Just One Thing for August

If you only do one thing for your money this month, it should be shopping around for a better interest rate on your bank accounts (savings and checking.) Interest rates have been so low for so long that we’ve all gotten used to our savings accounts only paying a fraction of a percent in interest, but that is changing. Savings account interest rates, meaning the interest they pay you, are increasing. No, they won’t offset inflation, but if your bank accounts are still only paying you 0.1% its probably worth shopping around.

If you’re not sure where to start, we have a short explainer here on how to pick a bank account and what to consider before switching. Both Nerdwallet and Bankrate have pages where you can see the latest and best rates they’ve found. (We have no relationship with either Bankrate or Nerdwallet, we just think these are good places to start).