While I do not want to advocate changing your checking account every month to keep up with the latest rate changes, I am still amazed at the number of customers regular retail banks have that offer nothing or so little in interest rates on their checking accounts. Bank customers must be a very loyal (or lazy?) bunch, otherwise most of the (especially larger) banks could not sustain offering such lame terms. What should as decent checking account offer in 2008? I believe at a minimum the following:

1. FDIC insurance
2. Free
3. ATM reimbursements
4. High interest rate yield (how about up to 6% right now?)
5. Online access and transactions exportable into money software (such as Quicken, Money etc.)
6. Free debit card

Some of these features are often linked to fulfilling certain conditions, such as a certain number of transactions, debit card purchases, regular incoming wire deposit (salary etc.). If you don’t have any of these features you might want to check out some of these sites:

• https://www.checkingfinder.com/
• http://www.highyieldcheckingdeals.com
• http://www.bankrate.com

I am currently banking with EverBank, and am fairly happy with it, but I am considering a change given they are offering only half of the highest rate available right now. I value though that there are no strings attached to the account (no minimum anything). The ATM reimbursement is a bit cumbersome though, as you need to send them the ATM slips in via their bank by mail envelopes (provided). Also, incoming wire transfers are free. Outgoing ones are $50 and thus a rip-off, but very fast. I sent money to Germany in the past and it arrived within 72h.

In any case, paying for checking should be a thing of the past, and you should at least get a somewhat decent interest rate on your checking account, otherwise, you might consider looking around for something better.

Total Federal Burden
$52,700,000,000,000

Every American’s Share
$175,000

So it’s time to save some cash. It has gotten so bad that, that more and more people are trying to create more awareness and do something about it. There is even a movie about it, supported by people like investor Warren Buffett.

Download yourself the citizens guide to understand more about this.

I have to say, after watching Cramer for a few days in a row now, reading the WSJ, and digging through various sites on the Internet, I thought this was probably the best summary I have heard so far. I highly encourage you to spend the 40 minutes and listen to the interview, as the $700 billion bailout come out of your pocket if you are here in the U.S. and the crisis has most likely affected you already, no matter where you are.

Dedicated TV stations like CNBC or Bloomberg broadcast 24h about the global and domestic stock market, but those you can find in almost all developed countries. What’s different here the interest in how the rich are living their life, how much money they have, and all the good stuff you can buy with money. That is obviously of great interest since the consumer consumption accounts for about 2/3 of the gross domestic product.

One especially noteworthy item are all the shows about the American Dream – how people made it and how you can make it too. TV shows are often a reflection of the culture they are created for, so check out the following examples to get a better understanding of the different aspects of the money theme happening here. See Donald Trump’s “The Apprentice” and Suze Orman’s personal finance show, Tyler Mathisen’s “High Net Worth”, Erin Burnett’s “The Millionaire Inside”, and especially Donny Deutsch’s “The Big Idea” and Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money”.

You should check out the soundboard for the show…

“According to the figures, the richest 1% reported 22% of the nation’s total adjusted gross income in 2006. That is up from 21.2% a year earlier, and is the highest in the 19 years that the IRS has kept strictly comparable figures.”

“The average tax rate in 2006 for the top 1%, based on adjusted gross income, was 22.8%, down slightly from 2005 and the fifth straight year of declines. The average tax rate of this group was 28.9% in 1996, and was 24% in 1988.”

I guess it is like almost everywhere else in the world. If you work as an employee and cannot invest and offset your gains you will most likely pay too much taxes compared to others, in relative terms. But then again, not everybody is willing to take the risks associated with it. But there comes a point where you wonder how much money people do need or should have, and whether this is a healthy trend for the rich in the long run. But that is a more philosophical discussion.

As a result, the average savings rate is supposed to be $392 per year, historic lows since the 1930s. Where does that get you for your retirement? That won’t even get you your daily latte when you want to retire. And from a Californian point of view: an average mortgage of $85,000 will probably not get you more than a garage in the Bay Area. But then again, these are average numbers.