Why we still like the Savings Account
A savings account is likely the first investment you ever made. Most of us have gone down to the bank with our parents to open our first bank account when we were kids. As we get older we usually abandon our savings account and move on to other places to keep our money. However there are good reasons that you should continue to have a savings account. Obviously you aren't going to keep all of your money in a savings account but there are reasons to keep some of it in one.
The main reason that we like savings accounts is that they are a place that you can put your money so that you can get at it when you need it. It is important for everybody to have emergency savings that they can use when they need money. There is no value in having an emergency fund if you can't quickly and easily access your money. If you have it in an investment account that requires a week to get your money out of you may find that by the time you get your money it is too late.
We also like savings accounts because they are very safe. There is value in having some of your money in an account that you know is safe so that no matter what happens you will always have some money available. Obviously you wouldn't want to have all of your money in a savings account but if you have some of it in one you will be sure that you will have funds available. Savings accounts are probably the safest investment option available, especially since they are insured to make sure that you are covered in the event that the bank fails.
A savings account is also a convenient way to help you save money. Since you can quickly and easily deposit money in your savings account it is much more likely that you will do just that. It takes more time and effort to put your money into an investment account or into more complex instruments and this tends to discourage people from doing so. On the other hand you do want to keep your savings separate from your day to day bank account as you will likely spend the money if you keep it there. A savings account is really good for helping you to save.
One of the reasons that people generally avoid savings accounts is because of the very low interest rates that they offer. This is less of a problem these days with the growth of the online banks. They usually offer savings accounts with much higher interest rates than you would get at your local bank. In many cases the rates they offer are competitive with other investment options like CDs or money market accounts. It is definitely worth looking into an online savings account as part of your investment portfolio.