It's Valentine's Day, or close to Valentine's Day and you are thinking about going out to eat with your significant other and wining and dining him or her with a nice, classy meal. The cost of such a meal is probably in the $200 - $300 range. For some, that's not a lot of money, for others, it might be the entertainment budget for the month, or for several months. So, how can you get the bank to pay for such a meal so that none, or almost none of the bill comes out of your own pocket? It's easy. Switch your money to an account that pays a decent interest rate when compared to the national average. Doing so can help you earn hundreds of extra dollars per year at no additional risk.

Right now, if you are like 80% of the individuals in this country, your extra cash is parked in a savings or CD account at a big bank, earning close to 0%. The average savings account rate according to BestCashCow is 0.13% APY. The rates from bigger banks are closed to 0.05% APY. In essence, the bank is paying you nothing for keeping your money there.

But there are banks that will pay over 7X the national average to deposit your money with them. According to the BestCashCow savings rate tables, the top online savings account rate is 1.00% APY. If you have $30,000 in your cash savings accounts, and you move this over to a higher paying account, the BestCashCow Savings Booster Calculator shows that you would earn approximately $182 after-tax dollars per year. Over ten years, that difference in what you would save by moving your money accumulates to $2,197. That's a lot of nice Valentine's Day meals.

Try calculating how much you can save.

In this example, the bank offering 1% APY is FDIC insured, meaning that you take no additional risk moving your money to the bank.

Take that extra cash you have set aside and put it to work. Opening an account online or at a physical branch takes less than 1 hour. It might one of the most lucrative hours you spend in a while.

View the top savings account rates.

There is competition for your money and some banks are willing and ready to pay you more. And in the process, impress your Valentine by showing him or her that you know how to grow your money the easy way.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day!

In his 2014 State of the Union address President Obama introduced the myRA account and said that the Treasury was taking action to make it available by the end of the year. The goal of the plan is to help millions of Americans save for retirement.

myRA Details

Although the details are still being worked out, the following information has been released about these accounts:

• All workers who have household income below $191,000 may invest in the plans.
• The plan will work like a Roth IRA, where after-tax money is put into the account and the money can be withdrawn in the future with all gains becoming tax-free.
• The only investment option is a fund of U.S. Treasury Securities. Because the securities are backed by the government, a saver will theoretically never lose their principal.
• The White House says the plan will earn the same rate of return as Thrift Savings Plan's Government Securities Investment Fund that it offers to federal workers. That fund earned around 1.5 % in 2012. Its average return between 2003 and 2012 was 3.6%.
• Principal can be withdrawn from the plan at any time penalty free although if interest earned is withdrawn before age 59 ½ it will be taxed.
• Initial investments can be as low as $25 and workers can contribute as little as $5 at a time.
• Individuals will be able to contribute $5,500 per year.
• The maximum that can be saved in the account is $15,000. Once that limit has been reached, the excess money can be rolled over into a private IRA fund.
• Workers can keep the plan even if they switch jobs.

The account is aimed at individuals who have not started saving. Those in high income brackets are ineligible. The rate is actually not that bad when comparing it to other no risk investments such as savings accounts and CDs. The 1.5% 2012 return is far higher than any savings account at the moment, and the money accrues tax free, boosting income even more. The best 5 year CD rates pay between 2-2.5% APY. The money is safe and protected and the principal is liquid, although the interest cannot be withdrawn without penalty.

Those who have never saved before might find this a relatively pain-free way to begin socking away money. From the myRA account, first-time savers can always graduate to private IRAs with more options.

Those under 50 who have access to other investment options should probably invest their money more aggressively in a mutual fund IRA that has the potential for much higher returns.

Those fifty and over who are looking to sock away some safe money until retirement might look at this account. The maximum that can be saved in the plan is $15,000, so it’s not going to significantly change a portfolio, but it’s an easy way to earn a decent tax-free return and keep money liquid.

I recently renewed contact with an old buddy of mine from business school who now manages money for wealthy individuals. When we got down to discussing our career paths and my role as Editor-in-Chief of BestCashCow.com, he became insistent that holding cash in savings or money market accounts and short term CDs is a bad idea. I believe that he is dead wrong.

