*Updated 12/31/2008*

At the beginning of this year I opened a high-yield savings account, something that has been a goal of mine for a long time. After much research on the best high-yield savings programs, I chose to open my account with ING Direct. One of the reasons I chose ING was because of their excellent customer service reviews and their great referral program.

I got $25 free when I opened my ING account with at least $250.

Once you open your ING account, you can then get $10 for each person you refer that starts their account with at least $250.  This referral program works for either the ING Orange savings account, or the ING Electric Orange checking account.

The current APY’s are as follows:

• ING Orange Savings -2.50%% APY
• ING Electric Orange Checking -up to 2.80% APY

If you’d like to get a referral for the free $25, just leave a comment with your preferred email.

(Please note:  don’t type your exact email, otherwise bots will pick it up and you’ll start getting spammed!  It should look something like johndoe @ youremailserv dot whatever)

Need more information?  Check out this post at Get Rich Slowly, or go straight to the ING Direct website.

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Remember to check out your local Craigslist or Freecycle site today for garage sales or cheap furniture. Odds are you’ll be able to find decent furniture for a low price, maybe even free.

I’m moving at the end of this month, and we will have furnished much of our house for a very low price. This will include two free couches from the previous renter! And I’m getting a really nice big framed mirror from my boyfriend’s roommate; he was going to throw it away!

One of the best ways to score free stuff is to just ask. You would be surprised to find how much people actually throw away because they don’t want to haul it. I remember seeing a leather couch in the dumpster one year at my college!

*Note* For those of you that are grossed out by used furniture, just pick up some upholstery cleaner. It might take you 30 minutes or so to clean it, but hey, it’s better than paying $500 or more for one that probably won’t last that long anyways.

Photo credit: khargrav

Popularity: 95% [?]