Got $30,000 in savings? Avoid this mistake to grow successfully

For many, saving $30,000 can take years to achieve. In fact, the average bank account balance among American adults was $8,000 in 2022, according to the Federal Reserve. So, if you have $30,000 in your bank account, then you are relatively well off.

However, if you’re keeping that money in a traditional checking or savings account, you’re missing out. The average savings account interest rate was 0.40% as of November 2025, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). However, high-yield savings accounts pay more than 4.00% on an annual basis, with some offering 5.00% in November 2025. That’s a difference of hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars in interest annually, depending on how much you continue to save monthly.

Avoid leaving your money idle in a traditional savings account. Alternatively, you can turn it on by transferring to a high-yield bank account.

Why you should avoid keeping your savings in a traditional account

Traditional bank accounts typically don’t pay high interest rates. So, if you have your money in a big bank like Wells Fargo or Bank of America, you may only earn 0.01% of your $30,000. If you don’t make any additional contributions to the account, you’ll earn a meager $3 in interest in a full year, with a new balance of just $30,003.

But in a high-yield savings account, you can earn more. Let’s say you move your savings to a bank that pays around 4.50% annual yield, such as Pibank. After one year, without any additional monthly contributions, you will have $31,350. This means earning $1,350 in interest, which is 450 times greater than the interest in a traditional account.

Now, if you saved another $100 a month in your high-yield savings account, you’d have more, and end the year with a balance of more than $32,500. If you saved $100 a month for 10 years, you would have more than $61,000.

We recommend you create a high-yield checking account to get higher interest rates

High-yield savings accounts aren’t the only accounts that pay high interest rates. A high-yield checking account can also serve as a place to store $30,000, and can pay interest rates of up to 6.75% APY.

With a high-yield checking account, you can earn interest in the same way as a high-yield savings account, although you may have to meet a few requirements. For example, a high-yield checking account at a New Jersey credit union pays 6.00% APY on balances up to $25,000 and 0.75% on the amount above that. To get this rate, you must be enrolled in Electronic Statements and have at least one direct deposit, credit, ACH payment, or bill payment transaction per month, as well as 12 or more debit card transactions per month.

Consider money market accounts as well

Money market accounts (MMAs) are similar to savings accounts and can pay interest rates as high as 4.50% APY. The primary difference between a high-yield savings account and a money market account is that you can usually access your money more easily using an MMA, such as writing checks or using a debit card. This can be a useful feature if you need it, but if not, we generally recommend using whatever type of account offers a better interest rate.

Yes, you can easily withdraw your money from a high-yield account

Whether it’s in a high-yield savings account, a high-yield checking account, or a money market account, you can get the same kind of flexibility when it comes to withdrawals. Your bank may set limits on the number of withdrawals you can make per month, just as with a traditional savings account, although this shouldn’t be a problem for most savers (checking accounts usually don’t have any limits on withdrawals). If it’s an online-only account, take time to find out how long interbank transfers take, and whether you can access your funds through an ATM or other source.

Bottom line

Leaving $30,000 — or any large sum of money — in a traditional bank account paying close to 0% interest won’t help you build wealth. Moving that money into a high-yield savings account, high-yield checking account, or money market account can help you earn hundreds — if not thousands — of dollars in interest over time. So, avoid keeping large amounts of money in a traditional savings account and missing out on interest, especially when interest rates are still high. Instead, aim to grow your savings into larger balances through high-yield accounts.

How do we find the highest interest rates on savings and checking accounts?

Every day, we look at which banks and credit unions offer the checking, savings, and money market accounts with the highest annual percentage yields (APYs). To make our lists, institutions must be federally insured (FDIC for banks and NCUA for credit unions).

For our savings accounts, banks must be available in at least 40 states and the minimum initial deposit into the account must not exceed $25,000. While some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you do not meet other eligibility criteria (for example, if you do not live in a certain area or work a certain type of job), we exclude credit unions with donation requirements of $40 or more. If your savings account is only accessible through the mobile app, we require that the app be available on iOS and Android.

For checking accounts, the maximum allowed balance that can earn the increased rate must be at least $10,000, and the number of debit card transactions required cannot exceed 15.

For money market accounts, the minimum initial account deposit must not exceed $25,000. The account must allow checks to be written. Again, banks and credit unions must be available in at least 40 states, and we exclude credit unions with membership donation requirements of $40 or more. If your money market account is only accessible through a mobile app, we require that the app be available on iOS and Android.