Say i want a certain amount (post-tax) pulled out of my check/account each month and put into money markets of my choosing. what site/company can set this up with the least pain? i already checked with my main broker scottrade and they don't offer that service. thx for any ideas.

8/9/2006 6:37:25 PM

if you just use wachovia you could have direct deposit and then a recurring transfer into their account...but then you'd have to use theirs.

8/9/2006 6:45:17 PM

Hey Synapse, do you use Scottrade for Stocks or Mutual funds. I was checking these guys out the other day, and $7 for online stock trades seems like a good price.

8/10/2006 8:29:26 AM

I use scottrade for my regular investment account, and for my roth IRA account. I like them, and I am pleased with the services, charges, ect. No complaints...

8/10/2006 8:36:25 AM

yeah i use scottrade for stock trades. they have local offices which is grrreat.

8/10/2006 7:56:47 PM

Everyplace I've ever work that offers direct deposit lets you divide your money however you want. I can specify an amount for each account, as long as one is set to get whtever is left over. If you have a steady job this is by far the easiest option.

8/10/2006 8:46:48 PM

drips!

8/10/2006 8:59:54 PM

What do you want to do with the money, are you sure it should be money market funds?
When have you ever used your Scottrade office, I've used it for 5 years and have never seen one of them in person.

8/10/2006 9:20:09 PM

1) i just want it to hang out where i have the potential to earn more than SECU's 4% money market. i want it to be liquid so i don't want CDs. money markets seemed to be the best choice.

2) yeah i don't expect to have to use the local office, but its nice to know theyre there.

8/10/2006 10:26:47 PM

bttt

8/13/2006 8:40:58 AM

^^FYI: SECU is at 4.6% now

8/13/2006 9:36:16 AM

I am a big fan of Vanguard's Prime Money Market account, but you have to keep $3,000 in there to not get hit with fees. They take ETF's so moving money is not a problem and you can set up automatic deposits.

But, better than Money Market, recently, has been savings accounts. Both ING Direct and Emmigrant Direct are FDIC insured and have an APY of 4.35% and 5.15%. Emmigrant Direct's 5.15% APY is the best I have found so far. If anyone knows a better rate, let me know!

^synapse... when you mean post tax, I am assuming you just mean what you are getting after witholdings... since you can't know your post-tax income until you do your tax filings for the year...

[Edited on August 13, 2006 at 7:09 PM. Reason : post-tax]

8/13/2006 7:08:38 PM

^ yeah after witholdings is what i mean. i didn't want people recommending 401k like solutions. and yeah the 3K think would be a hit until I have it built up.

8/13/2006 9:07:44 PM

^synapse in that case I think Emmigrant Direct is your best choice, they compound daily so that is a big plus and they have no minimum, you can deal with $1 in there and they will be happy. The only drawback to online savings accounts is that you don't have immediate access to your money, you have to transfer that back to your checking account before you can use it, meaning you may have to wait upwards of a week to get that money.

Money market accounts are good in that you can write checks with them, but most places have a minimum check size (Vanguard's is $500 I think) so you have to take that with a grain of salt too...

8/14/2006 5:10:15 PM