I had a satirical piece on how to get rich quick up here a few months ago. I found that most of the readers enjoyed the article. Well something really funny happened recently in regards to the topic of getting rich quick. The other day I received an email from an affiliate manager for one of these scams. Yes- really! After exchanging a few emails I was completely shocked. Imagine me being an affiliate of a how to get rich quick scheme? I would get upset by the email normally, but I honestly found it more humorous than anything.
So let’s talk about how to get rich quick… Again! This time I wanted to take a different stance on the make money fast topic. Let’s look at how can you tell if it’s a get rich quick scam:
There’s no freakin’ details.
Okay I can make lots of money fast. Show some examples. Cool. When are you going to tell me how to make the money? Where are the details? How will I get paid? Who will pay me these thousands of dollars? These long page ads and affiliate emails literally have no details about how you will actually make money. They simply inundate you with dreams and hopes of making a fortune with minimal effort. If you ever get a email that discusses making money, with absolutely no details, be careful because it’s more than likely a big fat scam.
The phrase “get rich quick” is used.
If I worked for a “get rich quick” company I would definitely NOT use that same term over and over again. I know that it’s a catchy attention grabber, but can they not think of something more clever or less scammy? That phrase is an instant giveaway that it’s a scam. Some times I’ll read the long page ad just to see what kind of clever marketing strategy they’re trying to use this time. But I will never ever send them $50 for entry into their program that could make me “thousands in days.”
It’s easy to apply.
Really? How easy can it be? You can easily get rich quick by winning the lottery, but how easy is it? I would like to think that if I were to make lots of money that it’s due to something I did right. Not some really easy way that thousands of other supposed people have used to make money fast. As soon as I see the words “get rich quick” together, I get very tempted to just close the window. I don’t want some program that’s easy to apply to and dying to let people in. Why would anyone want to share those kind of secrets with complete strangers on the internet?
If you really want to follow down this path then you should check out some of the consequences of making money fast. If you perhaps are simply interested in finding legitimate work from home jobs, you should check out my guest post at The Digerati Life.
Ambitious 20-somethings are always looking to find the best return on their money. This leads to the important question: what is the best online bank account. Many long time readers of Studenomics have asked that I try to squeeze in a few investing and entrepreneurship posts here and there. Since I’m really interested in trying to grow the little savings that I have, I decided to do some research to try to find out what the best online bank account is and what products they have to offer us.
Online bank accounts:
The following are some of the most popular high yield savings account choices that we have at online banks. If you want the best return on your money, while it remains safe, then consider the following options:
Everbank
The EverBank Yield Pledge Money Market Account yields a 2.51% APY for the first 3 months once you open a new account. After this, you will earn an APY of 1.51% in your first year. This is for the more serious investors because an initial deposit of $1,500 is required. The plus side is that you won’t have to pay any fees.
ING Direct
The Electric Orange Account is presently yielding .25% — 1.45%. This is by far the best online bank account for new investors (in my opinion of course). There is no minimum and no account fees. How can you go wrong? Well the interest rates flat out suck. Besides that you really can’t go wrong. Check here to sign up.
Ally Bank
The Ally Bank Online Savings Account is currently yielding an APY of 1.39%. Ally Bank is a fairly new online bank account with no minimum balance, no monthly fees, and daily compounding. Click here if you want to learn more.
WT Direct
The WTDirect Savings Account will now give you a 1.26% APY. Here’s the deal with this savings account: The first 60 days you’re guaranteed to earn 1.26%. Once the 60 days are up, you’ll have to maintain a balance of 10 grand to keep the 1.26% rate. If you don’t maintain the balance then your APY will be decreased to 0.50%. Once again, there are no fees or hidden costs. Click here to open an account.
These are the top online bank accounts from the research that I’ve been doing for the past few years. Now it’s time to look into what it takes to become the best online bank account:
1. Safe & reliable.
All of the accounts mentioned above are FDIC insured. I must admit that I’ve dabbled in other investments, but high yield online savings accounts have provided me with the safest returns. If you don’t want to be taking too many chances after the economic downturn of late-2008 then you should hold your money where it’s safe.
2. High interest rates.
I know that rates have dropped in the past few years. There’s nothing we can do about this. Well, that’s unless we want to take on some risk and invest in real estate or the stock market. The interest rates offered with online bank accounts surely defeat a standard checking account or keeping the money under your pillow.
3. Customer service.
Customer service? You know the process of answering the phone right away and answering all of my questions with respect and courtesy. That’s all I ask for from my customer service. Unfortuneatly I don’t have much else to add to the customer service bit because I’ve been fortunate enough to not have to deal with any customer service reps. when it comes to online bank accounts.
What do you think is the best online bank account? What criteria do you use to rate online savings accounts?
(Note: I will be discussing entrepreneurship, banking, and investing, more as time goes on. Feel free to request a topic similar to how your peers have.)
