Most of us having a checking and savings accountthat’s pretty standard.
But there are a handful of other kinds of accounts offered by banks and credit unions.
A basic checking account is anaccessibleplace to park your moneyyou can easily move your funds around.
Some online banks are able to offer slightly higher interest than the big banks, though.
Ally bank, for example, is one of the more popular high-yield interest rate accounts.
They currently offer a 0.87% annual percentage yield.
Get Rich Slowlyoffers a tool that lists the 50 best online high-yield savings accounts, updated weekly.
Interest Checking
Yep, some checking accounts actually earn interest.
But don’t get too excited.
Rates aren’t very high.
If you have more than $15,000 in your account, they increase the APY to 0.60%.
NerdWalletput together a list of interest checking accounts at a handful of banks and credit unions.
Still, a few of them are comparable to rates of savings accounts.
CDs
A Certificate of Deposit is another vehicle for your savings.
Typically, you pay a penalty if you withdraw your money from the account before the set time period.
Because of this, CDs usually offer a higher interest rate than a traditional savings account.
Not by much, but the rate will also depend on the length of the CD.
The longer the term, the higher the rate.
Low or no penalty: You aren’t penalized for early withdrawal.
But this means your interest rate may be lower.
Callable CD: The bank or credit union can shorten the term of the CD.
Jumbo CD: For accounts with a significantly high balance ($100,000).
IRA CD: Regular CDs held in an IRA.
CDs are also sometimes offered in ladders.
Like a savings account, it’s FDIC insured.
For one, there are fewer restrictions on a money market account.
The minimum balance requirement is also usually higher with a money market account.
Also, money market deposit accounts shouldn’t be confused with money market funds.
Money market funds are investments that aren’t FDIC-insured.
There are two main types of IRAs: Traditional and Roth.
With Roth IRAs, you pay taxes on your savings now.
With traditional IRAs, you pay taxes later.
This is a really basic explanation, though.
We’ve written about the differences in more detailhere.
NerdWallet offers their own picks forwhere to open an IRA account.
We talk about this in more detail in ourbeginner’s guide to the IRA.
Although you open a brokerage account through a broker, you might make the investing decisions yourself.
Check out Daily Worth’sfull postfor more detail on different types of brokers.
There are a few things to keep in mind with brokerage accounts.
Some of them will charge you a commission for trading, which is usually between $5-$10.
If you trade with the firm’s own funds, they might waive this.
You should also look for a firm with low trading commissions.
Many accounts also offer free checking, debit cards and bill pay services.
These are the most basic types of accounts you’ll find at banks, credit unions and investment companies.
Knowing the features of each will help you find the best place to park your cash.
