Financial Gurus (Canada)

[hypn0tik]

I have about $300 CAD that I am looking to save/invest and put in an account that is not my primary banking account. Keeping it elsewhere will prevent me from spending the money.

I was looking at ING Direct's ISA and they currently have a promotion of 4.25% until the end of August, after which the money will earn 3.50%

I was wondering if there were any better alternatives or if ING was my best choice. I'm based out in Toronto if that makes any difference.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[vi edit]

Nice answer: Good for you for saving
Real answer: It's $300. You are talking a couple bucks of interest here. Just go with whatever is easiest. You'll be lucky to buy a Big Mac with the difference between your bank and ING.

 

[hypn0tik]

Originally posted by: vi_edit
Nice answer: Good for you for saving
Real answer: It's $300. You are talking a couple bucks of interest here. Just go with whatever is easiest. You'll be lucky to buy a Big Mac with the difference between your bank and ING.

Well, yeah. I realize that $300 isn't much and I'm just taking it out of my paycheck so that I don't waste it on going out or whatnot.

I'll have another $300 coming in next month as well and once I get my funding for grad school I should have some more. I don't know if I receive my funding as a lump sum or whether it's a monthly thing, but in any event I'm going to try to save some of that as well.


As far as the 'real answer' goes, I know it's not much but it's better than what I'd be getting with my regular account. I believe that account earns 0.05% for balances less than 5k. In any event, ING would be a big step up from this.

 

[dullard]

ING is a good place. Not the highest interest rate possible, but it is up there. Things have been pretty simple for me with my ING account. I don't really know how things differ in Canada though.

Note: if you do open an ING account, many of us would be glad to refer you. Deposit at least $250 US (you planned to do that anyways) and you get $25 and the referer gets $10. Its a nice bonus all around. PM someone you like and get the free money.

 

[Mxylplyx]

I just opened up an eloan savings account, which pays 5.25% interest. You need $5K initial investment to open the account though, after which point you can drop the balance back below $5K. I think you need to maintain at least a $500 balance.

 

[homercles337]

D00d, just PM LegendKiller. There is no need for a thread.

 

[irishScott]

I'm not a guru, but I've got a savings acount and 12 month CD with amtrustdirect, and it's worked out fine so far.

CD = 5.42% APY ($1600 minimum deposit IIRC)
Savings = 5.36% APY ($1 minimum depost)

These rates are standard too (not promotional) IIRC

http://www.amtrustdirect.com/

God I sound like a spammer


You can check this out too:
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

The FNBO rate is promotional until Spetember (before, their going rate was 5.25%). I tried signing on with them a couple of months ago, but their computers couldn't verify that I was me. I was then directed (by a customer support guy) to fax a copy of my Birth Certificate, SS Card, etc to his number.

HAHAHA HELL NO.

That said, I have read plenty of reviews saying they are legit, and I myself confirmed that they're the online divission of the First National Bank of Omaha, but still.

Oh, and FYI: AmTrustDirect is a division of the Ohio Savings Bank. Check the whois if you want to confirm.

As for ING: Old, reliable, but at the bottom of the charts as far as interest rates go.

 

[Drako]

Find a good no fee/no load mutual fund, and start doing automatic monthly investments.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: dullard
ING is a good place. Not the highest interest rate possible, but it is up there. Things have been pretty simple for me with my ING account. I don't really know how things differ in Canada though.

Note: if you do open an ING account, many of us would be glad to refer you. Deposit at least $250 US (you planned to do that anyways) and you get $25 and the referer gets $10. Its a nice bonus all around. PM someone you like and get the free money.

Hate to burst your bubble, but...
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

 

[hypn0tik]

Originally posted by: dullard
ING is a good place. Not the highest interest rate possible, but it is up there. Things have been pretty simple for me with my ING account. I don't really know how things differ in Canada though.

Note: if you do open an ING account, many of us would be glad to refer you. Deposit at least $250 US (you planned to do that anyways) and you get $25 and the referer gets $10. Its a nice bonus all around. PM someone you like and get the free money.

Thank you for the heads up! I didn't know they did that since I was looking through their website and I was unable to find anything about referrals. I guess I'll call them and ask or drop by their office tomorrow as it's right around the corner from me.

If they do have referrals, I'll shoot you a PM if you'd like for suggesting the idea.



