Your money should be working for you, ALWAYS. We expect you to earn interest when you save (and cash back on your credit card when you spend). Obviously, the goal is to make the most money—without doing anything except saving said money in the right kind of account.
When shopping around for a high-yield account, you’ll want to consider:

How many checking accounts you’re allowed to link to your high-yield savings.
The number of free transfers from savings to checking you’re allowed per month.
The minimum account balance required.
The variability of the APY (i.e., does the bank have a history of offering consistently high [...]

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You want your money to work FOR you, but even interest-bearing savings accounts are hardly providing more than 1% interest. Another alternative? Certificates of deposit, otherwise known as CDs.
The scoop:
What’s A Certificate Of Deposit?
A certificate of deposit, or CD, is an investment that provides higher returns than a regular savings account. In exchange, you commit to locking your money up for a set amount of time. CDs exist for many different terms, anywhere from three months to five years. There are penalties for breaking into the money before the term expires.
Interest Rate And APY?
The interest rate is, simply, the rate [...]

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We like our local bank tellers–sometimes they even offer us a soda when we walk through the door–but we have to face a plain fact: Many online-only, branchless banks offer better interest rates on CDs and savings accounts. You’ve saved money, and you rightfully expect to be rewarded. But rainy-day repositories are experiencing record-low yields. For example, Bankrate.com shows that the average yield on a five-year bank CD is 2.8%, compared with 3.9% two years ago.
You’ve started receiving come-ons in the mail from ING, Ally Bank and other online banks, offering twice your local bank’s interest on saving accounts. Are [...]

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With unemployment in the double digits and the holiday season kicking into high gear, saving money has never been more important—or simpler. These days, sometimes the easiest way to save  money is to simply ask. Really.
1. Short Is Better!
Do you throw away half of your grande latte from Starbucks every morning? Then save money and ask the barista for the off-menu “short.” In Starbuck-speak, that’s a reasonably sized 8-oz. cup of coffee that costs 30 cents or so less.
Savings: About $80 a year
2. Members Only
If you prefer to get your double-decaf latte with soy milk at the same cool [...]

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A credit union is a strictly members-only financial institution. Owned and operated by members, it often has a volunteer board. Its focus is on serving the membership, not on enriching shareholders. As a result, unions work to provide members with more favorable debt and saving instruments than commercial institutions can offer. These unions pass on profits as dividends. Sounds great, right?
As of 2007, credit unions have more than 88 million members in the United States, which is about 43% of the economically active population, according to a World Council of Credit Unions report. Credit unions can provide a range of financial [...]

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