Start Saving... NOW
People, in general, are consumers, not savers. Now hear me out. In a nation plagued with credit card debt and bankruptcy, did you ever stop to wonder how they get into debt? By not paying off their credit card every month. By spending more than they have. It's nature.
People always say that the smart thing to do is save 10% of every paycheck. I say that's limiting. Make a monthly budget for food, utilities, gasoline, and give yourself a little money for your spending pleasure and measure that against your paycheck. Now that you have a general idea of how much you spend, allocate money each time you get paid to each category, and then throw the rest in a savings account. You can always withdraw money from your savings account later. But think of it as having as little as possible in your checking account and as much as possible in a savings account. (*There may be withdraw limitations).
Shop around for savings rates though. Your checking account bank doesn't need to be your
savings account bank. You could try online banks. Currently, I use (and invest in) ING. Right now it sports a 3.15% Annual Percentage Yield - compounded monthly. I just found a new one though, that I'm looking into: HSBC. It boasts a 3.25% APY. I'm not sure how often it compounds though - still lookin into it. Both of these have $1 minimums. Both of these can link to a checking account to fund the savings account. However, HSCB accepts mailed checks for deposit. For those of you who had a thin
g against ING because money had to be linked to a checking account, HSBC may be the answer.
For better rates and possibly better banks, visit BankRate.com
People always say that the smart thing to do is save 10% of every paycheck. I say that's limiting. Make a monthly budget for food, utilities, gasoline, and give yourself a little money for your spending pleasure and measure that against your paycheck. Now that you have a general idea of how much you spend, allocate money each time you get paid to each category, and then throw the rest in a savings account. You can always withdraw money from your savings account later. But think of it as having as little as possible in your checking account and as much as possible in a savings account. (*There may be withdraw limitations).
Shop around for savings rates though. Your checking account bank doesn't need to be your
savings account bank. You could try online banks. Currently, I use (and invest in) ING. Right now it sports a 3.15% Annual Percentage Yield - compounded monthly. I just found a new one though, that I'm looking into: HSBC. It boasts a 3.25% APY. I'm not sure how often it compounds though - still lookin into it. Both of these have $1 minimums. Both of these can link to a checking account to fund the savings account. However, HSCB accepts mailed checks for deposit. For those of you who had a thin
g against ING because money had to be linked to a checking account, HSBC may be the answer. For better rates and possibly better banks, visit BankRate.com
posted by L.Su at 1:04 PM
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