How to Shop for Money Market Accounts
Opening a money market account is one of the best ways to build an emergency fund you can tap when a financial crisis strikes. You can also use a money market account to salt away money as you save up for a major purchase like a new car or the down payment on a new home. The money you put into a money market account is safe and protected, so you can invest without the risk of loss. Maximizing the return on your money market account lets your money grow even faster, so it pays to shop around carefully.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Add up the money you have to invest in a money market account. The minimum opening balance requirements and minimum balance requirements vary from fund to fund, and you need to make sure you have enough to open the account you choose.
-
2
Think about how you plan to use the account. Many money market accounts limit the number of checks you can write and the number of monthly transactions you can perform. If you plan to use your money market account as a replacement for a checking account, you need to choose an account without these restrictions.
-
-
3
Log on to several rate comparison websites to check the best rates for local and online money market accounts. BankRate and Bankahoic (see Resources section) are two such sites, but there are many others as well.
-
4
Compare the interest rates of each money market account, as well as the restrictions on the account and the minimum balance requirements. Check the terms and conditions for further information on the interest rate. Some money market accounts use a tiered interest rate structure that pays the highest rate of interest only on the highest balances. Check the interest rate for the balance you expect to keep, then choose the account with the highest interest rate for that balance.
-
1