Of course, cash has dramatically underperformed a diversified stock portfolio and a diversified bond portfolio for the last few years. Since you cannot time the markets or the economy, nobody should ever move entirely into cash. I personally believe that an appropriate portfolio for even the most aggressive, moderately wealthy investor is 40-50% equities, 25% high grade municipal bonds or bank-issued structured notes, and 25-35% cash across accounts at top and well-known online banks.

My friend, however, suggested that instead of holding any cash, I take a look at a series of bonds, bank loans, hedge funds and managed future funds. He recommended that a moderately wealthy investor should open an account with a money management firm (such as his) and place all cash in the account, accessing a line of credit for any expenses. In particular, he proposed the following asset allocation as an alternative to FDIC insured savings accounts:

Global Bond Mutual Funds:

Templeton Global Bond Fund Adv 10.00%

Multisector Bond Mutual Funds:

Goldman Sachs Strategic Income I 10.00%

JPM Strategic Income Opportunity Select 12.50%

Osterweis Strategic Income Fund 10.00%

Bank Loan Mutual Funds:

Nuveen Symphony Floating Rate Inc 7.50%

Diversified Alternative Mutual Funds:

Avenue Credit Strategies Inst 5.00%

Driehaus Select Credit Fund 2.50%

Litman Gregory Masters Alternative Strategy 7.50%

Hedge Funds:

Morgan Stanley Absolute Return 15.00%

Directional Alternative Mutual Funds:

ASTON/River Road Long-Short I5.00%

Mainstay Marketfield Fund 5.00%

Neuberger Berman Long Short Institutional Fund 5.00%

Managed Futures:

AQR Managed Futures Strategy I 5.00%

The above portfolio, with an average annual return of 6.20% since 2009, would have slightly outperformed online savings rates over the last several years; it, however, would not have outperformed a five year CD initiated 2009 or most stock or bond portfolios.

The problem here is that the portfolio was down dramatically in 2008, and again in 2011. While it is diversified and conservative, some components have experienced negative quarters at other points in the last five years. In 2014, importantly, there is a real risk of underperformance again should interest rates rise or should emerging markets continue to falter.

Were those risks not present, ultra-wealthy investors (which I define as someone with over $50 million) would probably do well to invest a portion of their money in a series of funds like those presented by my friend. They can easily get into the proposed funds directly with the fund managers (paying only a management fee which is often reduced). They can ride out the shifts in the market. And, in the worse case, were one of the funds to fail, they would be able to absorb the loss as my friend’s model portfolio places no more than 15% in any single fund.

A moderately wealthy investor (someone with between $5 million and $10 million in liquid assets) does not have any of those luxuries. Moreover, without some sort of deep inside connections, they are likely placing their bets through a money manager who will charge a management fee. For example, a 0.70% management fee would cause the annual return on my friend’s recommended portfolio to fall to 4.60% since 2009.

A 4.60% annual return in a strong economy (versus close to 1% in the leading online savings accounts) is not only not guaranteed but it is just not enough of a premium for a moderately wealthy investor to justify the loss of liquidity, the volatility and absence of FDIC insurance. In fact, a prudent, yet aggressive, moderately wealthy investor would easily make up the 3.60% annual difference by taking on more risk in their other investment classes (something that they are more apt to feel comfortable doing if they have a cash portfolio, instead of an alternative portfolio of funds with fees on top of fees).

The fact remains: Cash – particularly in the form of savings accounts divided across several FDIC insured institutions - remains an important base to any portfolio and it is not replaceable by anything else or a collection of anything else. It is the part of your portfolio that isn’t to be risked. Having more of it allows you to sleep at night. It is liquid. It enables you to deal with life’s traumas (unexpected health care expenses due to loss of health insurance because of Obamacare, divorce, etc.) and to pursue life’s opportunities without stress (private investments, real estate opportunities, etc.).

Don’t pretend to be ultra-wealthy if you are moderately wealthy. Stick with cash.