Review of ING Direct CD ladders

Recently I wrote a post about my intention to create a ladder of twelve 12-month CDs at ING Direct. A commenter pointed out that ING does have an account option that allows you to create a CD ladder. On August 1st, I excitedly went to open my new CD ladder account, but I was disappointed.

ING's CD ladder option allows you to invest in several CDs of different lengths. You can specify how much you want to go in each of their CDs: 6 month, 9 month, 12 month, etc. Essentially, it's just a shortcut that allows you to open numerous CD accounts at once. (And I may be wrong, but you don't have the option of using this feature unless you're logged in, so perhaps it's only available to existing customers).

What I want is slightly different. I want to deposit a chunk of money, and specify that one twelfth of that money should be used each month to open a new 1-year CD. I want a CD ladder that gives me a mature CD (and therefore available funds) each month. I do not want what ING is offering--CDs maturing every three months.

So, I'm back to doing it myself. I opened a 12-month CD on August 1. On September 1, I'll go back and open another one. And again on Oct 1, and so on, until I've got year-round CDs maturing on the first of each month. This is because this money is still part of my Emergency fund, and may be needed for living expenses in a job loss or similar, but I want to earn higher interest than the regular online savings accounts offer.

If I do have to go back every month through next July to open a CD, at least their website continues to be one of the most pleasant sites I use regularly. I'm a big fan of simple, clean web design with bright colors. ING's site is just plain fun to use.