SAVINGS ACCOUNTS IN NEW ZEALAND
Everyday we’re swamped by savvy new advertisements from banks to help us save our money wisely, in fact television advertisements for New Zealand’s banks are some of the most artistic and memorable on our small screens. There is a lot of financial jargon out there, but what does it all mean?
Here’s an easy guide on the benefits of opening a savings account:
Many New Zealand banks are now offering online saver accounts which earn you over 8% interest per year, just by keeping your money in your account. As a great savings incentive, some banks will keep this high interest rate for you only if you don’t make withdrawals from your savings – and if you do, you will decrease your interest percentage for that month. This means it is in your best interest not to splurge, and a great way to restrain yourself from spending the savings you have put away for something special.
If you had just $1000 in your savings account, you could earn over $80 every year to keep your money there – talk about making your cash work for you! Most savings accounts cannot be linked to EFTPOS cards, so you won’t be tempted to hastily buy those shoes, or those few extra drinks that you cannot afford with your normal budget.
Because you can manage your savings entirely online, without paper statements or tellers, a lot of New Zealand banks offer online savings accounts don’t have any fees.
If you want to earn even more interest than with a standard online saver account, you can opt for a term deposit account. This means your money is invested with a bank for a pre-determined amount of time, and will earn you a fixed interest rate for that period. This is great for anyone who won’t need to call on their savings unexpectedly.
Even if the bank you belong to doesn’t offer the best interest rate available, you can still earn the highest interest rates with another bank like RaboPlus, without a messy break-up with your existing bank.
If in doubt, make sure you always talk to the professionals and make an informed decision. If you are trying to figure out which bank will work best for you, find one to suit your needs.
Image from Flickr.
