In this time of financial turmoil in the marketplace, it's best to get your own personal financial house in order. I have been taking advantage of the amazing interest rates that are offered by online savings banks like Emigrant Direct and ING Direct for years now. Although I keep a minimum deposit in my Wells Fargo savings account, it is only there to ensure my checking account remains free.

In 2008 I began using the Emigrant Direct MasterCard for every purchase I make including all business and personal expenses. The key benefit of using Emigrant Direct for savings and credit card purchases, apart from the market leading interest rate for savings, is the high cash back percentage that they pay when your savings account is funded with more than $10,000. I learned about the $10,000 requirement only after missing out on 0.9% for the first six months of cash back payments.

Nevertheless, I have accrued more than $1,100 in one year for cash back earnings, even though I "only" received .5% for the first six months.

Prior to using this card I was a miles whore using my Citibank AAdvantage card for everything because I wanted to rack up more miles, even though I have not used more than a quarter million of the miles I earned during the course of 10 years using the card. The primary reason for the switch was that I travel so much for work, that I would rathernot travel so much in my free time. I also wanted to boost my nest egg.

This series of blog posts will discuss my experiences in the world of personal finance. Please share your tips, experiences and thoughts as well for the betterment of the community.

I am particularly interested in your experiences with FNBO's high interest savings account and 2% (introductory) cash back credit card. Let me know if you've used them.

The warehouse fee is charged by lenders when their cost of short-term funds is higher than the interest they will be collecting from you until they can sell your loan to someone who will service your account for the long run.

When you refinance your loan, make sure you ask each lender you talk with the following questions:

• What is your warehouse fee?
• Will you waive your wareouse fee in order to get my business?

A derog letter is simply a letter that explains some derogatory information in your credit report. You'd do this as part of an overall effort to clean up your credit report and lift your FICO score anywhere from a little bit to significantly.

But wait -- don't start writing explanations for derogatory items until you've made an attempt to remove them first!

If you want to do it yourself, there is a good tutorial on eHow.com entitled How to Fix, Repair Bad Credit Report Rating.  It does a good job of listing the 11 steps you should follow to get your credit repair job done yourself.  Print it out, and check off each step as you go.

Also, if you need credit card relief or tax debt relief, get started on that right away.  Otherwise, you'll be trying to build a house of good credit on quicksand.

And if you think that's a good idea, I have some land I'd like to talk to you about! :)

Be careful!  Unpaid HOA dues can become a lien against your property, and you could lose your home!

If you are finding it hard to stay current on your dues, but you have equity in your home, you might want to consider a debt consolidation loan.

Don't let such a small thing cause such a huge catastrophe for your family.  Get it done today.

Did you know that there is a good chance you could be saving money with a quick refinance mortgage?  The way to get the best deal is to receive offers from both local and national lenders.

If there's sufficient equity in your home, you could even get additional cash out.  It's tax free money because it's a loan, not income.

Think what you can do with extra cash:

• Take the family on a great vacation or cruise
• Buy a new car
• Make home improvements
• Finance your family's education

The form takes less than two minutes to fill out, and then you'll be contacted by multiple lenders, all eager to get your business.

So get started right now!

Click here: Refinance Mortgage