How I use ING Sub Accounts
By Stew
I have been a customer of ING Direct for several years now and although there are other banks that are offering higher interest rates, I will always keep the majority of my savings money there.I know that many people like ING’s Electric Orange checking account, but I personally do not use it. I prefer to use a local, brick and mortar bank for checking.
Here is what I like most about ING Direct: sub accounts. I currently have seven different sub accounts as a part of my regular savings account at ING Direct. Here is how I use the sub account feature at ING Direct:
Big picture
I can see the account number, balance, and available balance of all of my accounts immediately after log in. No clicking to other pages, no “too much information”. Just the balance and the name of that particular account.
Minor Accounts
Three of my sub accounts are for each of my children. Since my children are fairly young, they do not need much money. I opened a savings account for them after they were born and I deposit birthday money, Christmas money and sometimes just a few dollars from my account. It is easy to see how much money each child has saved and they all accrue interest. I hope that this little stash will give them a “leg up” someday.
The single log in makes it easy for me to see what they have saved and move money around as necessary. The kids are not even aware that the money exists.
Other Income
Mrs. Stew and I have several other sources of income. She runs a home daycare and I earn outside cash through consulting and some by blogging. Sub accounts make it easy to track this income. If you have a home business, online businesses, lawn business or any other streams of income, ING sub accounts can help you account for income and expense. Sub accounts make filing self-employment taxes easier at the end of the year.
Direct deposit
Of course, ING makes it easy to have your pay check directly deposited into your account – most bank accounts will do this, but an additional feature is the ability to deposit income into the exact sub account that is tied to that income stream. For instance, if you use Pay Pal, you can tie multiple ING sub accounts to your pay pal account. If you are paid from job A and job B in the same day, you can transfer the exact amount to the corresponding sub account.
Another feature that I enjoy is the ability to initiate direct deposit from ING into any personal checking account. I take care of the bookkeeping for my wife’s income. I deposit all of her pay checks into her ING sub account and then she gets a monthly direct deposit from ING into her checking account to spend and take care of expenses.
How do I open a sub account?
Easy, once you have signed up for ING Direct, simply log in and click on “open an account”. Do not choose the “joint account” option, name the account appropriately and it will appear right next to your original account. It feels like opening a brand new separate account, but if you have already logged in, the account will be a sub account. It would be nice for them to have a “sub” account button.
The only annoying thing about the sub accounts is that I cannot seem to figure out how to delete them once they are in place – or even change the name. I no longer get income from a couple of sources, but I still have the sub accounts in my profile . . . I even named one of them incorrectly . . . annoying.
So label your accounts with care! Does anyone else use ING Direct sub accounts? – Article by Stew
Photo by VirtualErn
September 9th, 2009 at 10:06 am
I am now able to change the names of my sub accounts at ING (I wasn’t able to previously). Click on the account you want to change the name of, click on “Account Maintenance,” and then click on “Change” next to account nickname.
Also, I think you are able to close the account once you withdraw everything out of it. If you have a couple accounts @ a $zero balance, try putting a dollar in them. The next day, when you take all of the money back out, ING should ask you if you are trying to close the account and you just respond affirmatively. That should be the way to remove accounts you are no longer using.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I was happy to see that my bank, not ING, has the same options in their online accounting. Thanks for the heads up. I think we’ll be putting these to use.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:23 am
Nice overview. The best part about the subaccounts, like you say, is being able to see just what the money is being used for.
If you’ve got a goal of saving money for a new laptop, or to pay your taxes, or for your vacation, keeping the money separate (but all in one place) makes it super easy to track how you’re doing.
September 9th, 2009 at 10:40 am
David, those are dome awesome tips, thank you so much for taking the time to share.
Emily, may I ask the name of you local bank?
Jason, especially for us lazy people. ;)
September 9th, 2009 at 11:59 am
I’ve been using ING for a number of years, but I’ve only been using the subaccounts for the last 18 months or so. I’ve got accounts for gifts, utilities (my utility bills are every other month), savings, vacation, and just “extra”. Budgeting is so much easier this way – I wish I had realized this sooner. Any bank that makes it easier for you to save for a particular goal deserves a medal :)
September 9th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Yep, I’m really a fan of ING, gives so much flexibility. Unfortunately, my bank does not make it easy to open several accounts and I really like to have sub-accounts for specific saving purposes such as wedding budget, travel, funds for the future, etc.
Because somehow, when all the money is mixed together, just seems like it is spend a lot more easily:)
September 9th, 2009 at 7:04 pm
Good post. I have never used ING much and now I may start. I also ran across this article about how most banks are charging for overdrafts on ATM cards, but ING doees not; which I thought others might be interested in as well.
http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/107691/overspending-on-debit-cards-is-a-boon-for-banks.html?mod=bb-checking_savings
here are some that don’t:
Debit has essentially changed into a stealth form of credit, according to critics like him, and three quarters of the nation’s largest banks, except for a few like Citigroup and INGDirect, automatically cover debit and A.T.M. overdrafts.
September 12th, 2009 at 3:53 pm
Why do you say “do not choose joint account”? I ask because my current acct is a joint acct with my wife… wouldn’t I want the subs to include us both?
September 14th, 2009 at 12:10 am
I think if your original account was a joint account, the new sub account would automatically be under the same names. The reason that I said not to choose joint account is because the opening procedure then asks the other person to log in – my account is not joint.
September 15th, 2009 at 8:48 am
I love the ING account, but I have yet to breal it down into sub accounts . . . something to do going forward.