Saving money for something specific like a new car or Birthday presents for your kids is pretty easy to do because it's a specific goal. Saving money for emergency's can be a bit more difficult because most of us don't anticipate an emergency. Life is going great, you have a stable job, a reliable car, all of your necessities have been met. One guarantee in life is there are no such things as guarantees. What is great today could come unglued tomorrow. Being laid off, evicted, major car repairs, & medical expenses could leave you in a desperate situation.

What happened to the days when banks were handing out gifts for new accounts? Freebies are nice but high interest earning savings accounts would be even better. Those days are long behind us. Banks have changed their methods of giving customers perks. Some banks offer free checks with your checking account, some offer free fax or notary services. What you may not know is that most banks offer online bill pay.