5 Ways to Earn More Interest on Your Savings

Interest Rates (Photo credit: 401(K) 2013)

If you are someone who is committed to having a solid savings account, then there's a pretty good chance that you've taken the financial advice of top experts like Suze Orman, Dave Ramsey and Warren Buffett and put some money aside each month for your savings account. And if that's the case, we think that is simply awesome. But have you ever wondered what you can do in order to earn more interest on the hundreds (or thousands) of dollars that you have inside of it?

If you've been looking for ways to earn more interest on your savings, we have provided you with five of them below:

Look for the best interest rate. There are a lot of people who never consider changing banks simply because they have been with the same financial institution for many years. But if you really want to get more interest on your savings, we recommend you shopping around until you find one that has the highest rating. Although some of the larger banks do not have the best rates, many community banks and credit unions do. Just make sure that whatever institution you choose is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or the National Credit Union Administration.

See what incentives that you have to offer. Once you find a financial institution that you are interested in, the next thing that you should do is look for the kinds of incentives that they have to offer. For instance, there are banks that offer a modest monetary amount for opening up a new account and there are plenty of credit unions and internet banks that give bonuses for opening a new checking account with them as well.

Inquire about low-penalty certificates of deposit. Although low-penalty certificates of deposit are basically like "liquid money", one of the reasons why they appeal to many individuals is because they pay higher rates. With them, not only are you able to take money out at any time without a penalty, but you can earn a higher interest rate than a savings account. Plus, it comes with FDIC insurance.

Don't overlook your savings bonds. Something that you might want to speak with a company like DepositAccounts.com about is purchasing a few savings bonds. Although most of us can recall getting them from our grandparents while growing up as children, aside of it being a nostalgic gift, you might be surprise by the interest rating that comes along with them. In fact, a Series I savings bond can currently earn you as much as 1.76 percent. That's a pretty impressive amount.

Open up a money market account. If you're really serious about growing your savings account, something that you can do is open up a money market account. It's basically the same thing as having a savings account. The only difference is that in most cases, you have to have a minimum balance (sometimes as much as $2,500) and you're only allowed to make a withdrawal 3-6 times per month. But the benefit is that you are usually offered a much higher interest rate. For more information on money market accounts, visit your local bank institution.