Overheard a bank teller telling a customer 'your savings account earns 0.01% interest, that's basically a coffee once a decade' and it hit me how hard it is to get ahead

I checked my own savings rate later that day and realized I'd earned like 47 cents over the last 3 months on $8,000, so now I'm scanning credit union options that actually pay something, has anyone found a high yield account that isn't just a teaser rate that drops after 6 months?

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leep331m ago

...and honestly the coffee analogy is generous because with inflation a coffee in ten years is gonna cost way more than what you earned on that interest. Here's the thing nobody talks about though, you can find credit unions that do 3-4% but they usually want you to jump through hoops like using your debit card 15 times a month or setting up direct deposit. I looked into a few and it felt like they were just trying to trick me into spending more money to get the good rate. What worked for me was just splitting my savings between a regular checking account at a local bank for daily stuff and a no-fee online savings account that pays 4% with zero requirements. Just watch out for any fine print about minimum balances cause that's where they get you.