Does your savings plan match your lifestyle?

You already have short- and long-term goals in mind. The next step is figuring out the most effective way to save.

When it comes to saving money, look closely at your personal priorities, says Linda Wu, U.S. Bank product manager for managed rate products and consumer deposit product management. Here, Wu shares questions to ask yourself and saving strategies to consider based on your answers.

Short-term saving or long-term saving

• Do you prioritize travel and new experiences? Short-term saving works for events you already anticipate, such as your next adventure.
• Do you like to be prepared for the unknown? A long-term savings plan is a great way to plan ahead – it’s ideal for retirement, emergency funds, or when there’s an unknown withdrawal timeline.

Money market account or traditional savings account

• Do you prefer to do things the “old school” way? If you consider yourself more traditional and prefer writing with pen and paper, a money market account will allow you to write checks. 
• Do you prefer to stay up-to-date with the latest technology? If you’re tech-savvy, consider a savings account which allows you to transfer funds electronically.

Auto-save or manual transfers

• Do you have a busy, social lifestyle? If you don’t have a lot of time and want to route money into your savings account(s) at fixed intervals, set up auto-save. 
• Is organization an important part of your lifestyle? If you prefer seeing money, go from one account to another when needed, make manual transfers.

Micro-saving or segmenting savings

• Are you young, or just starting to save? Even saving a few dollars at a time will gradually add up. Doing this consistently will enable compound interest to build over time. 
• Are you looking after a family, or balancing multiple goals? For multiple savings goals, it may be useful to mentally or visually separate them into categories. Those buckets can help you track each balance, so your general saving progress is clear.

Ready to revamp your saving? Check out U.S. Bank savings accounts.