It goes without saying it is important to save your pennies. A savings account allows the saver the ability to plan for future expenses and goals while still maintaining their daily lifestyle requirements of electricity, food, water and any other bills he or she accumulates on their personal path to savings.
That said when it comes to actually creating a savings account the question remains where should I save my money?
I hope to help shed some light on this question and put your mind at ease when it comes to saving your money. I also hope to shed some light on savings accounts that are now available online that offer higher interest rates to the customer.
After all the goal is to save your pennies and grow the most interest opposed to saving your money in a low-interest baring account.
“Where should I save my money?”
First you need make a personal saver plan that address your needs as an individual. Start by asking yourself these questions:
How soon will I need access to the funds? Can I save the money for 1 year, 2 years, 5 years? Retirement?
If your saving for the long haul your best bet is to save your money in a CD (certificate of deposit), stocks (long haul stock options are generally very safe), or another interest baring account that allows you to lock in a decent rate assuming you will not need access to your funds for a long while.
CD’s or certificates of deposit are usually offered through your local bank. There are also a variety of CD’s and CD products available to you online. A simple Google search of “certificate of deposit” or CD will give you more information and help you decide what the right fit is for your personal goals.
If your interested in playing around with stocks and share holdings make sure you are in the “savings game” for the long haul. The stock market is very fickle and can have small ups and downs or very large, heart stopping up and downs.
However if you choose well-known popular stocks that have stood the test of time and are in it for a long while you may find you easily double your money (LONG HAUL). Investing your savings in the stock market is very often more lucrative than a traditional savings account, again assuming your in it for the long haul.
If you’re going to need access to your funds in a shorter amount of time you should look at online saving accounts. Online savings accounts allow you some flexibility when saving your money but do not “lock” your money into a term agreement. You have the ability to schedule how much money you would like to save per paycheck, per week, per month, etc and yet if need be you are still afforded the ability of access to any savings you have accumulated along the way.
There are many banks that operate solely online that allow you to access your funds via any ATM machine but are able to offer higher interest rates because they are not supporting a traditional “brick and mortar” bank. Ing Direct comes to mind as one of those banks, they are FDIC insured, offer mortgages, savings accounts, checking accounts etc. Check their website for more information
If you take a quick glance at your monthly expenditures surely you can find, $10.00, $20.00 or more in your budget that you are wasting on items that are not necessary (these items are usually entertainment or frivolous purchases anyway) start tucking away that small amount of money and watch it grow.
In order to become a savvy saver you must first create your personal savings plan, gauge how much of your income you can comfortably set aside, set up a flexible savings account that directly takes X amount out from each paycheck and wait for your extra cash to start piling up.