The local credit union's 2.9% offer made me double check my brokerage sweep account

Last week I walked into my neighborhood credit union in Austin to cash a check and the teller casually mentioned their money market at 2.9%, which got me looking at what my broker pays on uninvested cash, and surprise, it's basically zero after fees. I left about $14,000 sitting in that sweep account for almost 3 years thinking it was a safe spot, but that's roughly $1,200 in lost interest I could've grabbed somewhere else. Has anyone else had that moment where your bank account is quietly beating your brokerage account, and how do you decide where to park your idle cash now?

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rivera.jake4d ago

Hold on, you're doing the math on $1,200 over three years like it's some kind of emergency. That's like $33 a month, which is real, sure, but it's also just the cost of parking cash where you didn't have to think about it. The real question is why you slept on that cash for three years, not which account has a slightly better rate today. Rates flip all the time, so chasing 2.9% now might be a waste of effort by next quarter. Just move it if it bugs you, but don't act like this is some huge betrayal on your broker's part.