as you get money in hand? It almost vanishes into the blue before you even get the feel of it. You feel broke almost at the beginning of the month and don’t seem to have any savings. Here are some reasons why, and how to work at reversing it and have more money at hand:
Differentiate between Needs & Wants: yes, you definitely need to be able to differentiate between needs and wants. Needs are something you simply can’t do without given the time and situation. Wants are more of those that do not make a significant change in your life. You may be able to do without them. It Read more…