While this is a little off the topic it might help some people that are going down the rough road of excessive debt.
"The secret to money is to make it work for you" This statement was passed on to me by a little old man one day. Over the years by trial and error I have been able to find some of the ways he eluded too. Most times if you take the time to talk to your bank rep. you will find that certain accounts can yield more interest than others. You can also find that those accounts can be raised to a preferred rate just by asking. The banks also have starter accounts that will pay up to 3% which you can have an automatically drawn from another account. While it is limited to about 1200.00 a year it is a start. This all sounds good but if you have debt then all of the % the bank can give you will not offset the % you are paying them. Focus on the largest debt % first and work hard to pay off one of the debt cards you have. After it is paid off go down the line and pay them all off. If you have a car payment nows the time to work on this one if it is a higher percent than than your mortgage. Now you have gotten to the point were the only debt you have is the house. Support your 401 or SEP to its maximum amount and then pay down your mortgage as fast as you can.
So were is all of this extra money you have? It's in your pocket and leaking out because you don't have a budget. Sit down and write a budget and stick to it. You would be amazed at how you spend your money keep a log for a week and you will see holes all over the place. If you want a good book to read Dave Ramsey he has programs that will give you the support and the reasons on how to get out of debt. He is not a debt consolidation service he is a guy that gives you the tools needed to fix your money issues with hard work and will power all for the price of the book.
Art