Choosing A Savings Account - A View From The Front Articles | Personal Finance

By: Lauren Davies

Upon starting my search for a new savings account in which to place my hard earned savings I was full of optimism. I'd held a savings account for many years and was confident I knew enough to find a good deal in next to no time.

The truth was very different. In the years since I last took out a savings account the market has changed to the point of being unrecognisable. There are many more companies offering savings accounts. It used to just be banks and building societies. Now we also have supermarkets, online companies and other varieties to choose from.

To make matters worse there are also many more different types of savings account to choose from. Time was you put your money in your account and it earned a bit of interest which you put a side for a rainy day or used to treat yourself or your family.

Now you can choose from a easy access, regular savers, bonds, ISAs, the list goes on and on.

With all this choice I started to doubt my chances of wading through all the products to find the right one for me. Then I was introduced to price comparison websites. These sites allow you to look at hundreds, if not thousands, of savings accounts in just a few minutes.

By using price comparison I was able to remove all of the poorest accounts from the results table and leave myself looking a select group of accounts that offered all the features I wanted. Being able to see all the information in one place makes it much easier to make the right decision and be confident you've found a savings account that offers a good interest rate and does what you want it to.

I write this to encourage anybody who is finding it difficult to choose a savings account to try price comparison websites. If I can it successfully anybody can. It really is a great time saver.