3053: The Power of an Online Only Savings Account by Tiffany Aliche of The Budgetnista

[00:00:00] ServiceNow unterstützt Ihre Business Transformation mit der KI-Plattform. Alle reden über KI, aber die KI ist nur so leistungsfähig wie die Plattform, auf der sie aufbaut. Lassen Sie die KI arbeiten – für alle! Beseitigen Sie Reibung und Frustration Ihrer Mitarbeiter und nutzen Sie das volle Potenzial Ihrer Entwickler. Mit intelligenten Tools für Ihren Service, um Kunden zu begeistern – all das auf einer einzigen Plattform. Deshalb funktioniert die Welt mit ServiceNow. Mehr auf servicenow.de.

[00:00:30] This is Optimal Finance Daily – The Power of an Online Only Savings Account by Tiffany Aliche of TheBudgetnista.com Saving money isn't always fun. There, I said it!

[00:00:44] And when you have to rely on yourself to take the money that's sitting oh so prettily in your checking account and manually move it over to a savings account at your same bank a few doors down from your forever BFF checking account, it's even less fun.

[00:01:02] The usual cycle is to unhappily move a few dollars over from checking to savings when you remember, let it sit there in savings for a bit, and then end up transferring it back to your checking account because of a new want or need that's going to cost a few more bucks than you have available in your checking account. Time to break the no-save cycle, yes?

[00:01:26] Especially now, in these uncertain economic times, savings should move to the top of the to-do list. Why? Because having money tucked away in savings is a key component to help you ride the waves of any future economic turbulence. Great news! I have an easy-peasy solution to help you overcome all the savings drama. It starts with your savings mindset. Savings mindset.

[00:01:55] One of the biggest obstacles to successful saving is you. Yes, you! Taking yourself, no shade, out of the equation is key to sticking to your savings goals. Many of us have the mindset that saving is hard, but it doesn't have to be. A really great and effective way to tackle the stress of it all is to take small, simple, and automated steps to consistently form savings habits that crush your financial goals.

[00:02:25] And another key to saving like a pro is to make your money inconvenient. Because as I love to say, inconvenient money gets saved. What is inconvenient money? It's money that you save in an online-only savings account. Online-only savings account magic. Online-only savings accounts are my jam. Here are just a few reasons why. Number one, inconvenience.

[00:02:54] It takes 24 hours or more to transfer your money from an online-only savings account back to your current bank account. This makes your money inconvenient and less likely to be touched. The mandatory waiting period will stop impulse spending of your savings in its tracks. Pro-power move. Make sure you don't open a checking account at the same bank where your savings account is.

[00:03:20] That would totally blow the critical inconvenience element and make it faster to transfer funds and use them. This is no bueno and will encourage unplanned spending. Number two, higher interest rates. Online-only savings accounts often have a higher interest rate than traditional banks. They can offer to give you a few more coins in interest because they don't have to maintain the costs,

[00:03:47] like paying rent, associated with traditional brick and mortar banks. This means you make more money on your money. Please keep in mind that the interest rates fluctuate based on federal regulations, so be on the lookout for any drastic downgrades to your current interest rate and be prepared to pack up and move for a better rate elsewhere if you're inclined to. And number three, lower fees.

[00:04:14] Online-only savings accounts tend to have lower fees and some have no fees at all. This is a key advantage because you can earn interest on your savings without having to pay sneaky account maintenance fees. Also, many online accounts are known to waive overdraft fees, have no minimum deposit or balance requirements, and will allow a certain number of free ATM withdrawals at their banks. Pro-power move. Automate, automate, automate.

[00:04:44] Take the thinking out of the equation and automate your savings. Set up a certain amount to automatically transfer from your checking account to your online savings account at a regular interval. If you have to start with $5 to $10 a month, do that. The key is to get started and form the savings habit no matter the amount. Before I go, I couldn't leave you hanging and not give you a few tips for finding the best online-only savings account.

[00:05:14] Here's what to look for when scoping out a place to park your savings. An A-grade on my favorite comparison site, magnifymoney.com. It should be FDIC insured. You should look for the highest interest rate offered and the lowest deposit required to open an account and earn the interest rate advertised. The best online-only savings accounts will check all four boxes.

[00:05:39] I hope I now have you convinced that online-only savings accounts are the way to go. You just listened to the post titled, The Power of an Online-Only Savings Account by Tiffany Aliche of TheBudgetnista.com. And now a word from our sponsors at Betterment. When investing your money starts to feel like a second job, Betterment steps in with a little work-life balance.

[00:06:08] They're an automated investing and savings app, which means they do the work. While they build and manage your portfolio, you build and manage your weekend plans. While they make it easy to invest for what matters, you just get to enjoy what matters. Their automated tools simplify the complex and put your money to work, optimizing day after day and again and again. So go ahead, take your time to rest and recharge.

[00:06:37] Because while your money doesn't need a work-life balance, you do. Make your money hustle with Betterment. Get started at Betterment.com. That's B-E-T-T-E-R-M-E-N-T dot com. Investing involves risk. Performance not guaranteed. You sign up for something. Forget about it after the trial period ends. Then you're charged. Month after month after month.

[00:07:05] The subscriptions are there, but you're not using them. In fact, I learned that 85% of people have at least one paid subscription going unused each month. Thanks to Rocket Money, you can see all your subscriptions in one place and cancel the ones you're not using anymore, saving more money. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions, monitors your spending, and helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings.

[00:07:33] See all of your subscriptions in one place and know exactly where your money's going. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to rocketmoney.com slash OFD today.

[00:08:01] That's rocketmoney.com slash OFD. Rocketmoney.com slash OFD. I completely agree with Tiffany's advice here to get yourself an online-only savings account with a provider that is different from your checking account. I have a high-yield savings account with an online option called Capital One 360. I don't pay any fees and there's no minimum deposit. I set this up years ago.

[00:08:29] The interest you're earning on your savings account is not the compelling reason to hold cash in a savings account. If you're looking for your money to make money, you should invest it. The reason you want some money in a savings account is for the liquidity. You want to be able to easily access money in an emergency and not have to sell any of your investments at a less than ideal time. That should do it for another edition of Optimal Finance Daily.

[00:08:56] I'll be back tomorrow as usual, so I'll see you there on the Wednesday show where your optimal life awaits.