Never Overlook This One Thing When Opening a Savings Account

When opening a savings account, there are some things you'll need to take a close look at. For starters, you'll want to pay attention to the annual percentage yield (APY) the account offers. This can be the most important factor in choosing your account since the higher the rate, the better the return on your investment and the more your money will grow.

But there's another important savings account feature that you may not think to check. Here's what it is.

You can't overlook the ease of transferring money to your savings account

One of the most important things to consider when you pick your new savings account is the process of transferring money into it.

Specifically, you'll want to be sure there's a simple way to get money from your current bank account into savings. This can be easier if you have a checking account at the same bank since you can link the accounts easily. But even if you want to use a savings account at a separate financial institution from your checking account, you'll want to make sure:

• There's a free electronic way to transfer funds
• The money can transfer quickly
• You can set up automatic transfers to make saving effortless if you desire to do so

Your goal should be to make it as quick and simple as possible to transfer money into savings so you can grow your account balance over time.

Consider outgoing funds transfers, too

You'll also need to consider the process of transferring money out, though. Most savings accounts do not offer ATM cards, although a few do (like the Synchrony Bank High Yield Savings).

That's not necessarily a bad thing since you are, after all, supposed to be saving this money, and ATM access just makes it easier to spend it. But if you're putting your emergency fund into savings and think you may need to access it quickly, then finding a savings account allowing for ATM withdrawals could make good sense.

Even if you won't have ATM access, you should be able to access your money when you need it. After all, liquidity (easy access to the money) is one of the reasons to put cash into savings instead of into a brokerage firm, where you could invest and potentially earn more returns, or into a certificate of deposit (CD), which might pay higher rates.

Since you want to be able to access your funds, consider whether the savings account has withdrawal limits. Many do, with some limiting your withdrawals to six or fewer per month. This could be a problem if you may need to take cash out of savings multiple times per month. You'll also want to look at the process of how you transfer funds out and how quickly the money can be moved over when you need it.

As you can see, this issue is an important one because your personal finances can be impacted if you aren't able to easily get money into and out of savings when you need to. So, before you sign up for any savings account, be sure to check the fine print of its account terms to find out the process, timing, and limitations on your ability to deposit and access your funds. When it comes time to use your account, you'll be glad you did.