Saving Money

Setting up an emergency fund to prepare yourself for a worst case scenario is important. With a proper emergency fund, you will have the cushion needed to survive an unexpected job loss,medical expenses, home or auto repairs or any other financial situation that may put you in dire straits. With a little bit of spare cash, you can avoid having to use your credit card or borrowing money from friends or family; any additional debt will just make the situation worse in the long run.

Your long term goal should be to have 3-6 months of expenses covered in your bank account. But as the saying goes, "Rome was not built in a day," and neither will your emergency fund. So make your immediate goal smaller and more realistic. Start by setting up an automatic transfer of $15 per paycheck into your savings account and under no circumstances should you touch that money.

The goal for you first emergency fund should be a $500 cushion, plus a well stocked pantry of healthy and nutritious foods. The $500 cushion in your bank account can help you prevent checks from bouncing, from missing a payment on your credit card, and from taking out a costly loan from a payday lender. With that and a cupboard filled with pasta, beans, tuna, pasta, sauce, whole grains and canned goods you will be able to feed yourself while you try to rebuild your emergency stash.

Once you reach $500 in emergency funds, you can continue to transfer additional money. The larger the amount grows, the less stress you will have when the worst case scenario happens.

You should consider a savings account a necessity if you want to prepare for your future while keeping your money safe and sound. Financial institutions such as banks and credit unions offer savings accounts to their customers. Both are backed by the government deposit insurance (banks by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration) ensuring that your money will be returned to you even if the financial institution fails.

There is a variety of savings accounts. You should consider several factors, such as the amount of initial deposit and the average balance you plan to hold in the savings account when comparison shopping for an account. However, there are some basic tips to remember that apply to all accounts:

• Savings accounts are also called deposit accounts where the customer can withdraw and deposit at will
• Federal law caps the amount of withdrawals from a deposit account at 6 transactions a month
• Deposits at banks backed by the FDIC will be covered for up to $250,000 until the amount switches back to the maximum of $100,000 on January 1, 2010
• Deposits at credit unions are backed by the NCUA with the same financial terms as those funds backed by the FDIC
• Passport accounts provide savings account customers with an actual bankbook in which all bank transactions are recorded; they were popular decades ago, but are no longer in favor
• Statement accounts provide either monthly or quarterly statements to depositors either electronically or via paper
• Interest rates on savings accounts differ not only from bank to bank but from account to account within banks
• There are not set terms on when interest earned will compound: it varies from account to account
• Interest is accrued at different time intervals based on the terms of the account

It is important for consumers in the process of selecting a savings account to investigate the basic information that may apply to the account. Competition for new customers is fierce among banks, so by taking your time and investigating all your options you are sure to choose a winner!

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