Are you a saver or a spender?
I used to wonder myself, what is the difference between the saver and the spender?
When I was a child, I was deeply aware of the difference between two kinds of people. I have an older brother, and fortunately, he is a saver. He always puts his money away for the future, building a new house, buying a new car and giving my family a better life. Oppositely, my aunt is a spender. She wasted a lot of money on buying everything that not necessary. Therefore/ Consequently, at the end of her life, she had nothing.
Many years ago, I read an economics report from VOA and the report's main topic was " Saving Money". It quoted two old sayings. " A penny saved is a penny earned" and " Putting money away for a rainy day".
They both called attention to the wisdom of saving money.
There are a lot of different ways to put the money away. People who want to start a savings account have so many choices of where to put their money. These include banks, credit unions, insurance corporations or other financial institutions.
Each has its own pros and cons. They all pay interest on savings account. But the interest rates are generally low. If you want a higher interest rate, you can make certificates of deposit. However, you couldn't withdraw your money for a period of time. This term could be anywhere from a few months to several years. Longer terms, larger amounts, pay higher interest. You also have to pay a small fine to withdraw the money early. Credit unions are cooperatives for individuals who often share a work-related connection. The members might work for a university or a government agency. Furthermore, most credit unions are non-profit organizations.
Another way to save is through a money market fund that abbreviated as MMF. This is a kind of mutual fund. Mutual funds invest money from many people. The money is sometimes placed in short-term government securities. MMF, unfortunately, may not be guaranteed by the government like other kinds of savings.