Wasting No Time – ING Drops Rates
After the Federal Reserve cut short-term rates by 0.75 points on Tuesday, ING DIRECT wasted little time in adjusting their rates to reflect the recent rate cut.
The interest rate on the ING DIRECT Orange Savings Account has been changed to 3.65% APY.
In addition to the changes on the savings account, ING DIRECT has announced that the rates on the Electric Orange Checking Account have changed as well. Here are the updated rate tiers:
* $0-49,999.99 earns a 2.50% APY
* $50,000.00-$99,999.99 earns a 4.00% APY
* $100,000.00 or more earns a 4.25% APY
There is no doubt that ING DIRECT will not be the last of the banks to be dropping their rates due to the short-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.
This decrease in rates is certainly cause to take a step back and evaluate all of your options regarding your savings. It is important to ensure that you are maximizing your dollar and that your savings are earning you more than you are paying in interest on any debt.
How will this impact your savings strategy?
It shouldn’t really change my plan. I know the idea is the government cuts rates, and the bank pass that on, in order for the consumer to spend thier money, or slush it around to different investments. Of course there are some nice bargains out there and if you can afford to not have the money for 3-5 years, it might be a good time to tie them up or move them to a cd.
We all should have seen this coming!
Blueprint for Financial Prosperity has an interesting article on why you shouldn’t chase rates on high yield accounts such as ING.
The point on laddering CD’s is right on.
At this point it hasn’t changed my investments. I do set a nice chunk in ING for certain things and the loss stinks, but it is life.