This month will see my wife and I run and hopefully complete my 10th Marathon in 10 years when we line up with a few thousand more competitors at the start line of the Sydney Marathon.

Over the years our training for this gruelling 26 mile event has revolved around a training schedule of 50 miles per week – 2600 miles per year. Not earth shattering mileage for a seasoned runner but enough for us to stay fit and healthy and enough for us to complete our annual marathon without having to walk (too much).

Around the time of our fist marathon we began to invest $100 per fortnight ($50 each) from our pay checks into a high interest saving account. Not earth shattering for a seasoned investor but enough for us to feed and clothe our 3 kids and keep our family car on the road so that we didn’t have to walk.

Interestingly, the 26 miles of the marathon is reflected in 26 fortnights per year. This makes the total investment per year $2600.00.

Over the years we have saved $26,000, but due to the power of compound interest this has grown to $38,938; $12,938 of that is ‘free’ money, in the form of interest.

This summer we will be looking to buy our first home, secure in the knowledge that we have a healthy deposit to match our healthy lifestyle.

Of course, you may not be able to run that far per week, but isn’t it good to know that you can still bank that amount of money into a high-yield savings account each fortnight? You could even call your new savings account “marathon” just to remind yourself that if you practice endurance in the form of saving each fortnight, you’ll end up with enough for a deposit on your own home too.

Michael Phelps is set to earns billions over the next few years after his unprecedented performance in the Beijing Olympic "Water Cube" pool where he won eight gold medals to surpass the tally of seven gold medals won by his compatriot Mark Spitz in swimming in 1972.

As the greatest ever Olympian what would you do with the money? I don’t think he would merely place the majority of his earnings into a term deposit account to save for an overseas holiday or a deposit for a new home, do you? He could potentially buy most small banks or small countries so I don’t think that forms part of his long term financial plan.

If you were Michael Phelps, how would you spend the cash?

Investing and saving money is rather like running a race. The two types of running races are basically, a sprint or a marathon. Training for each one is approached in a different way. The marathon runner needs to have endurance training and settle in for the long haul when he runs. The sprinter needs immediate speed and the power to sustain it for a shorter time. In either case the winner gets a gold medal.

When investing, we need to have a certain goal and that will determine whether we run a sprint or a marathon with our investing. The sprint means that you will get a fast return in a shorter time frame. The marathon goal means that you settle in for the long haul with your goals - returns - being several years or more down the track. The type of investment you choose must reflect your goal. And just as an athlete can choose whether he runs in a sprint or marathon, you too, can choose the type of investment you want; a quick return for a higher risk, or a slow return for a safer investment.

But you can get the best of both worlds if you choose a safe savings account with a high interest rate.

Unlike purchasing stocks or shares, there is very little risk with a savings account. The investor who wants a quick return will choose a product that gives him the

highest interest rate. He will make sure that interest is credited monthly so that he can take advantage of compound interest - that is, after the first month he gets paid interest on his interest. Watching those finances creep - or rocket - ever closer to your goal is as exciting as watching the athletes run their races in the Olympics. In fact it is even more exciting because it affects you personally.

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Michael Phelps will be trying his hardest to win 8 Gold Medals and the onlookers will be cheering him on. Excitement reigns - but all must wait until another few days before we can see if he breaks the record held for so long by Mark Spitz. Luckily, with term deposits, you don’t have to wait for a particular start time before winning. The gains begin as soon as you choose the product that suits you best and invest your money in it.

However, just as the Games have a finishing point beyond which no more gold, silver or bronze may be won, so some term deposits have a cut-off point. Some investment products are only available until August25th, the last day of the Olympics. If the investor is not quick with his investment, then that offer of good interest will close and it will be too late to purchase that particular product.

And just as athletes must research to do their training in the most efficient way possible, so does the investor need to research his product to make sure that the investment will return exactly what he wants. Reading the fine print and making sure you understand it is just as necessary to the investor as proper training is to the athlete.

With good training and diligent practice, the athlete is quite likely to gain something at the end. Even if not a medal, then the honour of competing in the Olympic Games is something to be valued. In the same way, the investor does his research and places his money in a term deposit to gain something valuable. Not a medal, but a return on his investment. But - unlike the Olympic Games - the investor can see that return coming to him not just during ten special days, but all year.

Records are made to be broken and every time the Olympic Games are on, there seem to be more records made in running, swimming or jumping. Those athletes who manage to break records are the medal winners. Everyone these days likes to see fast results in whatever they do. We like to get to places faster, so we build faster cars and planes. We like to fit more into our days, so we live at a faster pace.

Better still, we like to see our savings grow faster. Traditionally, this has not been quite so easy. But these days, there are many products on the market and each time a new one is offered, it has to have some special appeal to make it more attractive. This may be in the form of lower fees, higher interest or more features. Depending on your needs, you may choose lower interest rates to get certain features that you need. In other cases, you may prefer to seek out the high interest rate that some savings accounts offer.

To grow your savings in record time, you need to find a high yield savings account that offers an excellent interest rate, but charges no fees. And even more important than the actual interest rate offered is when it is both calculated and accredited. With most savings accounts interest is calculated daily and credited monthly. This is excellent because you then are paid interest on your interest.

Many electronic accounts give competitive interest rates, but some have a catch. For instance, if you make any withdrawals, you get no interest at all for that month, or if you fail to deposit a certain amount during one month, then interest is also forfeited. However, it is possible to use your automatic deposit feature so that you don’t forget to make a deposit.

There’s no doubt about it, the athletes will be doing their best to run and swim faster, jump higher and generally be stronger than their competitors during these Olympic Games. And those who are faster, higher and stronger will take home gold, silver and bronze. Some will end up being much richer due to lucrative offers from sponsors. They have invested their whole lives for this moment of glory.

The investor, on the other hand can start his run to riches at any time of life. He doesn’t have to be young, fit or strong to make a difference to his life financially by investing. And unlike an athlete, an investor can keep on investing and making money right into his old age. Of course the best time to start investing is when you are young, but that is not always possible. Not all young people have well-paid jobs - and they often have to pay off a car or home. But there is one big difference.

An athlete must invest his whole time and effort into training to have any chance of winning. An investor on the other hand, can make a smaller effort and still win. That is, the investor can save just dollars a week - or he may take a part-time job especially to invest that money. No one could hope to win a medal by training only on a Saturday. But an investor can work on a Saturday and invest that money in a high yield saving account or term deposit - and if he does that for long enough, he will end up with a sizeable investment at some stage in his life. So even if you are not faster or stronger than the athletes, you can be richer by some wise investing and just a little bit of hard work. It’s really worth it in the long run.