Make a Salute to Financial Independence with CaptialOne360

It's that time of year again when CapitalOne360 offers up their great deals in honor of Independence Day. I have been an account holder since Black Friday 2009 and love the ease of savings. You can open multiple savings accounts with nicknames to help budget your savings. I currently have one for home improvements, one for Benny (yes my dog has his own savings account), and one for general savings. The interest rates are higher than most of the local banks and you know your money is safe. CapitalOne360 is FDIC insured.

From June 30, 2014 until July 3, 2014 new customers can get the following deals on CapitalOne360 for opening an account.

Offer details:

Earn a $100 bonus when you open a 360 Checking account.

• Open a fee-free 360 Checking account between June 30 and July 3, 2014
• This has to be your first 360 Checking account.
• Make a total of 5 debit card purchases (either signature or PIN-based) or 5 CheckMate deposits (or any combination of the two) within 45 days, and your $100 bonus will be automatically deposited into your account on day 50.
• Customers will earn interest on their everyday cash. 

360 Savings®: Grab $76 when you open a 360 Savings® account.

• Open a no-fee 360 Savings account between June 30 and July 3, 2014, and snag $76.
• This has to be your first 360 Savings (including Orange Savings Accounts) account and it needs a $500 minimum initial deposit or more.
• The bonus starts earning interest on day 1, but you can’t take it out for at least 30 days.

Disclaimer: Remember to read all the fine print before opening a new account. This post was not sponsored by CapitalOne360. The links provided are affiliate links and I will earn compensation if you choose to open an account. All opinions are 100% my own. The quoted material comes directly from CaptialOne360 regarding their promotion.

New Account Bonuses on Capital One 360

To celebrate Black Friday, Capital One 360 is hosting their annual sale by increasing their usual $50 new account bonus. The bonuses are available now through December 2, 2014 at 11:59 PM (EST).

• Checking account - $125 bonus
• Savings account - $75 bonus
• ShareBuilder - $150 bonus
• Home Loans - Discounts on closing
• Friend Referrals - $100 for two friends

I have personally had an account since 2009 and love the simplicity of it. The interest rate is slightly higher than the local banks and you can deposit checks by uploading pictures. I use it mostly for savings and have a local bank for my day to day banking, but as I mentioned Capital One 360 has a higher interest rate.

Make sure you read all the fine print and details regarding these offers. While Capital One 360 is a great bank and I personally opened my account with a similar offer a few years ago, there are a few steps you need to take to make sure you get the promotional money. It's not as simple as opening the account and then withdrawing the cash.

Capital One 360 is FDIC insured so you can feel safe saving your money with them.

Get Upto $176 When You Open New Accounts with Capital One 360

Do you remember all the great deals I posted previously for opening an account with ING Direct? Back in February, they changed their name to Capital One 360. This is the first great promotion since the name change but when they mention first time customers, that includes the former ING Direct.

To celebrate Independence Day, Capital One 360 is hosting their Financial Independence Days by increasing their usual $50 new account bonus to $100 for a no fee checking account. You can also get $76 for opening a savings account which brings the total possible earning to $176. Both bonuses have fine print attached including minimum starting deposits so make sure you read the facts before opening an account. The bonuses are available from July 1, 2013 12:00 AM (EST) until July 3, 2013 11:59 PM (EST).

Current checking bogging you down? With 360 Checking, you're free to roam. It's fee-free, online and mobile checking that works around your schedule and goes where you go. It starts with:

• No hidden fees or minimums as you earn interest on your everyday money
• 38,000 fee-free Allpoint® ATMs and 2,000 Capital One® ATMs
• Free MasterCard® Debit Card for all purchases
• Mobile check deposits with CheckMateSM & one checkbook's free

I have personally had an account for over two years and love the simplicity of it. The interest rate is slightly higher than the local banks and you can deposit checks by uploading pictures. I use it mostly for savings and have a local bank for my day to day banking, but as I mentioned Capital One 360 has a higher interest rate.

