My Annakitty sleeps with me, all snuggled up when it's cold, but right now when it's so hot she sleeps a way from my body but still where I can have a hand or arm next to her.

When she was young and I was in high school, I'd lie on my stomach to read and she'd curl up on my back and take a nap.

My parents always had cats that slept on the bed. Dad had two monster toms (Simon and Garfunkel) who would start off the night next to you and then in the morning I would wake up clinging to the edge and one of them would be sprawled out taking up most of the single bed.

Online banking rocks so hard. It makes it so easy to set up structures that suit your own idiosyncrasies.

For me, aside from the 401k out of each check, my mid month check feeds a certain amount into my ING account. Then when each paycheck hits, I take whatever amount was still left in my checking from the last check and slide that over into a different interest-bearing savings. I don't stress if I need to dip into that every so often, but mostly I don't, or it's not a lot of money. When that account hits a certain dollar amount, I transfer most of it into the ING savings.

Total trips to bank: 0
Total checks mailed: 0
Total fees paid: 0

For me, this is way more effective than any more normal savings method. I've learned that being flexible with myself short circuits the "but what if I need that money" panic that otherwise can stand in the way of putting anything into savings.

All of that is in flux right now with the condo purchase stuff, of course, so we'll have to see if I need to make adjustments.

Yay for online banking! I don't have a complex savings strategy, but online automatic bill-pay has made such a difference to my quality of life, and probably my credit score.

What bon said.

Oh god, yeah. No way I could have rehabbed my credit over the past five years, leaving me able to even think about doing what I am now, without online/auto bill pay.

My whole saving scheme just sort of developed organically - not sure I could have come up with something like that from the start.

Well, this may be a glimmer of hope. I walked up while my downstairs neighbor was talking to one of the new owners and overheard that they aren't looking to go condo in the near future. If that's true and it's just a monthly rent increase we're looking at, I have a much better chance at remaining in my home. And possibly becoming a pauper, but at least I'll have a place I love to come home to after a hard evening's panhandling.

Also, they're water blasting the building exteriors today. Hasta la vista, festering windowsill squirrel nest!

Brenda, the place is beautiful!

I'm home. Got all but my earrings put away (how much do I love coming HOME with a suitcase of clean laundry?! MUCH!) and have eaten and found the Devi. Sad to not be around the nephews. Played Transformers with D this morning (I've got those things whupped! Laughing in retrospect at all my brother's grad school friends who were stymied by them) and redraw the purple stickman on his forehead with a sharpie (don't ask. He's probably one of the few 4 year olds whose parents have given up the sharpie battle and draw on him themselves.) T woke up in a brilliant mood, so I got a lot of smiley happy baby time. Managed to get two long belly laughs out of him (he's just getting the hang of that now.) Love that. Then he fell asleep on me doing that painful, but adorable, pinchy hands thing. I have baby soothing powers!

Anyway, need to make tomorrow's lunch (blech) and go get my keys still.

Yay sarameg! I'm glad it was such a fun visit.

Brenda, the place looks great. Now I have to think of some business reason to head your way and raise a glass with you on that deck.

My only ish? The 1 week hold time on deposits.

Yeah, I can't see using them as my primary account for just that reason

I have an HSBC online savings account for my emergency fund, and I really dig the 5.05% APY. But yeah, there's a reason it's not my primary (i.e., rent/bills/food/comics) account — I need to access a large portion of my income quickly.

Also, online bill-pay is an invention that ranks right up there with pay-at-the-pump gas pumps in terms of Oh My God How I Love You So.

t edit Oh! Another Holy Grail invention is one I encountered for the first time today: Lane Bryant's new Right Fit jeans. Oh. My. God. Seriously, women who are size 14 and up, get thee to a Lane Bryant.

The jeans come in 3 different shapes, based on your waist-to-hip ratio, and they are fucking AMAZING. I bought a pair today, and they fit so well that I almost cried. I have a 10-inch waist-to-hip differential, so buying jeans has always been a bitch. Either they fit in the waist but nowhere else — which isn't viable — or they fit in the hips/thighs, and the waist gaps horribly. But these? These are a marvel.

Also, online bill-pay is an invention that ranks right up there with pay-at-the-pump gas pumps in terms of Oh My God How I Love You So.

It's beyond Oh My God How I Love You So and into the territory of Oh My God I Couldn't Live Without. Just like the squeeze bottles that are designed so you squeeze things out of the bottom, but with the advantage of saving my uncreditworthy ass.