Edit:

Originally posted by: irishScott
I'm not a guru, but I've got a savings acount and 12 month CD with amtrustdirect, and it's worked out fine so far.

CD = 5.42% APY ($1600 minimum deposit IIRC)
Savings = 5.36% APY ($1 minimum depost)

These rates are standard too (not promotional) IIRC

http://www.amtrustdirect.com/

God I sound like a spammer


You can check this out too:
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

The FNBO rate is promotional until Spetember (before, their going rate was 5.25%). I tried signing on with them a couple of months ago, but their computers couldn't verify that I was me. I was then directed (by a customer support guy) to fax a copy of my Birth Certificate, SS Card, etc to his number.

HAHAHA HELL NO.

That said, I have read plenty of reviews saying they are legit, and I myself confirmed that they're the online divission of the First National Bank of Omaha, but still.

Oh, and FYI: AmTrustDirect is a division of the Ohio Savings Bank. Check the whois if you want to confirm.

As for ING: Old, reliable, but at the bottom of the charts as far as interest rates go.

Hmmmm, I am in Canada so I don't know if I'll be able to open up an FNBO or amtrustdirect. I'll look into them though. Thanks!

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Hate to burst your bubble, but...
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

I'm not certain what bubble you are bursting. My ING account has ~$26 (US) in it. I got a referral to it, got my free $25, withdrew my deposit, and left the free $25 in there gaining interest ever since. So, basically it is all free money to me. No bubble to burst. If I had $25,000 in there, it would be a different story.

We are talking about $300 here. After 1 year at 4.5%, he'll earn $4.50 less than at 6%. After tax, It'll be far less (assuming they tax interest in Canada). Again, no bubble burst.

But, Hypn0tik should look at those other banks too. So, that was a good link.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: irishScott
Hate to burst your bubble, but...
http://www.money-rates.com/savings.htm

I'm not certain what bubble you are bursting. My ING account has ~$26 (US) in it. I got a referral to it, got my free $25, withdrew my deposit, and left the free $25 in there gaining interest ever since. So, basically it is all free money to me. No bubble to burst. If I had $25,000 in there, it would be a different story.

We are talking about $300 here. After 1 year at 4.5%, he'll earn $4.50 less than at 6%. After tax, It'll be far less (assuming the tax interest in Canada). Again, no bubble burst.

But, Hypn0tik should look at those other banks too. So, that was a good link.

*re-reads posts*
Yeah... I just got off a sugar high. Wow.

 

[Pepsi90919]

i thought the referral thing was only with USA ING Direct. you may want to check that.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
i thought the referral thing was only with USA ING Direct. you may want to check that.

It could be. Are there any Canada referrals for any bank?

 

[imported_Imp]

ING is a pretty good choice in Canada. Think the other alternative is HSBC, but that's about it if you're looking at GIC/Savings account interest rates. All teh major banks I've looked at are lower for both Savings and GICs. Speaking of which, the real gold I've found at ING are the GICs, which are currently at 4.4% for just one year. Highest I've ever seen them for the last 2 years. One last thing, ING really is a great incentive for saving money. If you set up an Automatic Savings Plan and forget about it, and proceed to auto-transfer money out of your normal account, you'll have no way in hell of getting it back in to avoid the Service Charge (like right now for me). ~Takes days to transfer in/out of the effing account.

 

[hypn0tik]

Originally posted by: Imp
ING is a pretty good choice in Canada. Think the other alternative is HSBC, but that's about it if you're looking at GIC/Savings account interest rates. All teh major banks I've looked at are lower for both Savings and GICs. Speaking of which, the real gold I've found at ING are the GICs, which are currently at 4.4% for just one year. Highest I've ever seen them for the last 2 years. One last thing, ING really is a great incentive for saving money. If you set up an Automatic Savings Plan and forget about it, and proceed to auto-transfer money out of your normal account, you'll have no way in hell of getting it back in to avoid the Service Charge (like right now for me). ~Takes days to transfer in/out of the effing account.

Thank you for recommending HSBC.

I was looking at their website and it seems to be pretty much the same as what ING offers. The plus side here is that I can use BMO ATMs if needed (my current bank is BMO) and they have a 5.0% promotional period till Oct. 10, 2007 after which time it will revert to 3.50%.