Bank of America's Keep the Change, while not exactly a new program, is good place to start putting away a little something once in a while especially at these times when saving up is not at the top of every individual or family's list of priorities.

So you have just heard that you will be joining the 524,000 people who became unemployed last month. I hope you followed the advice to have a cushion of money in savings. If not, you will have to rely on unemployment for cash. But whatever the source of your money, you will have to stop spending much of it as soon as possible. However, there are always bills to pay. A report discussing tax rebates as a way to stimulate the economy said that one of the cons was that people often used the money to pay bills instead of spending it. Of course, paying bills is a form of spending. And paying bills will account for most of your spending when you are unemployed, the only place you need to do a lot of shopping is the grocery store. It may not help the rest of the economy, but it is what you need to do.

If you're searching for the highest interest rate offers, it's highly likely that you've encountered Dollar Savings Direct, an online savings bank that operates under the shadow of its more renowned cousins – the Emigrant Direct and the Emigrant Savings Bank. Until last year, this online bank was called BancoFortuna which is Emigrant’s attempt to tap into the Hispanic market.

After the SEC shut down other P2P lenders, the LendingClub is probably one of the most reputable credit organizations currently operating. But many changes have taken place. For example, instead of directing “lending” to private borrowers, lenders are now “investing” in the notes issued by LendingClub. Certain restrictions have been added but there are benefits as well because the notes can now be traded in the secondary market.

Ah, credit. The nation's widespread adoption of it has allowed several generations of Americans to spend beyond their means, creating more car owners, college students and homeowners than ever before. Of course, buying on credit also has its drawbacks, the primary one being the amount of interest that borrowers must pay on their credit purchases, which ends up increasing the overall cost of that car, student loan or home.

The high-paying, king-making Wall Street that everyone was once in awe of practically vanished after JP Morgan's purchase of Bear Stearns in March, Lehman Brothers' closure in September, and Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch that same time. When the dust had settled, only two were left standing: Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

Are you one of the 5 million people who uses Twitter? If so, you can now receive tweets from My Bank Tracker! We recently created an account on the microblogging and mobile social network site, providing Twitterers with up-to-the-minute banking information and rates. If you’re a site member, start following us to receive updates on the best checking, savings, CD, mortgage and credit cards available and to read our newest articles on a variety of banking topics. To find us on Twitter, go here: Follow MyBankTracker on Twitter.

Here's how: ING Direct is offering a $25 banking bonus for opening an Orange Savings Account. To receive the ING Direct $25 bank bonus, just open an online savings account with a minimum opening balance of $250, and you will receive the $25 cash bonus. Expires on 2/28/09. Promo Code: D293P To get the deal click here.

Here's how: Visit the Chase $100 Banking Bonus Offer Page and enter your email address to receive a unique $100 promotional coupon.

To qualify you must open the account with a minimum deposit of $100 of new money not currently held by Chase or its affiliates.  From there, you must initiate a direct deposit from payroll, pension, social security, or other government benefits within 60 days of opening the checking account. The $100 cash bonus will be deposited into your Chase Checking account within 10 days after the initial direct deposit has been posted to your account. To get the deal click here.

Here's how: Just open a qualifying Citibank regular checking account and fund it with a minimum of $1,000 by 01/31/2009. Within the first month after your account is opened, make at least one direct deposit into your account or make at least two electronic bill payments from your account each month for three consecutive months and get $100 deposited into your new account.

Promo Code: CY73

To get the deal click here.