26 Feb 2012

Tagesgeld

As promised, here is the article on the best possibility to save your money in Germany.

What is Tagesgeldkonto?
It took me some time until I understood this concept, but once I learned about it and read online about it, it becomes quite clear. This is a savings account with full money availability and with higher interest rate than a normal Sparkonto

Differences with other offers 
A normal savings account will limit your liquidity, i.e. it will freeze almost all your money. Postbank for example offers you the possibility to withdraw only 2.000 Euro per month from your savings account.  A Tagelsgeldkonto has not limits on withdrawal - all your money are immediately (within 2-3 working days because of the bank transfer time) available. 

Furthermore, the best Tagesgeld banks offer 2,7% - 2,75% annual interest rate. Normal savings accounts offer you a lot less, around 2%. 

Festgeldkonto, on the other hand is a deposit account, in which you completely freeze your money for a given period. It offers higher interest rates: up to 3-4% per year. Generally, the longer the period you choose, the higher the interest. My opinion is that it is not worth the risk to have no liquidity for an additional 0,25% more than a Tagesgeldkonto.

Things to consider
When you are choosing a Tagesgeld bank, look how often the interest is paid: annual or quarterly Zinsgutschrift. This would be important if you invest higher amounts, as you can benefit from the interest effect. Also look at the Einlagesicherung: up to what amount your money will be guaranteed in case of a bank default. Most banks in Germany are members of special security organizations and guarantee up to 1 or even 250 Million Euro per customer. If you have 250 Million Euro in the bank, you should not be reading this blog for financial advice :)

Recommendation
I have been using the Bank of Scotland since 2-3 years and I am so far very satisfied. They have annual interest rate payment and one of the highest interest rates out there: 2,7%. I have tried various other banks that for a short period were offering more than that, but after the initial money gathering round, they have not been able to keep their rates higher than the Bank of Scotland.

Questions? Leave a comment

2 comments:

  1. Hi! Your articles are always interesting.. but here you are not clear on the differences between a Tagesgeldkonto and a Spakonto.. What are the downsides of a Tagesgeldkonto? Why someone should use one instead of the other? there should be some, otherwise everybody would use a Tagesgeldkonto..

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    Replies
    1. Hi, thanks for this question! I actually wanted to write that there are no downsides to a Tagesgeldkonto. When I was researching myself several years ago where to park my money, I was comparing Sparkontos and Tagesgeldkontos. Already then I was asking myself why one would choose a Sparkonto with lower interest rates and limited liquidity.

      I have not found any negative sides to the Tagesgeld, if anyone disagrees, please share with everyone!

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