Best Saving Rates
Instant Access Savings Accounts - 3 Things To Be Cautious Of
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Instant access savings accounts have a lot of advantages and benefits. The convenience makes our lives easier but like with all the "products" that banks offer us you have to be careful and do your homework to make sure you know what you will REALLY get.
We all want the best saving rates for our money and so often we get caught false promises and banks throwing out bait just to hook us in and pay their bank fees. Savings rates is a complex issue because if you really want to make a wise investment and have your money grow as fast as possible, then you need to look at several aspects.
Obviously the actual rate is the first and most important thing to look at. Unfortunately most people look JUST at the rate and end up thinking its a wise investment. Rates can vary greatly and even 0.1% can make a huge difference in how your money grows - especially over long periods of time. For this reason its important that you always try and invest your money at the highest possible savings rate. There is off course one very important thing you need to look at and that is the issue of fees.
Banks are in it for the money and for the most part its perfectly fair that they take a fee for their service. The problem comes in when they either charge you too much or when there are charges that you did not anticipate. Often times, high interest savings offers make up for the high interest it offers by charging high fees. Its really important that you look at all the fees involved with your savings account. If necessary, ask your banker about it personally.
Are there a fee to open the account? Are there fees for withdrawing money from the savings account? Are there monthly or annual service fees? Make sure you list down all the fees and then compare the interest rates of different accounts alongside these fees. I can assure you that you will see a very different picture.
There is one more factor that needs mentioning and that is taxes. This is different for every country in the world, but as a rule of thumb all interest you earn is subject to taxes. There are however special types of accounts and incentives that governments offer to encourage saving. In some cases these are tax free savings and whenever possible you need to take full advantage of these as it can make a huge difference in the size of your nest egg.
