In a poor economy, with the collapse of interest rates, it is very difficult to save money in the bank. If you look at interest rates of most banks, you will see most likely rates between 0.1 and 1% interest per year. Even with a large amount of money, it is still extremely difficult to make any amount of reasonable return by saving in the bank; instead you are tempted to put your money in riskier investments in the hopes of cashing in.
However, it is possible to make money in interest payments from some banks even in a poor economy. Some banks offer special programs that allow you to earn a high interest rate, provided that you meet certain conditions each month. These conditions typically include using online banking, making an ACH credit or debit transaction from the account each month, and using your debit card a certain number of times every month (typically ten to twelve times per month).
If you are worried about having trouble meeting the conditions, there are fairly simple ways to ensure that you meet the requirements every month. For the ACH transfer, you can have your paycheck deposited in that account. If you are not able to deposit your paycheck in the account, you can use the account for online bill pay, to pay your credit card, or to initiate a transfer to another bank account on a scheduled regular basis.
For the debit card purchases, you can make several small payments online to meet the requirements, or use the debit card to buy gas in small dollar increments at one session, rather than swiping once and filling up your tank.
The interest rates offered will typically be higher than two percent and sometimes can be as high as four percent. For example, if you had $10,000 in an account, you could earn 400 dollars in interest that year if you met the conditions every month.
To find these banks, search the Internet. Not all banks will be local to your area, but you can still open an account with them in many cases. Many of the banks that offer these high interest rates are called Kasasa accounts. Trying doing a web search for Kasasa accounts, and see which high interest accounts are available in your area.
Another website that lists high interest accounts is www.ratebrain.com. Check out this web page to see which banks are offering high interest rates. Note that any bank you see online, you should double check with the FDIC or NCUA, to make sure that it is indeed insured by the government. This gives you peace of mind that the money you deposit will be safe.