Once you’ve gotten engaged, you and your partner have to figure out how you’re going to pay for your wedding. While you can take out a personal loan or line of credit, most couples look at the cost of a wedding as a financial goal and save as much money as they can for the big day. Of course, once you’ve saved all that money you need to have a place to put it, which leads to an important question:

What is the best savings account for your wedding?

There are several different types of savings accounts available. Knowing the right one to pick can make saving for your wedding a bit less stressful. 

Start with a Traditional Savings Account

While you might be tempted to put your wedding savings in a checking account that offers interest, your best bet when starting your wedding savings plan is the tried and true traditional savings account. A savings account usually has less fees than a checking account, and it almost always offers more interest. Also, savings accounts are protected by the FDIC and NCUA, depending on whether you’re banking with a bank or a credit union.

The best part about a traditional savings account, though, is that you don’t need a lot of money for the initial deposit. Most banks and credit unions require less than $30 to open a new savings account, while First Alliance Credit Union only requires $5.

Get started setting your wedding financial goals today!

Money Market Accounts and Joint Savings Accounts are Best

Once you’ve saved up at least $2,000 in your savings account, it’s time to move your wedding fund into a high-yield savings account to earn more interest. Out of all the high-yield savings accounts available, your best bet is probably a money market account. Not only will you earn a higher interest rate, you’ll also be able to withdraw money without having to wait for the funds to be transferred to your checking account.

You and your betrothed might also want to consider opening a joint savings account for the wedding. This will let both of you make contributions and avoid the bottleneck of only one person being able to add money to the account.

WINcentive Savings Accounts can Provide Extra Money

If your wedding date is at least a year in the future, you might want to take advantage of a WINcentive account for a chance at earning more money to put towards your wedding. As long as you continue to make regular contributions to your savings account, you’ll be entered into monthly, quarterly, annual and special holiday drawings where you can earn anywhere from $100 to $5,000 dollars. Even if you don’t win, you’ll still get the benefit of regularly contributing to your savings account.

Got questions about which savings account is best for your wedding? Ask us!

Keep Your Wedding Savings Account Separate

Regardless of the type of savings account you use to keep your wedding savings plan funds, make sure that it’s kept separate from your everyday checking and savings accounts. If you mix the two, you’ll constantly be tempted to spend the money on other expenses, from a financial emergency to an impulse buy.

If you are worried about needing to raid your wedding savings account if a financial emergency or really good deal on an item arises, the best thing you can do is make sure you’re using your monthly budget to allocate funds not only to your wedding account, but also to your emergency fund and even a third savings account for financial goals on items you like

Save for Your Wedding With First Alliance Credit Union

When you’re saving for your wedding, you’ll have to decide where to keep your funds until you need to start making payments on the big day. A traditional savings account is your best bet when you’re just getting started, but later you should consider transferring your funds to a money market account. WINcentive accounts and joint savings accounts are also good options.

If you and your partner are saving for a wedding, become a member of First Alliance Credit Union and take advantage of the services we offer. You can easily set up a dedicated savings account for your wedding, then use our online banking platform and mobile app to easily transfer money into it. You can even use our free downloadable financial goal planner to plan out how much you’ll need to save for your wedding.