Having extra money set aside can be a real lifesaver later on in life should you ever run into a financial emergency, want to put a down payment on a home, start your child’s college fund, or start your own business. Here are some saving and investing opportunities that will make the most of any amount of spare money, from your pocket change to your golden nest egg .

If you have a $100…
Saved up a few hundred? Open a high-yield online savings account that will allow you to earn the highest interest on your sitting money. Our top picks that do not require a minimum balance include Ally Bank’s online savings account with 1.70% yield, HSBC Direct’s 1.35% APY, and ING Direct’s Orange Savings with 1.30% APY. Or you can go to MoneyAisle to compare APY rates yourself.
Tip: Be on the lookout for any minimum deposits or minimum balances that some high-yield accounts require that may make you ineligible for stashing your money there.

If you have $1000…
If you don’t plan to touch your money for a period of time, a Certificate of Deposit (CD) might be a good place for your money’s safe-keeping. CDs offer a higher interest rate 1 to 2 percentage points higher than savings accounts. What’s the catch? For the term of your CD (anywhere from 9 months to a few years), you cannot withdraw or deposit additional money or you will pay a penalty. If you are confident you won’t be itching for your money, shop for CDs according to their life span, minimum deposit, and rate—1.75% APY on an 18 month CD at Citibank, 2.25% APY on a 24 month CD at American Express, or a 2.75% APY for a 3 year CD at Discover.
Tip: The 12 month 2.00% APY CD with Discover offers no-penalty access and no-fee early withdrawal, which is a good option in a time of job insecurity and recession.

If you have a $10,000…
Wall Street’s encouraging market rally maintaining over 10,000 points make now a promising opportunity to invest in stocks and potentially reap big rewards. Whether you are a first-timer or a trading veteran, $10,000 is a good investment towards a few top-notch stock funds or to diversify your stock portfolio. Online trading webistes like TD Ameritrade, TradeKing, Zecco, and ShareBuilder offer online convenience and low cost per trade that makes it easy to invest your money.
Tip: Good news for new traders: both TradeKing and ShareBuilder are offering a bonus to new accounts.

If you want to do a good deed…
An alternative place to put your savings is investing in a peer-to-peer loan or microloan. While this may not pad your bank account as much as the above options, the pay-off is that you this alternative to traditional banks helps other people and supports a good cause. Both Prosper and Lending Club allow you to choose who you want to help finance through small, personal loans. Kiva, a microloan lending platform, connects you to third-world entrepreneurs to help finance projects for impoverished communities.
Tip: P2P sites like Prosper and Lending Club offer great 7%-13% estimated returns for lenders.

Put that extra cash where it belongs
Finding the right place to save or invest extra cash will pay off later as interest rates continue to drop, jobs start to stabilize, stock markets keep surging, and your money will be financially fit for an economic boom.

Saving up for a college fund is a luxury in today’s economy, so Upromise is turning the usual shopping trip, grocery run, and fill-up at the gas station into a daily opportunity to earn money for college. Upromise’s business model makes it easier for families to start saving for college early by making the most of what Americans do best— shop.

Upromise, going strong with 10 million members and nearly $500 million in member rewards, is one of the largest private sources of college funding contributions in the United States.

This is how the completely free program works: you start by creating an Upromise account and registering your credit, grocery, or loyalty cards. Then, you shop, shop, and shop as usual and make purchases at any of their participating 21,000 grocery and drug stores, 14,000 gas stations, 8,000 restaurants, thousands of retailers, and over 600 online shopping sites. A percentage of your purchase at these participating retailers and products goes directly into your Upromise account.

From your account, you can transfer savings over to a 529 college savings plan where you can decide where and how to invest the dollars your purchases earned you for your child’s education. You can use these rewards to save up for college, pay for an existing student loan, or you can opt for a check in the mail for college-related expenses.

If you’re not convinced yet of getting free money for college, Upromise’s $100,000 College Dream Sweepstakes should sweeten the deal. Upromise is giving away $10,000 to 10 lucky winners from now until August 21, 2009. To qualify, simply join Upromise and install Turbosaver, an online savings reminder tool.

Upromise is a simple and effective free rewards program to start earning savings for college early and easily. It takes no more effort than shopping as you usually do, unless you actively seek out Upromise merchants to accumulate savings faster. Either way, you earn savings in small, incremental ways that could add up to the cost of a textbook, part of your dorm rent, possibly even a year of tuition. Even friends and family can contribute to your Upromise savings the same way you do: simply have them register with Upromise, add their loyalty and credit cards, shop, shop, shop, and then direct their savings to go to your account.

The only downside is how slow it may take to accumulate savings. You aren’t likely to pay-off all the expenses of four years of tuition just by buying participating orange juice and butter products. The highest contribution percentage comes from shopping online with Upromise, providing members the opportunity to earn 1-25%. Participating restaurants also provide a significant savings opportunity with earning power of up to 8% of your total bill.

Upromise gets you cents and dollars to pad your college fund. The idea is not to save money for college by curbing spending habits, but how to make the most of the fact that if you are going to shop anyway, at least shop specific brands so you can earn some savings in return. Because free money for college, is still, free money for college.

For most people, the thing that launches them into credit trouble in the first place is an unexpected financial emergency. Individuals who pay their bills on time, people who use credit cards wisely and people who always keep up with their mortgages can suddenly be thrown into a complete financial crisis when a surprise strikes them. Here are ten ways that you can prepare for and handle financial emergencies.

1 - Plan ahead in order to make a difference.

Start a savings and make provisions for whatever may occur. You should put a portion of every pay check into a savings account.

2 - Expect the unexpected so that you may plan and prepare accordingly.

You should be prepared for every scenario. Plan for the worst, so that you can handle anything that may come your way.

