What use is a savings account?

We all know that in these troubled times we've got to pay more attention to our money: what's coming in and what's going out. We also know that we've got to make our money work for us, so what actual use is a savings account? The interest paid on them is miniscule, about 1%, and even a high interest account won't make more than 3%. So why bother?

Well, as the very interesting site linked to there points out, there's more to it all than just that. Sure, we're not going to get rich off such low interest payments and it's not where we want to put our retirement savings, for with those we definitely want the power of compounding.

But there are at least two good reason (and click through that link to find more) why we might want such an account. The first is that having a savings account, with a reasonable balance in it, increases our credit score. So we might in fact save interest on loans that we take out as a result. A lower mortgage rate, or credit card rate, as a result of a higher credit score.

The second is that we're all advised to have a few months, perhaps 6, of living expenses readily available just in case something does go wrong. And in these troubled times, of course, something is more likely to go wrong. Two good reasons to find out more, no?