Over the next few weeks, I’ll be taking a look at ways to save your money. Back to school, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas all come in the fall and winter season, which means that saving is often the last thing on our minds. All the more reason to think about it!
I’ll start with one of my personal simple favorites: the online savings account. An online account with ING or another bank is not necessarily your everyday banking solution. It’s connected to a bricks-and-mortar bank account in your own community, most likely. However, these accounts are generally no fee and have a decent amount of interest, although it is not going to make you wealthy any time soon.
So if you aren’t going to grow your money extensively by placing it into this sort of account, why bother? Well, it’s simple and it’s accessible. These accounts are very easy to set up, similar to setting up an account at your own bank. There are just a few options, and they are low risk.
Also, you can set up direct debit from your main account to these accounts. Save twenty dollars a month or two thousand, it doesn’t matter to the bank. There are no fees attached with moving small amounts of money, unless your own bricks-and-mortar banks attaches a fee to the transaction. This makes them perfect for saving towards short-term or long-term goals. They also make an ideal emergency fund. Your money sits there, makes a little money, loses no money, and is accessible within days with very minimal fees, if any.
While a savings account is a ridiculous place to try and grow your money through interest, it does make an excellent savings vehicle for a number of reasons, especially when it is out of sight, out of mind.