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Take a look at your savings accounts. What kind of interest yield are you receiving? Chances are that you could do better — especially if your money is sitting in a traditional savings account at your brick and mortar bank. Indeed, most “regular” savings accounts ^[3] offered by banks and credit unions feature miniscule returns. That’s really not right when you consider how much money the financial institution is making by lending the money you have on deposit out to others at much higher rates.

It’s true that most people don’t expect to get much yield from a savings account. However, just because you don’t expect much doesn’t mean that you have to settle for rock bottom. Thanks to the Internet, you have access to savings account and CD rates ^[4] from all over the country. You can even access credit union options from institutions that have very broad field of membership requirements.

There’s no reason to settle for an interest rate of 0.5% on your savings account. Best of all, it doesn’t take much time at all to juice up your savings interest. You can do it in 55 seconds or less:

1. Figure out what kind of account you want: Think about the qualities you want in your savings. If you don’t mind locking up your money for a little longer, a CD might be a good choice. If you want your money fairly accessible, a high yield savings account can be ideal. For those who want reasonably high yields, and access similar to a checking account, a money market account can be a good choice. Decide what kind of account will work best for your savings needs. (Time taken: 15 seconds)
2. Compare accounts online: Next, look for different types of accounts. Luckily, there are a number of aggregators that collect information from savings accounts across the country. You can look at CD rates, savings account rates, money market accounts rates, and get an overview of terms. This is important, since you will have to take into account the minimum balance requirements that some savings accounts have. (Time taken: 28 seconds)
3. Decide where to open your new savings account: After you have compared accounts, it’s time to make a decision. Choose the account that matches the type you want, and has the highest possible yield with a opening/minimum balance you can afford. (Time taken: 7 seconds)

Once you know where to go, it will probably only take a few minutes to open an account. Most banks and credit unions have processes that permit you to open an account within 10 minutes. The whole process is fairly painless, and once you have made the decision to juice up your savings account interest, you can move right into carrying out your plan.

55 seconds isn’t a lot of time, but it’s about right if you want to kick start a better savings habit. Take less than a minute to see where you can enjoy better rates than what you are getting now, and you will be amazed at how much more your money can do for you.