Setting up a savings account for each goal you have at ING DIRECT is easy and it will help you really see how much you have saved toward a particular goal. If you will need your money within the next five years or so, the steps outlined in this article will help you get your savings moving.

Before Miss Soon-To-Be-Mrs. Frugal and I met, we both had ING DIRECT Orange Savings Accounts. Back then, the interest rate was about 5% , but it’s fallen quite a bit since then.

Although whatever ING DIRECT is offering will be higher than you’ll get in a bank account, as I write this it’s not a whole lot. But I still encourage people to sign up for an ING DIRECT Orange Savings Account because these accounts make it incredibly easy to set money aside for specific goals and there’s no minimum deposit required PLUS your money is FDIC insured.

Similar to other banks, ING DIRECT provides you with one login that has access to multiple accounts. To create your first account, click here to go to ING DIRECT’s account sign-up page.

Once you go to ING DIRECT’s site, you will be asked to fill out information about how your self and how you want to transfer money into the account. There is a verification process you’ll need to through so ING knows you have access to the bank account you’re transferring money from.

After everything is set up (it may take a couple of days), log into your ING DIRECT account and and find the link that says Open Another Account:

When you click on that, it will take you to a screen that asks what kind of account you want to open. You want the Orange Savings Account.

You will then be asked what ownership you want for the account (if you want it to be an individual account or a joint account). Select what you want and click Continue.

Finally, you will be asked what you want to name the account and how you want to fund it. You will need to start the account with an opening balance, so select what account you want the money to come from (it will either be your existing ING DIRECT account or it will be your other checking account). Finally, choose how much you want to put in the account and click Continue.

This will take you to a confirmation page. Review the information and click Continue.

Once you have this all set up, you can go back to your accounts page and you should see the new account.

If you would like to set up an automatic deposit into this account, simply click AUTOMATIC SAVINGS PLAN (above your listed accounts) and tell the system how much you want deposited automatically into your accounts, where the money should come from, and how frequently you want deposits made.

To get started with this excellent tool ING DIRECT provides, click here to go to their home page.

A reader recently asked about how to keep her family’s grocery bill low while still buying organic food. Saving money on organic food can seem daunting…there’s a reason Whole Foods Market is often called Whole Paycheck.

Our family chooses not to buy organic food, in large part because of the cost. But I recognize that some families feel that buying organic is important or even necessary. The reader who wrote in explained that her son has autism and an organic diet is best for him.

So how do you buy organic food without spending your whole paycheck? Let’s take a look.

Buy from Local Farmers
The reader mentioned she buys from local Farmers’ Markets already, so this isn’t as much of a help for her, but if you aren’t already looking to local farmers you may be missing out on some good buys. The challenge with the local Farmers’ Market is that in many parts of the country, they don’t run year-round.

Look to Large Grocery Markets’ Brands
Many of the larger markets sell their own organic lines of foods. Known as Private Label items, these are often about 15% to 20% less than a brand-name item. Even Whole Foods has their own brand (called 365 Organic) that offers savings. (For example, a pound of organic, whole wheat spaghetti is $1.99 if you buy a brand name and $1.69 if you buy 365 Organic at my local Whole Foods Market.)

Look Online for Savings
I compared several items at Whole Foods and Amazon’s Grocery Store. This is where comparison shopping is required. Some items, such as organic olive oil, are much less expensive at Amazon. Ounce-for-ounce, organic extra virgin olive oil was 43.5 cents per ounce at Amazon and 63 cents per ounce at Whole Foods, a savings of 30%.

But other items were more expensive at Amazon. A 28-ounce can of diced tomatoes at Whole Foods cost $1.69 and the same amount at Amazon cost $2.77, 64% more expensive.

Break out your calculator because you’re going to need it to compare costs.

Buy What’s In Season
Years ago, people ate what was locally produced and fresh. Then we started to ship produce all around the world. No matter what time of year it is, most produce can be grown somewhere. The cost of shipping this food around the world to the price, so buying food grown 50 or 100 miles from your home will help. (This is why tip #1 above helps as well.)

What About You?
Do you have any tips for saving money on organic food at the supermarket? Please share your suggestions in the comments section.