Money market accounts are a great way to safely invest your money when you want to earn more than the typical savings account, but still want to have a low risk investment option. Money market accounts can vary from bank to bank or lending institution. Credit Unions even provide their members with money market accounts.  Competitive rates with an investment that provides you with what you’re looking for in a money market account venture can be found with a little shopping in the marketplace.

Money market account earns you a higher yield than a normal savings account; and still retains access to your funds.

Many investors find money market accounts to be one of the best savings options for emergency funds for expenses up to six months. If you want a long term investment for a higher interest rate, but may possibly need your money sooner than three or six months a money market account is a better option than a certificate of deposit or savings account.

Most money market accounts offered allow investors to write checks on the account similar to a checking account.  Most banks will limit the amount of checks that can be written on your account free of charge. This number can vary between institutions. Nonetheless, tons of investors love this attribute of a money market account because it permits you to have easy access to your funds whenever you need them. Other similar long term investments that will penalize you for removing your funds before a maturity date. The only penalty for removing your funds is less principal monies in your account which can result in less interest earned over the long term.

In addition to having easy access to your funds through withdrawal whenever you want, money market accounts are insured by the FDIC or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to the maximum allowed by law. The FDIC coverage was created after the Great Depression because of the number of banks or institutions that failed. If the lending institution is in trouble or your monies are lost for any reason, the federal government will cover that loss if the bank is unable to.

Although money market accounts don’t bring you the highest rate of return for long term investments, they will provide a nice rate of return for savings of at least $5000 or more. Though, one drawback of many investors for money market accounts is they may have a balance requirement that can range from $5000-$10,000 per month. You can shop around and find some lenders that will offer a lower balance requirement ranging from $1000-$2500. Usually the higher the investment, the more interest is paid on your money market account.

The marketplace offers a variety of lenders, interest rates and options for money market account investments. Shop around and find one that matches your needs.

Choosing the right money market account is like walking through a market place - look carefully and you'll soon find one that suits your needs.

Money market accounts are terrific investment vehicles for savvy investors that want a low risk, high yield investment that allows them access to their funds whenever they may need them. Money market accounts offer a way to stash some cash and receive a higher rate of return than your average savings account. If you are searching for a great money market account these are three that can be appreciated for their flexibility, return rate and terms. Investors interested in money market accounts are most certainly looking for the highest yield available.  If you are only interested in rates you may want to look elsewhere.

Many investors are finding local credit unions are a wonderful source for great rates. However, the flexibility and availability is limited depending upon an investor’s location. With your local credit union you also need membership. If you don’t qualify for membership you could be out of a great opportunity or resource. For instance, a credit union may have one of the best local APYs for money market accounts. However, because you are not a member or retiree of the Armed Forces you cannot obtain membership.

Did you know? - local credit unions are a wonderful source for great rates

Although the rates today for money market accounts aren’t setting any new records, you can believe you are getting the best rates possible with these online lenders:

Sallie Mae Money Market Account

Student loans are usually affiliated with this lender, but money market accounts are also in their offerings. Sallie Mae has been providing investment products covered by FDIC for a quite some time. Sallie Mae money market accounts have a yield among the highest offered in the country. Easily opened online and managed depositors are very attracted to this lender. No minimum deposits or monthly fees make them very appealing.

In choosing the right money market account, you will need to analyze its flexibility, return rate and terms carefully.

Discover Bank Money Market Account/High Yield Savings Account

Although Discover has named it a high yield savings account it does function as a money market account. Discover Bank high yield savings account or money market accounts can also be opened online. There is a minimum deposit of $500, but their APY matches the highest available in the industry today. After the initial balance of $500, no required balances are required to keep your account or monthly fees to pay.

Flagstar Direct Money Market Account

Flagstar is the third online money market account that makes the list of the top APY returns. You can open a Flagstar Direct Money Market Account for $1. Although based out of Michigan, Flagstar money market accounts can be opened and managed entirely online nationwide.

These are three of the highest yielding, most flexible and available money maet accounts found online today.

Sales fever has hit the high street over the last week but as well as bargains on clothes and electronics, the new year can also be a good time to grab decent deals on your finances.

A number of banks and building societies have launched new rates on savings accounts, credit cards and mortgages. But these rarely come free of pitfalls, so it is worth paying attention to the small print.

Barclays tops the polls for one of the best interest rates on a savings account with its new regular saver paying out 12.5 per cent gross. The rate has been increased by 25 per cent from the start of this month until the end of February. It is fixed for 12 months and applies exclusively to regular deposits of between £25 and £250 per month.

If you pay in the maximum monthly contribution of £250, you would receive £203.94 gross at the end of the year term, or £163.15 if you are a basic rate taxpayer and £122.36 for higher rate taxpayers. If you paid in £150 monthly, you would receive around £122 in gross interest.

To qualify for this account, you must already have a Barclays current account that you pay at least £1,000 into each month. Another downside is that you cannot make any withdrawals during the year. If you withdraw money or miss a payment you will lose the 12.5 per cent rate for the entire year, and instead receive the less attractive Barclays Easy Saver account rate of just 3.46 per cent.