How to Choose a Money Market Account

If you've decided to use a money market account to benefit from higher interest rates and to avoid the risks associated with other investments, your next decision is deciding which money market account to open. Money market accounts are just like savings accounts in that the money you deposit is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), so even if the bank holding your money goes bankrupt – the government guarantees you will not lose your money. This government guarantee makes Money Market accounts the safest option for investing money with a guaranteed return and the ability to access your money whenever you want.

When selecting a Money Market account to save your money, there are a number of things you'll want to consider in order to make the best selection for your unique circumstances.

1)Number of Withdrawals Allowed

Money Market Accounts typically set up a limit for how many withdrawals you can make each month. If you plan to use the account frequently, you'll want to look for money market accounts with high numbers of withdrawal limitations, so you don't run into trouble when you reach your limit before the month is over.

If your goal is to deposit a sum of money and make very limited withdrawals only when you fall short of cash in a month, you probably don't need to concern yourself with the withdrawal limitations. On the other hand, if you're looking to use your Money Market Account more like a checking account, you'll want to be sure you select one that offers enough monthly withdrawals so you aren't paying fees for too many transactions.

2)Minimum Required Balance

While you can open a standard savings or checking account with next to nothing these days, money market accounts require much higher minimum balances if you want to avoid “minimum balance fees”. Make sure you have enough money to keep in the account to ensure you're always above the minimum balance required, or you could find yourself paying out more than the interest you earn in monthly fees.

If you think you may consistently fall short of the required minimum balance, you might want to consider saving your money in a high interest savings account online until you've built it up enough to meet the minimum balance requirements.

3)Account Fees

Just like any other deposit account, a Money Market account can have a variety of fees associated with it. Typical fees include making too many withdrawals per month, or not having enough money in the account to meet the required minimum balance.

Keep an eye on other fees that the bank may charge, including fees for writing checks and monthly service or maintenance fees, atm withdrawal fees, etc. Consider how you intend to use the account and determine how much you'll pay in fees for your account before selecting.

4)Interest Rate

The main reason people use Money Market accounts is to take advantage of higher interest rates than they could get with a traditional savings or checking account. In order to maximize your interest earnings, you'll want to compare all of the available options for Money Market accounts and select the one with the best combination of high interest rate and low fees based on how you are likely to use the account.

When you consider these four factors, you'll make a good choice for a Money Market account that maximizes the amount of money you earn on your savings by reducing the amount you pay in fees.