New Year, New Savings Accounts to Take Care of your Monthly Needs
At the beginning of the year 2020, you probably made several resolutions and plans - personal, travel, professional and financial ones. You probably decided that this year you would save a certain amount of money to meet a particular financial goal. Of course, 2020 came with its own agenda. If you did manage to stick to your saving goals during the year, you could be justifiably proud of yourself. However, if you had to deal with unexpected expenses and a monthly budget that went awry, it might help to review your finances and look for ways to get them back on track.
While discipline is important when it comes to saving money, you also need proper planning. For example, it is prudent to divide your monthly salary into different buckets for specific expenses, such as an annual vacation or long-term life goals like buying a house. And having different accounts for each of these goals can help you stay focussed on achieving that goal. It can also give you greater flexibility and convenience should you need to move funds around or improvise certain goals.
How having more than one savings account helps
If your salary account doubles up as your primary bank account, you could be hampering the ability to meet certain goals. Here's how having two or more Savings Accounts can help achieve your financial goals.
Emergency fund
The coronavirus pandemic has been a grim reminder of the need to set aside a contingency fund to cater for health emergencies or an unexpected job loss. Experts recommend that you should stash away at least 6 months’ worth of salary to pay for utilities, rent, medical bills and other essentials strictly for emergency use. If this is part of your regular salary account it, setting aside the amount needed to meet emergencies will be difficult. Once you have built up a corpus in a dedicated Savings Account, you can convert it into a short-term Fixed Deposit, which can be beneficial in different ways. This will not only dissuade you from using it for routine expenses, but you can also earn about 4-5% interest per annum on it.
Investment account
When faced with financial uncertainty, it can become difficult to choose between paying bills and investing money for your future. This is where a separate savings account can come in handy. Figure out approximately how much you need to meet monthly payments (investment, loan etc.). Put away this amount into a separate Savings Account so you can pay insurance premiums, housing/car loan EMIs, SIPs and more. You can even set up auto-debit payments from your Salary Account to this Savings Account so that you never miss an opportunity to build on your future.
Too complicated to manage multiple Savings Accounts? Not quite
Multiple Savings Accounts can help you curb the urge to spend more in the short term. It is also much easier to balance your accounts when they are aligned to individual financial goals or heads of expense, especially during tax season. Some banks, like HDFC Bank Savings Account, make the chore of managing monthly bill payments and other expenses simple and effortless. Moreover, you also get a wide range of value-added services such as Health Insurance and exclusive offers on Two-Wheeler Loans.
Track your expenses:
Checking bank statements requires time and patience. By consolidating multiple accounts into a single ‘dashboard’, it has become easier than ever to manage two or more savings accounts. With HDFC Bank NetBanking and Mobile Banking, you can compare your expenses over a period of time and get crucial insights into your spending habits.
The result: Greater predictability when planning your monthly budget and better potential for savings.
Pay bills:
It's common knowledge that missing a bill will most likely result in incurring a late fee (which means spending more from your pocket). But HDFC Bank BillPay service can ensure that you are never late on a bill payment again. Through a separate HDFC Bank Savings Account you can allocate enough funds for specific payments and set up the auto-debit feature to pay recurring bills or schedule a single payment, making it easier to keep up with your bill payments. In addition to being a free service, the BillPay service can be set up on both, Debit and Credit Cards and can be made to pay all kinds of bills from electricity to gas, mobile to insurance, broadband to investments and more.
Move funds across accounts:
HDFC Bank offers a range of Savings Accounts - from no-frills regular accounts to dedicated accounts for senior citizens, youth and even children. By linking existing savings accounts with HDFC Bank, you can seamlessly transfer funds between them at any time of your choosing. This can be ideal to meet changing financial needs, whether you are single or have a family.
Here's how you can open your own HDFC Bank Savings Account
A brand new year always brings with it new possibilities and the excitement of starting things afresh. Get ready to start 2021 on the right note by opening an HDFC Bank InstaAccount from the comfort of your home. In just a few simple steps, you can begin to put your bucket saving strategy into motion and be more resilient and confident about facing the future.
*Terms & conditions apply. The information provided in this article is generic in nature and for informational purposes only. It is not a substitute for specific advice in your own circumstances.