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- After years of procrastinating on moving my savings into another account to earn interest, I finally opened a Wealthfront high-yield cash account.
- Wealthfront cash accounts come with a 2.57% APY (as of July 19), have a $1 minimum deposit, and are fee-free.
- I moved my emergency fund savings over to Wealthfront and the process couldn't have been any easier.
- Currently, Business Insider readers who sign up for a Wealthfront investment account will receive their first $5,000 managed for free in that account in perpetuity.
As someone who writes about personal finance every day, I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that I've never had a high-yield cash or savings account. That's because I've been with the same monster mega bank since my teenage days.
For years, I had serious bank account inertia. I just couldn't bring myself to put in the effort that would be required to open up a new bank account. But I'd been told that the hassle factor really wasn't an excuse any longer and that I could open an account in minutes.
I finally decided that it was time to bite the bullet and find a cash account that would pay me more than 0.01%. And after taking a look at several great options, I decided to go with Wealthfront.
Why I chose to open a high-yield cash account with Wealthfront
If you're looking for a high-yield cash or savings account, there are several good choices available. But here is a quick list of the reasons that I chose Wealthfront:
- FDIC insured up to $1 million
- Fee-free
- $1 minimum deposit
- 2.57% interest rate
That amazing interest rate was really the clincher for me, but the other points came into consideration as well.
It's also important to point out that I didn't need all the bells and whistles of an actual bank. I still have all my online bill pay and ACH debits set to pull from the checking account at the bank I've been with for years. I was just looking for a place to park my emergency fund money and hopefully outpace (or at least keep up with) inflation.
If you're looking to open both a checking and savings, you may be better off choosing an online bank. But for my situation, Wealthfront seemed like the right fit.
I was relieved to find that the sign-up process with Wealthfront was a breeze. It took me less than 10 minutes from start to finish. Here's how it went.
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