Some links in this post are partner links. If you open an account through one, TRH earns a little and it costs you nothing extra. I only list what I use with my own money. Rates change, so I never print them here; the current numbers live on the bank's page. Nothing here is personalized advice.
For most of my twenties my savings sat in the same bank my family used, the one with the branch near the house, earning close to nothing. When I finally went looking for a better account, every list on the internet led with a big rate and buried the minimum balance and the promo period under it.
These days I still look for the highest APY, and I also make sure the account sits at a real bank. After the Synapse collapse in 2024, when people using fintech apps built on top of a middleman lost access to their money for months, I only trust digital banks that carry the FDIC insurance themselves, like SoFi.
Chapter 5 of my book is the pros and cons of high yield savings accounts. This post is the checklist I wish had been taped to my laptop back then. I run it in this order, and the rate is last on purpose.
Insured
FDIC insured if it is a bank, NCUA insured if it is a credit union. The words are on the bottom of the bank's own page. If it is a fintech app rather than a bank, the page will name a partner bank that holds the deposits. That middleman setup is what went wrong with Synapse, so my own money only goes where the bank itself carries the insurance.
No monthly fee and no minimum to earn the rate
A fee on a savings account is a hole in a bucket. And a rate that only applies above a balance you do not have yet is a rate you are not getting. Read the line under the big number; the money.com compare page prints both the minimum and the promo period right under each account, which is why I am comfortable sending you there.
Transfers that land in one or two business days
Your emergency fund has to be able to reach you. Some accounts take three to five days to move money out, which is fine for the house down payment and terrible for the flat tire. Check the transfer timing before the rate.
Buckets you can name
This is the one that changed my behavior. My account lets me split the balance into named vaults: the car money, the leave the job money, the Costco run that is really a sinking fund. Named money is money you do not raid. If an account has no way to name or split the balance, it can stay on somebody else's list.
Once an account passes the four checks above, the rate is the tiebreaker. Only then. My own money lives at SoFi because it passed all five for me and I like the vaults; open it here. If SoFi is not your fit, the compare page money.com built for me has SoFi at the top and a few other accounts under it with today's rates on the page: the compare page (partner link).
Then do the twenty minute move
Open the new account first and leave your old checking exactly as it is. Move your emergency fund in one transfer. Set a small automatic transfer for the day after payday. Name the account.
If you want the tracker that tells the accounts what to do, the Money Start Kit is free: https://mail.therichhermana.com/products/the-money-start-kit. And come tell us what you named yours in Hermana HQ, the free community where the money wins thread is very much a thing: https://mail.therichhermana.com/community
Comment SAVINGS on any of my posts and I will send you the compare page in your DMs.
Con amor,
Ixamar 🪴