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Yotta is Just Not What it Used to Be :(
TL;DR: Previously we talked about Yotta Savings Account as a fun and high-yield alternative to traditional savings accounts. However, yields are coming back down. When the Y-Combinator backed Yotta came out with a new, sexy bank account, it was fun and high-yield. However, we knew the fun wouldn’t last once they succeeded in attracting users in. Since the beginning, they have made several changes to the prizes to lower their worth and probability of winning. Yields are closer to 1.5% APY now. In addition, after $25k your funds get 1 ticket per $100 deposited (instead of $25) and you cannot deposit over $100k. So after 25k, your expected APY is…
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Where Should You Park Your Emergency Cash Now?
TL;DR: With savings account yields falling, the best banks are now offering around 1%. Chime is one of them. I do think it’s always a good idea to have a small amount of cash (just in case!). But it’s always a pain to figure out where to store that cash, especially with most bank accounts offering such pitiful rates. Previously, I’ve given options for a 3.5% APY account (with requirements to fulfill) and an interesting “lottery” style option that, for now, I think are relatively amazing options. However, if you’d like just a plain and simple account that still gives some juice, try out Chime! Right now, it’s really hard…
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3.5% APY Savings Account?
TL;DR: HMBradley is offering a bank account where you can earn up to 3.5% on balances up to $100k. However, there are requirements. HMBradley came out with a FDIC-insured savings account where if you make direct deposits every month, and have saved at least 5% (20% for the top rate) of your deposit every quarter, you get interest paid (with the top rate being 3%). Note that you will not get any interest if your account balance is over $100k. They also have a credit card that auto-categorizes your spending and gives you 3% back on your top category. This credit card is great in its own right, and if…
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Yotta: The Winning Lottery?!
Update Jan 3, 2021: Yotta got nerfed :(. It’s still worth it, but it’s not significantly better than other high-yield savings accounts. TL;DR: Yotta may be the best savings account current, with a fun twist. A YCombinator startup recently came out with a new savings account called Yotta that was inspired by the lottery bonds in the UK. Yes, it pays a steady 0.2% APY, but it also gives you lottery tickets, with a jackpot of $5.8 million! (Yes, I know the website says $10 million but if you look closely it’s actually $5.8million). To encourage saving and deter people from spending on lottery tickets, Yotta offers 1 lottery ticket…
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FDIC
TL;DR: FDIC covers 250k of cash at member banks. I hope you read more than the TLDR – I’ll try to keep it short but there are important details! I was recently asked by a friend to make a post going more in-depth on FDIC-insurance. It’s definitely not something everybody knows or is thinking about everyday. But it’s important! In the unlikely event of your bank failing, this is how you protect your assets! I recently was looking at this graph, I was surprised at how often smaller banks failed and FDIC was needed. Yikes at the peak around 2008 – we can hope it never happens again but be…
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Time to Review FDIC insurance
TL;DR: Check that your banks offer FDIC insurance. In the 2008 crash, some people who banked with banks that went under couldn’t get into their own funds. Since then the world has learned a lot, and FDIC insurance (which is meant to protect us consumers from that) raised it’s limit to $250k. With the given market conditions, it’s time to double check our bank accounts and make sure we’re FDIC insured. That means: Double checking your bank accounts is FDIC insured, and your securities in brokerage accounts are SIPC insured. And check You’re not over the limit at any one bank. If that doesn’t make any sense I’d suggest Googling…
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1.92% back (Savings)
TL;DR: Varo is currently offering 1.92% APY on your balances. Based on the recent Fed cuts, other mentions on this blog (including Marcus, CIT, Wealthfront) have all gone down to around 1.8%. Varo has no minimum balance for this rate and is FDIC-insured up to $250k. You can also earn 2.8% APY if you follow specific guidelines which include a maximum balance of $50k, and biweekly deposits of $1000. Check it out! For a limited time you can get $75 here. Happy Varo’ing TheJKW P.S. New posts every Sunday!
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2.51% APY!
TL;DR: Wealthfront has created an account with 2.51% APY. It’s also FDIC-insured for up to $1 million. That’s right – a new, relatively simple account to hold your net worth. This account thus far is the highest interest-bearing you’ll find without any requirements other than a minimum $1 balance. It’s also FDIC-insured up to $1 million (instead of the usual $250k). Pretty sweet! Happy Wealthfront’ing, TheJKW
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Savings: 2.45% APY with CIT
TL;DR: CIT offers a Savings Account offers a rate of 2.45% APY, one of the highest out there. It’s always smart to keep some of your money just in cash and not as an investment for emergencies. Marcus, which I’ve mentioned before, has recently raised their APY to 2.25%. However, CIT has come out with a new savings account with an APY of 2.45%, which beats out most accounts. CIT is also FDIC-insured, and it seems like the way they’re able to offer such a high rate is by running everything online with a very mediocre website. They pass on those savings to the customer. The only catch is you need either a $25k balance in your account or a monthly deposit of $100 to achieve…
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Robinhood: 3% yield
Update: Not real. TL;DR: Using Robinhood to get 3% yield on your cash, coming soon! Robinhood has expanded it’s capabilities to feature zero-commission stock, option, and cryptocurrency trading for it’s users. For that reason alone, it’s a pretty good deal. Now you can claim your spot on the wait-list to get in on a 3% yield account that seems to act like a savings account*. Once you enter the Robinhood app, tap on the Cash Management tab (the “$” sign) to get on the waitlist! Happy Saving, TheJKW *One criticism about this has been whether these accounts will be FDIC-insured. Updates will be given as this unfolds. Either way, 3% back…