The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey shows expenditures for the average American family. Money Online has a budget maker that allows you to enter your personal data and then analyze your spending. If your employer does not have a credit union, you still may have an opportunity to join one. USA Today helps you find financial institutions offering the highest yields on bank deposits, money market funds, and Treasury securities. If it's a CD, find the phone number of the offering institution, then call to determine if the account has federal insurance.
Interest rates are often volatile over time.
The Economics Time Series Page provides data and charts on over 75,000 series. You can use this sit to examine the trend in financial data. Browse the interest rate data at the Federal Reserve, Board of Governors. You can use the Internet to pay bills. There are many banks, such as Bank One , that provide this service.