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The Humble Savings Account
By Daphne | July 11, 2008
Savings accounts look great now.
The savings account may be treated like a pariah but as stocks are plummeting and gas prices are soaring, unless you pick the right stock or are comfortable losing money in order to make money in the future, you need to do something. For the short term a savings account has a greater appeal again.
For long term investments a savings account won’t cut it any more but for something like saving money for a down payment for a house, a car or a vacation, you definitely want to stick with something more conservative.
Take those languishing coins out of the couch, coin purses and other places and put them into a savings account once a month. Then annually or biannually depending on how much change you have, transfer them to something that will help you earn more interest; like a certificate of deposit.
Online accounts fare better but there is still a chance to save something if you chose a traditional brick and mortar bank. If you take all of the change that you receive at the grocery store and put into a container when you get home, you will be surprised how much you have. If you receive an average of 78 cents in change for each transaction in a year you will have nearly $285.
If that doesn’t work, pay yourself for saving money. For every item that you borrow from the library instead put a quarter in a bank. If you are an avid patron of the library, this will definitely add up. Even if you don’t put this into a savings account but put the money aside for something fun then you will have the opportunity to painlessly save for some future entertainment. If nothing else, think of how much you save by going to the library instead of buying a book or DVD that you will be stuck with if you don’t like it.
Spare change savings will not make you rich overnight. Although if you have numerous overlooked containers with change in them you may feel wealthy when you take them to the bank. Instead of letting the containers just sit around, put the money into savings and earn a little interest. Every little bit helps and a container gathering dust on your dresser or drawer will not help.
Topics: July 2008 |