Finally Opened an ING Account
Well, I had all my tax refund money sitting around last week and I was trying to figure out a way to make the best of it before applying every bit of it to some debts. I keep seeing everyone hyping up the ING accounts because of the free $25 when you sign up and the fact that you can get referral fees for people that sign up using you as a referral.
So I went ahead and opened one using a referral link from a blog I read often, CleverDude. So I put my $250 deposit in from my main checking account where all my money was, and even before the money was withdrawn a few days later I already had the $25 in my account!
I was very impressed by just how easy it was to get things linked up to my account and get started using it for whatever I want. (I can take the $250 out anytime after 3/17, which is only a couple of weeks after creating the account.)
Here’s a quick snippet from my bank account page showing the balances already in there (minus the account numbers and bank name):
You can see that my funds are available in a couple weeks, and the account is already earning interest!
So, my plan is to put that $250 back into my main checking account by the end of the month, and just have the $25 sit in there for awhile. At the end of each month, I’ll start siphoning off some snowflaking amounts into this account until they accrue large enough amounts to make entire payments on my 2nd mortgage. (I have to pay full payment amounts in order for it to be applied to principle only.)
Also, I’m going to figure out how to make some of those referral links and put them up here as well. It looks like I just have to email them to myself or something in order to post them, but I’ll have to look at it over the weekend and update when I figure it out. You’ll get the $25 for opening the account, and I’ll get $10 deposited to my account when you do it. Then you’ll also be able to make your own referral links for anyone you know that’s interested. Pretty good deal if you ask me.
Stay tuned for referrals if you’re interested! 
Update: I’ve got referrals available on my ING Account Referrals page in my resources sidebar section.
Debtbeater
March 7th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I was looking to open an online savings account this time last year, and I ended up going with EmigrantDirect since they were offering a slightly better interest rate. One thing I wish Emigrant had that ING does is the “sub account” feature. It’s a great way to segregate your funds for different purposes.
March 7th, 2008 at 7:52 pm
Even though ING doesn’t have as high a rate as Emigrant or HSBC, I have to say that I find ING’s interface much easier to navigate. ING also has other features I appreciate that HSBC lacks. For one, ING credits deposits much quicker than HSBC does, which affects the amount of interest accrued. And speaking of interest accrual, isn’t it cool how ING shows you how much interest you’ve earned to date per month? It’s fun to watch the money grow.
March 8th, 2008 at 7:38 am
Hey, I’m glad I could help out! Now you can also start promoting the referral links here!
March 8th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I had planned to sign up via another PFer but I waited too long and her referrals are all used up. Let us know when you have your referrals available and I will probably end up using one of yours.
March 9th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
I do love the sub-account feature. It’s a great way to segregate all the money I want to apply in different directions without really opening different accounts.
@Clever Dude - Thanks again, and I have started promoting my own referrals in the sidebar.
@ Mrs. A - awesome! I appreciate it, and am interested in how it works out for you. Keep me posted!