A Saving Account That Actually Saves and Pays

When someone wants to save money the first thing comes to mind is a saving account, but for a low income family saving money is difficult or not feasible especially if the return is a measly 2 to 4% interest.

A high return is critical for someone or a family trying to purchase a home, business, education, or job training. Wouldn't it be wonderful to find a saving account that pays a return 2:1 or even 3:1? Well, bet your bottom dollar there is actually an account that exits. The Individual Development Account which goes by the acronym IDA savings account. It was establish in 1990 by the Corporation for Enterprise Development and the Progressive Policy Institute. Your income funds the account, it is similar to the 401k plan for employees.

This account matches your saving at a much higher interest rate than a regular savings account. for example, you deposit $100.00 and it will match $200.00. You can save more money this way than the usual method, it basically helps build assets.

Assets are important because it helps build stability, health and financial peace of mind. Many low income including myself do not make enough income to save or invest but this account gives an opportunity to take a step up the financial ladder.

You are probably wondering, what is the stipulations so to ease your mind there are two 1. The money can only be saved and used for purchasing a home, opening a business, education, job training and retirement. 2. Attend a financial literacy class to help understand personal finances. That's it!

Opening an IDA account consist of depositing money in which you decided how much every month, continue to stay with it until the amount of savings has been matched and reached. The payments usually range from $25 to $75 monthly. Keep in mind you always have control of your money but that doesn't mean you can take your money out before maturity . If you have to withdraw your money it must be for emergency purposes . You will be defeating your purpose to save money if you do not maintain your saving account.

Do not save for a rainy day but save for that big ticket and build prosperity for yourself.

If you are interested in the IDA program go to www.cfed.org to open an account in your area.

Learn more about this author, Velma Shaw.
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