• Use lots of banks: Your neighborhood branch might have the most local ATMs, but the online players like ingdirect.com, bankofinternet.com and etradebank.com are offering better than 3 percent interest on checking, and sweet CD rates, too. Online transfers are easy. You can still keep a cash fund close to home.
• Build a bigger wallet: Using one credit card for everything is easy, but wrong. You can earn hundreds of dollars a year maxing out rewards by using different cards for different types of purchases. That’s because most reward cards cap the amount they’ll give you in a year. Many offer higher rewards for specific purchases. Some of the more robust deals are the Chase PerfectCard (3 percent back on gas); the Citibank Driver’s Edge card (6 percent back for one year at groceries, drugstores and gas stations, plus 1 cent for every mile you drive (prove it by submitting service receipts), and the Capital One No Hassle Miles Platinum Rewards card, for all those airline miles, according to Consumer Action. Still carrying balances? Add a no- or zero- interest-rate card just for them. Got a business? The Advanta Small Business Card pays 5 percent rebates on office supplies and computer equipment.
• Move your money around: Many brokerage firms pay minimal interest on the cash sitting in accounts waiting to be invested. At Schwab, for example, if your household balance is under $100,000, the interest on your cash is 0.75 percent. But you can buy a better-paying money-market fund, like Schwab’s own Investor Money Fund, paying 4.76 percent now. More complicated, yes, because you have to take the time to buy and sell the better-paying fund, instead of taking the paltry default rate. But it’s worth the effort if you’re going to be sitting on some cash for a while.
• Pull it together: If you’re going to make use of all these accounts, you need to track them in one place. Download all to Quicken or Microsoft Money, or use an online aggregator like mint.com or geezeo.com. They’ll help you keep it simple.
