Saving or spending? Some of the top-rated savings accounts in August 2024

If you recently dipped into your savings to splurge on end of financial year sales, you may not be alone. But new data indicates that Australians could soon be putting more money back into the bank again to help manage the high cost of living.

The latest monthly banking statistics from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) show that money deposited into Authorised Deposit-taking Institutions (ADIs) fell by $11.5 billion over the past month of June 2024. This was the first drop in household deposits recorded this year, and only the second recorded since the start of the rate hikes in 2022.

But it’s important to remember that Australian households still have a lot of money in the bank. Across term deposits, transaction accounts, mortgage offset accounts and savings accounts with ADIs, Australian households have deposited $1.47 trillion in total - $98.59 billion more than the same time a year ago, and almost $200 billion higher than it was in the month before the rate hikes began.

Does this mean that Australian households are under pressure, and being forced to rely on their savings to make ends meet? Not necessarily. According to RateCity research, dips in household deposits aren’t uncommon around June, due in part to the end of the financial year being a popular time to buy big ticket items. Deposits also often increase in July, thanks to money from tax returns.

Of course, every household is different, and may have different needs when it comes to their savings account. While it’s important to find a savings account with a good interest rate, especially if you want to try to earn more interest than inflation and keep your money from going backwards, that’s not all there is to it. You may want to check the terms and conditions required to qualify for an account’s bonus interest rate, or if there are any fees you’ll need to pay that could risk eating into your savings.

One quick and simple way to help compare savings accounts is to check Real Time Ratings™ at RateCity. These simple star ratings combine the interest and flexibility of each savings account, to better reflect their overall value. And because these ratings are regularly updated, you can be more confident in their overall accuracy. Some of the top-rated savings accounts are ranked on RateCity’s Savings Account Leaderboards, and may become eligible for a RateCity Gold Award.

(Rankings are correct at the time of publishing. Please note lenders may trade places on the list as interest rates and fees change and RateCity’s tracker reflects these movements.)

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