Savings Account Best Practices
The key to making your savings account work for you choosing the right account – and following these top money-saving tips.
1. Once you make a deposit, leave your savings alone.
This is one of the harder pieces of advice to follow, but so, so important. If you get in the habit of taking money out of your savings – well, you won’t have any savings when you need them.
2. Compare interest rates.
It’s hard to find good interest rates these days, but look around and compare banks. Your money might as well be working for you as hard as it can.
3. Set up automatic payments.
Most banks will allow you to set up automatic weekly, bi-weekly or monthly transfers. Take advantage of this. After a while, you don’t even notice the missing money.
4. If necessary, open a second savings account.
If you’re tempted to access your money periodically, open two accounts. One should remain untouched, while the other can act as an in-case-of-emergency only account. One can also act as short term savings, while the other is for long term savings.
5. Choose an account that doesn’t charge fees.
This is especially important if you’re opening a savings account that you plan on accessing from time to time. Most banks charge hefty fees to withdraw from your savings account. Make sure you choose the right account for your purposes.
6. Bank online.
Many banks now offer online banking options for savings accounts. The good thing about these accounts is that they have little to no fees – provided you do everything online. You can transfer and deposit money at any time without incurring fees of any kind.
Since the key here is saving money, why would you spend any more than you need to in order to do so?
