FNBO Direct is an online bank which offers a savings account paying 1.1% APR at the moment. There are no minimum balance requirements and the minimum deposit required to open an account is just $1. On their website, www.fnbodirect.com, they point out that this rate is 5 times the national average for traditional savings accounts. That may be but at an interest rate of 1.1% your savings aren’t going anywhere fast.

You may wish to have your money directly deposited into your savings account if you are using FNBO Direct. The FNBO Direct routing number is 104000016. With this number and your account number your employer can set your paycheck up for direct deposit. Since FNBO Direct is an online bank that is definitely the way to go rather than having to send your paycheck in the mail to have it deposited. Not having branch offices available is the main drawback of an online bank. Otherwise, online banking is very convenient. A few clicks of the mouse and you can check your account balance, pay bills, and transfer money to another person.

You can find a FNBO Direct review at http://www.moneybluebook.com/review-of-fnbo-direct-high-yield-savings-account/. It can be hard to find reviews on online banks. Many reviews online were written several years ago when the financial markets had not dropped so far down yet. Back then it was far easier to look at an interest paying account and consider it high yielding if it was paying 5%. These days even 1% is considered high yielding. You may not be able to purchase the same amount of  goodies with the money you earn today but you are still receiving what is considered a high interest rate when you look at the FNBO Direct rate.

As with any online business be on the lookout for any scam associated with a website. Do not assume a business is legitimate unless you get it in writing. Even then, be careful. Online savings accounts with no minimum balance are a great tool  for letting your children experience managing an account. The only hard part is getting the start up capital. Let them experience having to wait a few weeks to see their money deposited.

Patience is a hard trait to teach but at least you can teach them how to manage their expectations. How many 5 year olds do you know that have the patience to check on their investments in case something unexpected happened to their investments. Many adults still don’t have the required patience.

Banks try all sorts of promotions to entice you to become their customer. Currently the wave of incentives is in full-swing and you can easily get a promotional gift from any bank you choose. Gifts range from additional cash to be deposited a few weeks after the first use of the card, over toaster ovens to high performance water bottles. Keep in mind that children are not eligible for credit cards so withdrawing any money from a child’s account is fairly difficult. Make sure the child realized this before opening an account.

The FNBO Direct savings account seems to be a great training tool. Put aside an amount of money you may need to remain flexible such as your grocery budget or emergencies that need instant access to cash. Take the rest of your funds and distribute them among the various accounts you have set up for the purpose. This method will effortlessly streamline your funding issues. With interest rates as low as they currently are, savings accounts work better as budgeting tools than as savings tools.