Editing Saving (section)

== Saving in personal finance ==
Within [[personal finance]], the act of ''saving'' corresponds to nominal ''preservation'' of money for future use. A [[deposit account]] paying [[interest]] is typically used to hold money for future needs, ''i.e.'' an emergency fund, to make a capital purchase (car, house, vacation, etc.) or to give to someone else (children, tax bill etc.).

Within personal finance, money used to purchase [[share capital|stock]]s, put in an [[investment fund]] or used to buy any asset where there is an element of capital risk is deemed an [[investment]]. This distinction is important as the [[financial risk|investment risk]] can cause a capital loss when an investment is realized, unlike cash saving(s). Cash savings accounts are considered to have minimal risk. In the United States, all banks are required to have [[deposit insurance]], typically issued by the [[Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation]] or FDIC. In extreme cases, a [[Bank#Bank crisis|bank failure]] can cause deposits to be lost as it happened at the start of the [[Great Depression]]. The FDIC has prevented that from happening ever since.

In many instances the terms saving and investment are used interchangeably. For example, many [[deposit account]]s are labeled as ''investment accounts'' by banks for marketing purposes. As a rule of thumb, if money is "invested" in cash, then it is savings. If money is used to purchase some asset that is hoped to increase in value over time, but that may fluctuate in market value, then it is an investment.