3 - Pay yourself first rather than waiting until the end of the month to put money into your savings.

Putting the money into savings now will ensure you do not spend it easily through out the month. Otherwise, you may not be able to save when the time comes.

4 - Increase your income if you are having trouble paying your expenses.

This may entail finding a better job, or supplanting your income through another job. You may also be entitled to a raise at your current job.

5 - Sell off some assets to accrue extra income if you are having trouble paying your expenses.

This can be as small as a garage sale or as large as selling one of two cars. Having stuff is pointless if you are unable to pay for rent or utilities.

6 - Borrow against your home if you absolutely have to, so that you can pay off emergency expenses without allowing them to overwhelm you and put you further into debt.

The equity in your home should be used as a last resort, as you are putting your home at risk. It is your largest asset, however, so it can be helpful for a tight spot.

7 - Call on friends and relatives to see if you can get some financial assistance in your time of need.

Those close to you can provide the assistance you need. Everyone is connected and those close to you would help you; you would help them if the situation were reversed.

8 - Defer your retirement contributions, funneling the money toward a more important cause such as an emergency expense instead.

If you are unable to proceed in the now, planning for the future is worthless.

9 - Seek professional help if you cannot find any other way to deal with the emergency expense without putting yourself into debt.

There are experts out there who are specially trained just for this purpose. Do not ignore this important resource.

10 - Declare bankruptcy if there is no other option available for you to overcome the obstacles created by a financial emergency.

Bankruptcy is a government provided way to get out of debt and start anew, although it carries with it a stigma which will be hard to shake off of your credit report.

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Financial planning articles and books often recommend that you put away between three months and six months of your expenses into a savings account. On occasion it may even be recommended that you put away between six and twelve months of your average expenses just in case anything should happen. But what if your first emergency is an eleven to eighteen month financial crisis? It really is quite difficult to plan on the emergency situation that will come up and exactly how long it will last. For this reason, it is best that you put yourself in the best possible financial situation and stay there.

An emergency fund can easily provide the financial resources that you need whenever a financial emergency prevents you from earning an income, or consumes your regular household income. Some of these emergencies may include a major illness, loss of income or another type of financial emergency. Minor emergencies also make such financial planning necessary; such as an unexpected home repair or vehicle repair, or medical bills that you did not anticipate. If you want to establish financial security, then planning an emergency fund is absolutely vital.

If you do not have an emergency fund in place, then you may feel compelled to acquire debt instead using a credit card for traditional expenses such as a mortgage, rent or groceries. This new debt can take as many as several years to repay, and interest will be accrued to cost you even more unnecessary expenses. However, if you decide to regularly allocate income to an emergency savings account or a short term savings account, you can contribute significantly to the security in an emergency that the future may eventually bring. In doing so, it is highly recommended that your emergency fund be looked at as an additional bill that needs to be paid, just as any other obligation would be required of you every month.

Here are some tips to keep in mind for planning an emergency fund or emergency savings account.

1 - How much funds should you have?

At least three months of expenses should be stored in your emergency fund, but more is always better. It is vital that you be consistent with your deposits, and only dip into your emergency savings when you absolutely must. Look for high interest sates for such short term savings accounts, so you can let your money make money for you while it is sitting.

2 - Come up with a minimum “comfortable balance” and stick to it.

Once you have reached this, you may also want to begin considering longer term savings accounts.

3 - The amount that is saved from your budgeting can go into your savings goal or your emergency fund, or can be split between the two.

This way you will be achieving your goals in your savings and still contributing to your emergency fund at the same time.

4 - Whenever possible, pad beyond your first few months of expenses when putting together your basic emergency fund.

Keep in mind that the more you plan, the more prepared that you will be when it comes to handling emergencies.

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Are you financially prepared for disaster? Answering this question may not be as easy as it seems, because there are a lot of different considerations that go into preparing yourself for one of many different disasters that can occur. For example, are you financially prepared to handle a natural disaster like a floor or a hurricane? Are you financially prepared for a financial disaster like becoming disabled or losing your job unexpectedly? Are you wondering what goes into determining your financial preparedness for different types of disasters? Here are some tips that may help you become more financially prepared to handle a variety of different disasters that would be taxing on your financial stability.

- Do you have an emergency fund, or a rainy day fund?

Most people have trouble putting away money for emergencies because they do not put enough thought into the types of emergencies or disasters that can occur. Have you put consideration into how you will deal with emergency home repairs, auto repairs, health and hospital costs or other expenses that can crop up quickly and without warning? Having an emergency fund is absolutely vital if you want to weather the storm that comes with these types of financial emergencies. If you become sick or lose your job unexpectedly, will you have enough money to cover your mortgage or keep gas in your tank?

- Can your credit score accommodate for an emergency loan or line of credit if you should suddenly need cash quickly to tackle a disaster or an emergency?

If your credit is good enough that most lenders will work with you, then you can consider yourself to be protected. If you do not believe your credit is good enough or if you’re not sure, it might be wise to take out a credit card now that you will only use in absolute emergencies.

Being financially prepared for disaster does not necessarily mean having thousands of dollars floating about waiting for a reason to be used. What it does mean, however, is anticipating potential disasters or emergencies that could come up, and responding to that risk by preparing accordingly. Having a few hundred or a few thousand dollars saved up in advance can really be useful should an emergency come up that prevents you from working, or that requires that you spend a great deal of money on something like home repairs, car repairs or medical bills.

If you do not know the answer to the question “are you financially prepared for a disaster?” then it may be time that you sit down and really figure out how much financial preparedness you have and need in order to combat any emergencies or disasters that may come up over time. This is the best way to make sure that you always have enough money for a rainy day, or to tackle a period where you need more money than you are currently making.

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