I think our family is on par with a majority of the world in not having much money. At all. Period. 
So, obviously, we know quite a bit about doing a lot with a little. Too often our outlook at saving our money is focused on retirement only. Well, retirement accounts are great, but what about the here and now. If I didn't have to worry about money until I retired that would be perfect (and then I'd retire right now), but I do need to worry about it now and how we'll afford vacation next year. So how can anyone see to it that they get the most out of their money?
The best place to begin making wise investment choices is with the basic savings/checking account that has all your money in it right now. Yes, you may ultimately wish to invest a majority of your excess(for those of you who ever have excess, the only excess I've got is around the waist), but everyone will always need money that can be accessed readily and that money will always be found in a savings/checking account. So--is your money in the account that offers you the most for your money? or are you where you've always been for no better reason than it's just where you've always been(don't feel bad if you are, I've come to find that 95% of all people fit the latter)?
Chances are if your money is just sitting in the bank or Credit Union that you've always used, then you could probably do better. So start checking around. This can be done in a simple online search. Look up each of the financial institutions in your area. Check their interest rates, account requirements, service charges, freebies for meeting certain qualifications, etc. When you've found some that really sound good to you, the next step is to call in and ask questions. It's not possible to cover every benefit or every charge/fee in one online site, so you'll find that calling the institutions that you find worth a 'step 2' will provide you with clearer, more precise information.
To give you an idea of what you could be missing out on I'll use our town as an example. The financial institution at which we bank is the only one in town that offers service charge free accounts. There really is no minimum balance and no service charge for our basic accounts (this is a rarity anywhere in the country). At most other institutions (perhaps yours as well) the only way to avoid charges each month is to meet certain balance and other requirements. Also, most checking accounts earn no interest until insane balances are kept in the account, and then for your average of $5000 you will earn like .05% or .1% interest. Our basic checking (remember with no service charge at all) earns interest anytime the average balance for that month is over $200. So if you're below that, it's still a free account, but if it's over that $200 you earn .25% interest. That may not seem like a lot, but it's huge for a checking account and it's offered no strings attached by our financial institution.
You may be led to the conclusion that ours must be the most successful financial institution in the area . . . that would be true, BUT there are still a lot of people who do not use ours as their financial institution and the main excuse I hear is that they've had their current account forever and aren't willing to change. So, because they like to travel in ruts (because that's what you're in if you've no better excuse for where you are than tradition), people are willing to earn less with their money, or are even willing to pay their financial institution!! numerous fees and ultimately lose more than they gain! If that's your excuse(and I'll admit some ruts can be scenic), so be it. I can't make anybody better their situation, but I will make it clear that in almost every case it is possible to get more for your money with a minimal amount of work--if you want to.
So start shopping around. It could be the difference of $100 or more a year in free-to-spend money.
Now, a new option that large banks have started to offer is online savings accounts. These accounts function like any other savings account (they're equally federally insured so you'll never lose your money) but everything is done online. Every transaction, even the opening of the account, is all done online. This adds ease to transacting on and managing your account. Best of all, these accounts usually offer very high interest earnings. When I opened mine a year ago it offered 4% for a no strings attached account! On top of that it offered interest each month so long as the average balance was at least $1!!! You can't beat that. Now, after the economy has slipped a little (or has it done a complete slip-trip-belly flop onto pavement?), we're still earning over 3% on that account while most savings accounts are earning less than 1% if they earn anything.
So we went from averaging $20 or so a year in interest to nearly $100 in interest alone. On top of that we get all of our checks printed for free, have no charges for debit card use, etc. All this because we did a little work. So the options are out there. The more you have, the more these little ventures could earn you. We're a family of 4 living on a salary of 1, so if you're any better off than that, you could be earning that much more with your family's money.
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