Your $tock Mom

How should savings be created? Where will your savings come from? What type of account(s) should you have for any money you receive?

Savings should be established and maintained as a permanent portion of any money that you receive: from your paycheck, from a monetary gift, from any income that you receive.

No matter what your circumstances, it is very necessary to get into the routine of setting a portion of your income into a savings plan, a savings account. Just as you must pay a bill, it might be wise to consider your savings as a bill that you are paying regularly towards your well-being, your future.

Savings accounts should be created for different purposes, needs, and tasks. Your money needs to be compartmentalized, and the savings account is just one compartment, one file, in your financial filing cabinet. Establish more than one savings vehicle, such as placing a portion of your savings into CDs (Certificates of Deposit); but no matter what vehicles you choose to have for your savings, make sure that they are in your name only, not a joint account.

Do not link your savings to any other accounts that you have. Keep your savings solely for the purpose of available cash and not as overdraft protection for your checking account, for example. Overdraft protection is wise for protecting yourself from being hit with fees; but remember, if any access to your checking account is ever compromised, you do not want to put your savings in jeopardy!