BACK TO
EXPERT ADVICE
VIEW ALL (147)
QUESTIONS  >  BUDGETING & SPENDING  >  SAVING
      PREV  |  2 of 13  |  NEXT

Where to put savings

Saving | 580 Views | 4 Expert Answers | 0
By: PioneerPets, February 01 2010

Profile Photo

Hi There,

First I just want to mention that I grew up in Natick so the fact that you are from Needham caught my eye.

I am fortunate enough to have a checking account that carries interest. For a long time I was also having a small amount transferred each month into my ING savings account. Currently my checking account is at a 2.17% interest APY and the ING account is at 1.25% APY. Because of this disparity I have been keeping my savings in my checking account so that it will accrue more interest overall, but it takes a lot of documenting for me to remember what money isfor savings and what is for spending whereas once money is transfered into another account I never touch it. What do you recommend for this situation? I do not make a lot of money and want to maximize on interest wherever I can, but also want to make sure that I truly have savings when I need them.

Thanks for any advice!

Marni

Tags:  None
LifeTuner Question
 
See items you're following or have bookmarked in your dashboard
ANSWERS (4)
EXPERT | COMMUNITY
While the extra 0.92% seems important, don't step over a dollar to save a dime. In other words, you seem to indicate that you successfully save more when the money leaves your everday checking account and is at arms-length. Consider shifting focus back to the amount and frequency of your saving--not so much on getting the highest yield. While it might seem counter-intuitive to give up some yield, the bottom line is that the battle most folks face is saving in the first place. Do what works for you and it could yield far greater returns!
By:   Gregory Ostrowski  on February 04 2010
Comment On Answer
I'm not sure the suggestion of setting up two checking accounts would necessarily work. Most of the interest checking accounts that I have seen require you to have direct deposit into that account and have a certain amount of transactions from that account each month. That might not be possible (or easy to accomplish) with a 2nd checking account. I like the idea of separating them via quicken (or even excel) rather than trying to set up two checking accounts.
By:   Chuck Bender  on February 04 2010
Comment On Answer
An alternative to a second checking account is to use a money management program like Quicken or Money to establish a "special purpose account." When you reconcile your checking you simply have to add the balance in this account back in to match the bank statement.
By:   Dan Candura  on February 01 2010
Comment On Answer
Why don't you open a second checking account at the same location as your current checking account and then use the second one for 'savings'?
By:   Jason Whitby  on February 01 2010
Comment On Answer
No Community Answers Yet !
GET MONEY MANAGEMENT HELP
Need help with a money matter? Taxes? Investments? Budgeting in hard times? Post your question to Experts and the LifeTuner community!
RELATED STUFF