Article Written By: Noelmellor
The internet has now become an integral part of most people's lives, but you may not be aware it can also be a useful tool for managing your savings accounts. In addition to the various banking options available on the internet, such as balance checking and paying bills, if you link your savings or ISAs, for example, to a current account you may find you are better placed to keep a close eye on them.Sometimes it can be all too easy to forgo contributing towards your nest egg in favor of a shopping splurge. Of course, this can take place at any time, but if you are having a bad day at the office, a simple lunchtime stroll could easily turn into an expensive attempt at some retail therapy. If this sounds like something you would do, set up an online savings account and when the urge arises, simply surf your way to your online profile and put the money you would have spent to better use.If, however, you want to make more regular savings contributions, the internet may still provide you with a great way to achieve your goals. Creating a cash ISA can be quite easy online - and setting up a Direct Debit to frequently boost your cash pile after you've been paid is equally simple. Once you have the facility running, you will find managing it is no more difficult, as many providers now have a range of products that can be maintained online. Another option that might be of interest to savers who are looking for an easy way to top-up their nest egg regularly is Save the Change. Basically, if you are a Lloyds TSB account holder and have one of their Visa debit cards, every time you use it in a store the bank rounds up the payment to the nearest pound and takes that figure to complete the transaction. However, the extra pennies are then added to a predetermined savings account. This means that very often you will be making deposits without realizing it - which could give you a nice surprise later on.Lloyds TSB also allow this facility to be switched on and off by accessing your account online and promise that no extra pennies will be taken that might stray into overdraft territory and take you into the red. In other words, if the extra bit of money is unavailable, the feature will automatically disable itself. Save the Change is available for most types of Lloyds TSB savings account, but does not feature as an option on their Monthly Saver, Term Deposits, Child Trust Funds and ISA products.
This Article Has Been Published on Wed, 31 Mar 2010 and Read 238 Times