Capital One 360 is FDIC insured so you can feel safe saving your money with them.

Shared Reading: Managing Credit Card Debt

Contrary to popular belief, credit card companies are not just out to make you spend lots of money. If you can't pay them back, go into default, or declare bankruptcy, they won't see the money you owe them. Bank of America has created a great infographic to help you understand being smart about your debt.

You will need to click the image to see it full size.

Source: Bank of America

Free Checking Accounts - Do They Still Exist?

Unless you keep your money under your mattress, you probably have at least one checking account. Lately, it seems like even free* checking accounts have hidden fees or fine print that make it almost impossible to access your money without paying the bank. This is an absolutely ridiculous concept so I have decided to do some research for my readers. Remember that I am not a banker, so make sure you check the fine print at your specific financial institution before opening a new bank account.

Bankrate.com is a great site for comparing different banks. They are not affiliated with any specific bank and provide easy to read charts based on your search. When I searched checking accounts from local banks, it showed me a list that included minimum balance, monthly fees, overdraft fees, and more.

When opening an account with a new bank, the first thing you want to do is make sure they are FDIC or NCUA (credit unions) insured. This means that the money is protected. It won't protect you against a bad investment, but it will protect your funds from the bank itself in the event of theft or bankruptcy.

Possible Fees
A free checking account might have a minimum balance, debit card fee, limited check cashing, and other fees. Follow the rules and you will be fine, but one extra transaction can cost you more than your balance.

Student Accounts vs Free* Accounts
If you are still a student, your school ID might be your golden ticket to an actual free checking account. I know that the bank I used during college, and still use, was completely free with no minimum balance requirements. They would waive the regular fee once a year for overdrawing your account (accidents happen). Once I turned 26, I was notified that they automatically changed it over to a normal account.

Check with your school to see if they have a partnership with any banks. Sometimes these partnerships can save you money and allow you to use your school ID as a debit card which cut down on the amount of plastic in your wallet.

The non-student free checking account requires a minimum $100 daily balance to prevent a $5 monthly fee. Go under $100, even once, and you will be charged the $5 for the month.

One of the most popular free checking accounts is Capital One 360 (formally called ING Direct). There is no minimum balance and you earn interest. Alright, it's less than 0.2% but it's still more than zero.  Remember they are FDIC-insured so your money is safe. If you open a new checking account with Capital One 360, they're always offering promotions. Right now, you'll get $50 for opening a new account.  If you're not in a rush to open a new account, I recommend holding off because they often offer better promotions around holidays.

Another way to save money is to not order your checks from the bank. Unless your account comes with free checks, the bank is not the best deal.  Make sure you have the correct routing and account numbers for your account. Then check out the different offers from companies like Vistaprint and 4Checks to find the best deals.

Black Friday Deals at ING Direct

I've talked about ING Direct before but I always wait until they are running a great promotion to remind you all about this online bank. By cutting their overhead costs of actual stores, ING Direct passes their savings onto the customer. While you can't just walk into the bank, you can feel safe knowing your money is still protected by the FDIC.

Current bankers at ING Direct can get a 1% cash back bonus on any purchase made on Black Friday using your debit card. Interestingly this is higher than the current interest rate so you'll make more money by spending your funds than saving them (crazy, right?).

If you don't already have an account, you can earn $125 when you open a new Orange checking account and make a total of 10 purchases (either signature or PIN-based) using your Electric Orange Card or CheckMate deposits (or any combination of the two) within 45 days.


Make sure you read all the fine print and details regarding these offers. While ING Direct is a great bank and I personally opened my account with a similar offer a few years ago, there are a few steps you need to take to make sure you get the promotional money. It's not as simple as opening the account and then withdrawing the cash. ING Direct was sold to CapitalOne. In February 2013, ING Direct will become CapitalOne360.