What Is a?Savings Account？

A checking account is the workhorse of your finances： You typically receive your earnings by direct deposit， spend money with a debit card， and pay bills online from your checking account. So why have a savings account， especially when interest rates are low？

活期賬戶是你的經(jīng)濟支柱：通常你的收入是直接存入卡里的，花錢用借記卡，在網(wǎng)上用活期賬戶支付賬單。那么為什么要有儲蓄賬戶呢，尤其有時候利率還很低？

Savings accounts may not pay much， but rates have ticked up， and they may continue to rise in 2022. If that happens， your savings account will get more attractive， unless inflation moves along at a similar pace.

儲蓄賬戶可能利息不高，但利率會上調，可能2022年還會持續(xù)提高。這樣的話，你的儲蓄賬戶就更有吸引力了，除非通貨膨脹跟利率上調的速度差不多。

Still， there are plenty of reasons to keep cash in a savings account.

把錢存入儲蓄賬戶還有很多原因。

Keep Money Separate

把錢分開放

A savings account allows you to get money out of your checking account and keep it separate from your everyday spending money.

儲蓄賬戶可以讓你把錢從活期賬戶中分出來一部分，和日?；ㄤN分開。

That alone can eliminate temptation and keep you from spending money that you’d prefer not to spend. By moving money to a savings account， you earmark it for longer-term goals—not this month’s groceries or entertainment expenses.

僅僅這一點就能抗拒誘惑，不想花的錢就可以不花。通過把錢存到儲蓄賬戶，你將其用于長期目標，而不是這個月的食品雜貨或娛樂支出。

Prepare for Surprises

應對意外

Even if you’re not saving for anything in particular， it’s wise to keep cash in an emergency fund.

即使你沒什么特別的攢錢目標，存點兒錢應急還是很明智的。

A savings account is an excellent place for emergency savings. Why have emergency savings？ When life catches you by surprise， it’s easier to land on your feet if you can pay for expenses out of your savings.

儲蓄賬戶是應急儲蓄的極好選擇。為什么要有應急儲蓄呢？生活打你一個措手不及時，如果你能從儲蓄中拿出錢來應對，想要渡過難關就容易得多。

The alternative is to take drastic measures： Go into debt， make sacrifices （like putting your health or safety at risk）， or sell things at less-than-perfect timing to pay for unexpected costs.

否則你就得采取極端措施：負債、做出犧牲（比如犧牲健康或安全），或在不合適的時機賣點東西來支付意外費用。

Grow Your Savings

多攢錢

Even though savings accounts don’t pay much， you can earn upwards of two percent APY at some of the most competitive online banks.

即使儲蓄賬戶收益不高，一些最有競爭力的網(wǎng)上銀行存款年利率也能高于2%。

That’s better than nothing. Most checking accounts don’t pay interest， so you’re almost sure to see your purchasing power erode unless you shift your cash to a savings account or another vehicle.

有總比沒有強。大部分活期賬戶沒有利息，除非你把錢轉到儲蓄賬戶或其他地方，否則你就只能看著自己的購買力下降。

Save for Goals

為了目標存錢

If you’re planning for upcoming expenses， savings accounts can help you organize your finances and reach your goals.

如果你在計劃未來的一筆開銷，儲蓄賬戶能幫你管錢并實現(xiàn)目標。

It may even make sense to have multiple savings accounts—one for each goal. For example， you might have one account for emergency savings， another account for a vacation fund， and a third account for building up a down payment.

擁有多個儲蓄賬戶甚至也是可行的——一個目標一個賬戶。比如，你可能一個賬戶用來應急，一個賬戶用來存錢度假，還有一個賬戶用來存首付。

If you just keep all of your money in a checking account， it’s hard to remember what you’ve saved. To help you organize and minimize fees， look for online savings accounts that let you set up multiple “subaccounts”.

如果你只是把所有錢放進一個活期賬戶，那就很難記住你攢了多少錢。為了有助于管理并將費用降至最低，尋找一些能讓你建立多個“子賬戶”的網(wǎng)上儲蓄賬戶。

Disadvantages of Savings Accounts

儲蓄賬戶的缺點

If you’ve decided that it makes sense to have a savings account， it’s essential to understand potential pitfalls with these accounts.

如果你認為儲蓄賬戶很有用，了解這些賬戶的潛在陷阱是完全必要的。

Fortunately， there are very few drawbacks. Almost everybody needs one， and it doesn’t need to cost anything to open and maintain a savings account.

幸運的是缺點并不多。幾乎所有人都需要一個儲蓄賬戶，開戶并繼續(xù)使用也基本不花什么錢。

The primary drawback of having a savings account is probably the relatively low-interest rate that you earn.

儲蓄賬戶的主要缺點可能就是獲取收益的利率相對較低。

But that’s to be expected if you take advantage of the benefits of a savings account. The idea isn’t to get rich—it’s to keep money safe and hopefully avoid losing too much to inflation.

但如果你想利用儲蓄賬戶的好處，那這些也是預料之中的。你的本意不是要發(fā)財——你只是想保證資金安全，希望通貨膨脹不會讓你蒙受太多損失。

For longer-term goals， a savings account might not be the ideal option. CDs pay more， but you need to lock up your money to earn the highest rates.

如果存款周期較長，那么儲蓄賬戶可能不是理想之選，大額存單的利息更高，但需要鎖定你的資金才能獲得最高的利率。

Word Study

temptation /temp'te??n/ n. 引誘;誘惑

earmark /'??mɑ?k/ v. 指定……的用途;預先安排，確定（未來發(fā)生的事情）

The money had been earmarked for spending on new school buildings.

drastic /'dr?st?k/ adj. 極端的;急劇的;嚴厲的;猛烈的

erode /?'r??d/ v. 侵蝕;腐蝕;風化

essential /?'sen?l/ adj. 完全必要的;必不可少的;極其重要的

It is essential to keep the two groups separate.

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