What I Got

As a starting point, here's a rundown of my worldly assets:

1) Checking account (student checking at Bank of America)
I still have my student checking account, opened while I was, indeed, a student. Apparently I can keep it for five years, and while it's not that different than their regular MyAccess checking, it's free with direct deposit, and I like the web interface, so I'm a fan. The balance is $294.86, as of right this second.

2) "Holding pen" savings (regular savings at Bank of America)
I use this account to set aside large chunks of money I need for monthly expenses—mostly rent and bills—so I know what's what. I also use it for my Keep the Change deposits (this is the Bank of America service that rounds your debit purchases up and deposits the difference in savings, with a match). It's free with $25 monthly autotransfer—I either absorb the transfer, incorporate it as part of my biweekly "holding pen" amount, or just transfer it back. The balance is currently $377.74, which is $20 more than my budgeting software thinks it is.

3) CD ($1,000 Bank of America 1-year CD)
This CD consists of my savings from my on-campus job senior year. The CD purchase was ill-advised, definitely a bad move on my part. The rate is only 3.21%—I just didn't know I could do far better elsewhere. I'm keeping it because the penalties for an early redemption are significant enough to make it worth it. It matures in August, and will be worth something like $1,035. The current balance is $1,005.37.

4) Real savings (ING Direct)
I'm not yet sure what I'm really saving for in this account—emergency fund? travel fund? grad school?—but I'm contributing $100 per pay period to an ING account for whatever it is. This allocation will change when I become eligible for my employer's 401k plan in January, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. I opened this account with $1,500 of graduation money, and I want to see it hit $4,000 by this coming September. The current balance is $1,906.53.

5) Gift fund (ING Direct)
Pretty self-explanatory. I'll probably clear it out for the holidays—I like giving presents. I'm contributing $20 per pay period, but $100 in the extra pay periods (one of which is coming up this month). The current balance is $60.03.

That's all the money I have in the world. Every penny. Now you know.