How to Decipher Savings Account Dividends
- 1). Examine a copy of your most recent savings account statement to find the the section that lists the interest rate on the account. The exact location of this information varies from bank to bank.
- 2). Locate the information on interest paid--it's typically found near the bottom of the statement.
- 3). Find the average daily balance as shown on the statement, then dividing divide the amount of interest earned for the month by the average daily balance and multiply the result by 100 to get your monthly interest rate. For instance, if you earned $1 on a $500 balance, your interest rate for the month would be 0.20 percent.
- 4). Multiply the result from Step 3 by 12 to get the effective annual interest rate on your savings account. If the monthly interest rate was 0.20 percent, the annual rate would be 2.40 percent.