Could You Be Missing Out On $200 A Year In Interest?

I recently found out that I'm what's called an 'over-saver.' Before you roll your eyes, just hear me out: After years of freelancing, navigating inconsistent income, late payments, and learning how to put enough money away for taxes, I became a little bit obsessive about putting money away.

I got into the habit of tucking 30% of every dollar I made away into a special savings account for taxes, started aggressively saving for retirement using a Roth IRA, and quickly saved a hefty rainy day fund using Digit and other finance apps. I was feeling pretty good about myself, happy that I was finally gaining some financial ground after having struggled financially in the past. But, there was one problem: All of this money was just kind of, well, sitting there, earning interest at a terrible rate (around 0.45%).

Periodically, I saw tiny interest deposits, never totaling more than a handful of dollars at a time. I was pretty much letting all of my money sit and collect dust because I was too stressed to do the legwork and actually find out what made the most financial sense. In essence, I was aggressively saving (the hard part) — some might say 'over-saving' — but not actually being very smart about my money (the harder part). Instead of doing a bit of research and finding out the best strategies for making my money grow, I sat on it.

So, if you're also tired of collecting pennies in interest — and having multiple existential crises about the future — then you're probably ready to upgrade to a high-yield savings account. Read on for four tips that will help get you started on your high-interest journey!