What is the point of a savings account? I don't get it.

Calt1973

I have recently switched my ‘savings’ around to just another checking account that I am trying not to touch. I have found that the actual 1 percent (or even less actually) is just not worth all the hassle that comes with me occasionally needing to shift some money around to make ends meet at the end of the month.

jimjames

Calt1973 wrote: »

I have recently switched my ‘savings’ around to just another checking account that I am trying not to touch. I have found that the actual 1 percent (or even less actually) is just not worth all the hassle that comes with me occasionally needing to shift some money around to make ends meet at the end of the month.

If it's less than 1% then you have chosen the wrong current account as you can get 5%.

colsten

Checking account and 1% for one of them, or a current account, doesn't sound like this is about accounts available in the UK.

Freecall

colsten wrote: »

Checking account and 1% for one of them, or a current account, doesn't sound like this is about accounts available in the UK.

USA maybe?

One would presume if such a thing existed in the UK it would be called a chequeing account.

Thrugelmir

Brand_X wrote: »

Okay, for the first time in a long, long time I have £2000 in the bank and the bills are paid already, so I'm thinking I should put £1000 into a savings account before I fritter it away.

But what is the point of earning 1% in a year? That's just £10, I can do a lot better than that selling stuff on eBay. Maybe I'm dense but I can't see how anyone on a normal income can make enough money on their savings for it to be worth doing.

If you had no savings. Then on occasions you would be forced to borrow money to fund an expensive outlay.

So it's not just a question of what you make in interest but how much interest you don't pay.

atush

Brand_X wrote: »

Okay, for the first time in a long, long time I have £2000 in the bank and the bills are paid already, so I'm thinking I should put £1000 into a savings account before I fritter it away.

But what is the point of earning 1% in a year? That's just £10, I can do a lot better than that selling stuff on eBay. Maybe I'm dense but I can't see how anyone on a normal income can make enough money on their savings for it to be worth doing.

first of all, I can see why you've never had savings before. You decry the 1% interest- ignoring higher paying accts. Yet you forget that if you didn't have this money, you could be paying 29% interest on a credit card/overdraft should you need something in an emergency.

Then you say you have 2K b ut only want to put 1K into savings? What were you planning on doing with the other 1K? Why not 2K into savings?

Do you have a pension?