In these turbulent times having a little bit put aside is essential. The thing is how do you go about saving? There are many savings accounts out there but not all of them are going to be what you need. So Justmoney decided to look at savings accounts and work out what you can do. This is what you need to do first in order to get you on the road to saving and protecting your future against lifes ups and downs.
- Plan a budget
- Set aside what you can
- Compare savings accounts
There most important thing you need to do is to draw up a budget. When you have planned a budget then you can work out how much you can save. Even if it is only a small amount, put it aside each time you get paid and save it up for a rainy day. Then find out which is the best savings account for you. There are a few things you should ask yourself. Do you want to use your savings account for transactions? What sort of access do you need? Instant? Fixed period? 32 Day notice? When you have worked out your budget you should save a regular amount each month.
Justmoney ran its calculators and can suggest that if you can keep at least R5000 in your savings account then a Sanlam Liquid account will pay well. If you can keep R100 minimum for 12 months then a Standard Bank Contract Save is a good account. The ABSA Target Save account pays well if you have R100 and can keep it for 6 months with a 32 day notice period. And if you can keep a minimum of R10 000 then the Nedbank Park-it account allows you 24 hours withdrawal notice after you have kept the money in the account for at least 14 days.
The best way to realise your savings dream is to deposit a regular amount and put it in a low or no fee account, then have a long term plan and expect to not touch that money for at least a year if not longer. This way you can take advantage of interest compounding and grow your money.