How to Find a Better Paying Savings Account?

You have finally been able to save a little of your money. Now where do you put it that will be safe, easily accessible and continue to grow? The options are endless. You could put it in your mattress, you could it in a standard savings account, you might buy stocks or a CD/GIC, or maybe an online savings account is what you are looking for. Most of these choices can be confusing and even a little intimidating in the beginning, so let’s take a look at them in more detail.

Under the Mattress

While hiding money under your mattress has a charming quality to it, your mattress as savings account is just not a good idea. It’s not only unsafe to have your hard-earned money lying around where it can be easily stolen, it is a lot easier to spend it if is that readily available. The greatest problem with this strategy is that the only way that it will grow is if you add to it.

Standard Savings Account

The second option is to put your savings in a standard savings account at your bank or credit union (I recommend a credit union because they generally have less fees). This is a viable option. One of the nicest things about this type of account is that there is usually a very low minimum balance requirement. That being said, the rate of return is also very low.

Online Savings Account

Another relatively newer option is to open an online savings account. Like a standard saving account they generally have a very low starting balance requirement. They also give you ready access to your funds, but they can offer a higher rate of return on your investment because their advertising and overhead are so much less.

Invest

Buying stocks or a CD (certificate of deposit) will usually give you a good rate of return, but the downside is that it usually takes significantly more money to get started. Another drawback is that your money is fairly tied up for a certain amount of time and thus unusable. Depending on your circumstances, the greater rate of return may be worth these negatives.

So, as you can see there are many options available. You can get online and you will find that there are many different websites that can give you information about all of them.

One thing that is very important to remember when you are dealing with your savings is that the more educated you are about the options that are available the more secure you will be in making a decision of what to do with your money. So, take the time research it out and decide which option is the right one for you. You are already taking steps in the right direction because many don’t even have any money that they have to worry about what to do with it, so pat yourself on the back!

Written by A. Jacob, a contributing writer for FrugalDad.com, a site that promotes and discusses personal finance and ways to live frugally.