Savings Accounts

After years of leveraging their assets, most banks have rediscovered a passion for their core function: offering savings accounts to consumers. With a sudden burst of competition for your deposits, learning how to find the right savings account requires understanding three factors in your financial life: flexibility, convenience, and commitment.

Flexibility Determines Savings Account Interest Rates
How often you access your savings account directly impacts the deposit rate that banks can offer you. For instance, a basic savings account with instant debit card access usually pays much less interest than a long term certificate of deposit. Banks want the assurance that you're parking your money, so they reward long-term savers with much better interest rates. Ensure that fees for account activity won't negate the interest you earn on accounts with high required balances.

Savings Accounts Offer Varying Degrees of Convenience
Choosing the right savings account often means getting a handle on how you like to spend money. Most states require banks to limit the number of withdrawals their customers can make each month. If you require routine access to your cash, a savings account with a large ATM network can reduce your fees. Alternately, smaller banks and credit unions often extend higher interest rates to account holders who rarely need to visit a branch or tap plastic.

Longer Commitment Leads to Higher Returns on Savings Accounts
If long-term growth and minimized risk are important to your financial plans, consider a "CD ladder." By stacking a series of certificates of deposit with sequential maturity dates, you can deposit larger sums of money while enjoying the highest deposit rates of all federally-backed savings accounts. If your nest egg exceeds the maximum amount covered by federal deposit insurance, some banks can enroll you in a plan that spreads your CDs out across multiple institutions--keeping all of your fund safe and insured.

Finding the best savings account doesn't have to be hard. Use our site to get the latest information on savings accounts with competitive rates and special benefits. By comparing features and checking regularly for new offers, you can maximize the return from your savings.