Take a look at this one:

Here’s a link to some more of his work: http://games.yahoo.com/photos/camouflage-paintings-1321923033-slideshow/

Dime is currently the long term CD leader, but they’re also offering a 1.65% APY 10 month CD. You can open an account online or over the phone; however, if you don’t open an account in person you will be required to send in a copy of your driver’s license and a bill to verify your address. Dime Savings Bank is located in New York.

Dime Savings Bank has a 4 out of 5 star soundness rating from Bankrate and is insured by the FDIC. If you’d like to leave a review on Dime Savings, follow this link.

Melrose is open to membership from anybody and is located in Queens New York. They are insured by the NCUA and have a 4 out of 5 star soundness rating from bankrate. To leave your comments on Melrose go here: comments

1.) The FDIC insures funds for up to $100,000

During the financial meltdown a couple years back, congress voted to increase the FDIC insured limit up to $250,000 to ensure that people didn’t lose their money when a new bank was failing every other day. The measure they passed was temporary at first, which is why some people might think it expired. But congress acted before its expiration to make the $250,000 FDIC insured limit permanent. So that is the new limit as of this day.

2.) All financial institutions have FDIC Insurance

Most financial institutions you’ll hear of likely have FDIC insurance, but not all do. Every bank we recommend on our site has it (or NCUA for credit unions), but there are institutions out there that aren’t FDIC insured. You should make sure to check any new financial institution you’re interested to make sure they’re FDIC insured by checking with the FDIC themselves.

3.) I can only get $250,000 insured at one bank

The FDIC allows people to insure multiple types of account at a single bank. For example you can have a personal account, joint account, and retirement account, all at one bank and all insured for up to $250,000 each. In addition banks have programs known as Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service or CDARS, A CDARS account actually holds your funds at multiple banks in order to bump up the FDIC insured limit for “one account.” It’s a very convenient way to get FDIC insurance for large sums of money.

4.) I can get up to $250,000 insured with each bank account I have at one bank

Although you can get multiple accounts at a single bank FDIC insured, that doesn’t mean that you can have $250,000 of FDIC insurance with ANY bank account you want at a single bank. For example a savings and checking account under one person’s name doesn’t qualify as different accounts in the eyes of the FDIC. However, a personal checking account and a joint checking account DOES qualify as separate accounts to the FDIC because the owner of both accounts isn’t the same. One is owned by an individual and another is owned by 2 individuals.

5.) Any asset that a bank offers is covered by FDIC insurance

While banks offer many accounts that are covered by FDIC insurance, they also offer products that don’t come with FDIC insurance. For examples banks will offer mutual funds, stocks, bonds, money market mutual funds, and other products that don’t come with FDIC insurance. If you’re getting a new product from a bank and you’re unsure whether it comes with FDIC insurance then ask your bank whether the account you’re interested in has FDIC insurance.

Due to the importance of this factor I’m listing the top 10 banks rated by customer satisfaction by JD Power.

1. Northwest Savings Bank
2. Susquehanna Bank – PA, MD, DE
3. Bank of the West
4. BankAtlantic – Florida
5. Regions Bank
6. Suntrust Bank
7. Commerce Bank – Midwest
8. Eastern Bank – New England
9. Flagstar Bank
10. Independent Bank – Michigan

Another key difference is the processing time for each type of transaction. A debit card transaction pulls the money out of your account immediately, while the credit transaction requires time to be processed before the money is taken out of your bank account.

One final difference is that most banks place a debit limit on your card, meaning you can only use debit purchases on your card for up to a certain amount. If you’re looking to make a large purchase on your debit card you should select the credit option to ensure that you don’t go over any possible limits. (Of course if you’re making a large purchase you should really use a reward credit card as mentioned in our article on ways to save money)

The rates show up in the lower right hand corner of your browser as shown in this screenshot:

You can access the Bromoney rate table from the menu that appears when you right click on the latest savings rate and you can also request additional banks for us to add to the plugin for tracking. Additionally you can access our savings table from the “tools” menu or from our bromoney icon on the toolbar. The savings rates are updated every time you load firefox, or any time you left click on the rate. This addon will make tracking savings rates easier than ever before.

Here’s a comparison to that figure over the past 10 years (The 2009 inflation rate was actually -0.4%, although I couldn’t figure out how to make my wordpress chart show negative figures, so I just set it to zero):

[easychart type="horizbar" title="Inflation Rates" groupnames="Inflation Rates" valuenames="2001,2002,2003,2004,2005,2006,2007,2008,2009,2010" group1values="2.8,1.6,2.3,2.7,3.4,3.2,2.8,3.8,0,1.6" ]

1.) Actually Use Rebates

If you’re like most people you fall for items that have rebates and tell yourself you’ll send them in. Then time passes by and your forget about them and they expire. That’s easy money down the drain. Rebates take a few minutes to fill in and you can get anything from 5 bucks to hundreds of dollars in the case of some cell phone rebates. Filling out rebates are well worth your time no matter how little they’re for. Send them in as soon as you get them.

2.) Bundle Your Phone/Net/TV

Verizon and Comcast both offer huge savings to bundle your phone, internet, and cable together. Often the prices are about the same as getting two of these services alone. If you have a land line, you should definitely bundle your services.

3.) Buy Refurbished

Refurbished items are products that have been returned to the manufacturer to be fixed. When the fix is simple they will resell these items as “refurbished” items. They cost substantially less than new items and are often just as good. Be sure to read up on what was wrong with the item before you buy so you know exactly what you’re getting.

4.) Use Your Library

I know it’s nice to keep the books you buy, but how often do you actually reread those books? If you’re interested in reading a new book, check your library to see if they have it first next time. The same goes for DVDs.

5.) Never Overdraft

Never, NEVER overdraft from your checking account. Do what you need to do to make sure you always have enough funds to cover your checks and debit card purchases. A simple debit card purchase for a pack of gum can turn into a $25 overdraft fee, and there’s no reason for it. Be aware of how much money is in your checking account. If you don’t do online banking, you may want to start to stay on top of your accounts.

6.) Use Rewards Credit Cards

If you don’t have a good rewards credit card, it’s time to get one. You automatically get rewards on every purchase and there’s really no reason not to. I put just about everything on my credit card and have collected over $1,000 in rewards, all for not doing anything but use my card.

7.) Lose the Home Phone

If you’re like me you really don’t have a use of a home phone. Since cell phones came around nearly everyone has one, while home phones have gone out of fashion. If you don’t need a land line then get rid of it to save some money every month.

8.) Don’t Buy Extended Warranties

You should really only take out insurance on things that you can’t afford like catastrophic health insurance, or auto insurance. Does your computer really qualify? The exception to this rule is if you’re accident prone and you tend to break things you’ve bought in the past easily.

9.) Keep your tires inflated

This one is easy to do and you end up saving on gas while also increasing the safety of your vehicle.

10.) Get Good Savings Products

If you’re reading this blog then you probably keep tabs on the latest savings and CD rates. It’s good to stick with a bank that you have a good relationship with, but if you’re interest rates fall too far from the leader, it’s time to switch to a new bank. Keep track of interest rates so you know exactly how competitive your bank is and don’t be afraid to pull the trigger when your bank becomes less competitive with their deposit accounts.

PFFCU stuck with safe investments while other banks were making risky investments during the banking meltdown. As a result PFFCU is now the leader in long term deposit rates.

PFFCU is open to any member of one of their listed groups. Weavers Way Cooperative Association which is open to anyone. Branches of PFFCU are located in and around Philadelphia, PA.

PFFCU is insured by the NCUA. To read or leave comments on PFFCU go here: Reviews.