{"id":14645,"date":"2025-07-16T20:43:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T20:43:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/14645\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T20:43:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T20:43:09","slug":"2-costly-mistakes-americans-make-with-their-savings-according-to-santander-bank","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/14645\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Costly Mistakes Americans Make With Their Savings, According to Santander Bank"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new survey from Santander Bank<\/a> reveals some troubling truths about what Americans are doing with their savings<\/a> \u2014 many are unknowingly putting their cash at risk and leaving free money on the table.<\/p>\n

Find Out: 6 Things the Middle Class Should Sell To Build Their Savings<\/a><\/p>\n

Read Next: 8 Common Mistakes Retirees Make With Their Social Security Checks<\/a><\/p>\n

According to the survey, more than half of Americans (52%) do not realize that a high-yield savings account (HYSA) is a good place to keep emergency savings, as many are unaware of FDIC insurance protection. Even more concerning, only 35% recognize that HYSAs carry less risk than investment accounts.<\/p>\n

These misunderstandings are leading to two major financial missteps that could cost consumers hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars over time<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite offering interest rates that can be 10 times the national average, high-yield savings accounts remain underused by many Americans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany consumers believe they need to break up with their primary bank in order to open a high-yield savings account, and they don\u2019t understand how easy it is to move money to and from their high-yield savings account,\u201d said Swati Bhatia, head of retail banking and transformation at Santander Bank.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s also confusion about what HYSAs are best used for. While they\u2019re ideal for emergency savings<\/a>, they\u2019re also a smart option for short-term goals like travel, home repairs or large purchases.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe safety and security of high-yield savings accounts is underestimated, and may even be confused with riskier accounts, like investments,\u201d Bhatia said.<\/p>\n

That confusion can come with a real cost. Many consumers continue to keep their money in traditional savings or checking accounts that offer minimal interest, which means they could be missing out on hundreds or even thousands of dollars in free money.<\/p>\n

For example, someone with $10,000 in a HYSA earning a 4.00% APY could generate over $400 in interest after one year. This compares to less than $40 for someone earning the national average of 0.38%.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur research shows that 9 in 10 high-yield savings accountholders agree these accounts help them build their savings faster,\u201d Bhatia said. \u201cThe interest they earn is meaningful to their finances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Learn More: Suze Orman Says If You\u2019re Doing This, You\u2019re \u2018Making the Biggest Mistake in Life\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The survey also found that 34% of Americans with brokerage accounts are using them to hold emergency savings \u2014 a risky move that could backfire<\/a> during market downturns.<\/p>\n

Story Continues <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile brokerage accounts can be a great way to save for longer-term goals, they aren\u2019t covered by FDIC insurance, so investment risk and market volatility makes them a risky option for keeping funds that may be needed sooner,\u201d Bhatia said. \u201cIf you need to access your funds during a time of market volatility, you may have less than what would be expected and be unable to cover an emergency expense.\u201d<\/p>\n

This could leave you scrambling to find the funds, or worse, needing to take on debt to cover an unforeseen event.<\/p>\n

In times of economic uncertainty, having a secure emergency fund<\/a> is more than just smart \u2014 it\u2019s essential.<\/p>\n

\u201cA high-yield savings account can kickstart an emergency savings fund, which can be the buffer you need to overcome a significant financial emergency,\u201d Bhatia said. \u201cThese accounts are safe and grow steadily without being exposed to market risk \u2014 which tends to increase during times of economic uncertainty \u2014 so you can be sure deposits will be available when you need them.\u201d<\/p>\n

More From GOBankingRates<\/p>\n

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com<\/a>: 2 Costly Mistakes Americans Make With Their Savings, According to Santander Bank<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new survey from Santander Bank reveals some troubling truths about what Americans are doing with their savings…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[13011,28,13993,13990,147,530,13989,13991,13992],"class_list":["post-14645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-americans","tag-business","tag-free-money","tag-investment-accounts","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-santander-bank","tag-savings-account","tag-swati-bhatia"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}