1. Business & Finance

Make the Most of Your Savings

From Jeremy Vohwinkle, About.com GuideAugust 30, 2009

Follow me on:

Where is the best place to stash your cash? Under your mattress? In a cookie jar? Your checking account? Savings account? Certificate of Deposit? With so many choices, it's easy to throw up your hands and take the path of least resistance, but that can end up costing you money in lost interest.

It also doesn't help that lower interest rates are making it more difficult to find good rates of return on your money. Nevertheless, this isn't a time to abandon your emergency fund just because the rates are low. Your goal should be to maximize returns while maintaining the liquidity you need.

There are five common places that you can use to manage your short-term savings:

  • Checking Accounts
  • Savings Accounts
  • Money Markets
  • Certificates of Deposit
  • Savings Bonds

Learn more about where you should keep your savings, and check out the primer on U.S. savings bonds to help you make the most of your savings.

Comments
September 3, 2009 at 11:42 am
(1) Kevin Lubeski :

ONe of the best things a person can do before making any kind of plan for their funds to is to check out what different financial services are avilable through the Financial Standards council. It is also a great place to find those who are ethical and operate from a place of integrity. You can find financial planners, mortgage brokers, insurance agents, banking institutions, nearly everything you will need to decide what to do with your money. it’s a great site. You can find it at http://www.FinancialstandardsCouncil.com

September 8, 2009 at 8:44 am
(2) Janet :

I agree we must seize opportunities to increase our wealth through investments like certificate of deposit,money market accounts,mutual funds,individual stock and bond funds..Insurance is also a good choice to handle the possible contingencies.We must value money to earn money.http://www.habitchanger.com/moneyandyou/

September 9, 2009 at 8:23 am
(3) Save Money Hound :

It’s a good idea to save your money using a few different savings instruments. It is important to ask prospective financial institutions specific details about their savings accounts as some may operate under different trading names but still be under the umbrella of one organisation. Do yourself a favour and do thorough research before you invest your hard earned dollars.

Leave a Comment

Line and paragraph breaks are automatic. Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title="">, <b>, <i>, <strike>

©2012 About.com. All rights reserved.

A part of The New York Times Company.