High yield savings accounts allow your money to do more then sit in the bank giving interest and dividends to the place that holds your money rather than you the person putting those funds in the account.
Some of the best rated high-yield savings account are ones that I use and happily recommend there is one that I do not recommend despite it being one of the more popular high yield savings accounts to offer especially among Finance content creators to start we’re going to discuss AllyBank, JeniusBank Capital One Along with two quick honorable mentions to Auto or robot investors for those who are ready to begin their Investment Journey.
This post is starting with something very close to my heart: living the neurospicy life without being in a cardboard box down by the river. I will have more opinions and recommendations across the spectrum of life with disabilities, but this month I was concerned with our financials.
Neurodiverse families often face unique financial challenges that makes having additional resources more than a nice-to-have but a can’t-do-without, particularly when one parent stays at home to care for a neurodivergent child/ren. Here are some key issues we commonly encounter:
Single income + High cost Medical & Therapeutic care = STRESS: This Equation is know all too well families in the disability community it doesn’t matter if you’re dealing with Sanfilippo Syndrome, Type 1/Juvenile Diabetes, ADHD or Autism Spectrum Disorder, if you have one child with special needs or multiple, the strain is real on both emotions and checking accounts. And unfortunately the idea of just becoming a dual income household isn’t the solution, the children still need someone to coordinate care and transport them to therapies and doctors appointments not to mention navigating the educational portions with IEP, IPP, 504 plans… it’s a large plate, and those tasks cannot often be outsourced.
Social Isolation and Broken Networks: The village we were promised is non-existent. Some are lucky to live near or with support systems or can trade with other families for care, but many lack those resources and that leads to isolation and increased risk of depression and other negative mental health outcomes for the primary caregiver.
So those are the problems, of course for the families like mine experiencing this that was just review. Now we’re onto solutions; what can we do to ease this strain?
Open High Yield Savings Account(s) with No-Fee, No Minimum Banks. The fastest thing you an do to start making your money work for you that takes maybe 15 minutes max is opening a High Yield Savings Account. Most banks give you nothing for your money sitting in their bank, or perhaps like Chase Bank (boo) you can get a 0.01% on the savings account attached to your checking meaning you’re getting maybe 1-2 cents per year on the money in your account. But the banks I’m going to recommend offer a minimum 4.20% up to 5.25% APY (Annual Percentage Yield) *
Ally Bank, APY in October 2024: 4.20% Way back in college I actually had an Ally account in protest to the fact that WellsFargo, the nearest bank in my campus after acquiring Wachovia, charged so many fees that when I went to open an account with them after calculating my measly little check I realized the bank fees would put me in the red. At the time I didn’t realize that I had an awesome bank and closed the account when I moved across the country. But I will recommend Ally as a former customer… and maybe returning. who knows what 2024 has in store.
*Jenius Bank, APY in October 2024: 5.05% I’m a current Jenuis Bank customer as of April 2024. This is actually the first HYSA I chose after spending months looking and being disappointed when two of the three financial girlies I follow both recommended SoFi Bank HYSA’s… I was pissed. So I hustled and found Jenius Bank. Their loans and savings accounts were started last year, but they are a part of a real bank SMBC Manubank, that was founded in the 1500’s. I’ve made a grand total of $0.12 on the $22 I currently have in there.
Capital One, APY as of October 2024: 4.10%Capital One’s High-Yield Savings Account is a great option for neurodivergent families looking to grow their savings without extra hassle. With no fees or minimums, it’s easy to open and manage, no matter how busy your schedule gets. You’ll earn a competitive interest rate on every dollar, helping your family build a cushion for the future. The best part? You can access your funds anytime through their app, which is perfect for those unexpected expenses.
Wealthfront, APY as of October 2024: 4.50% or 5.50% using the Affiliate link
I do have an affiliate link with wealthfront and money in an account with them. I could not get a straight answer with whether or not they are considered fintech, but they offer both High Yield Accounts and investing opportunities.
Investment: Ellevest So full disclosure I’m not swimming in trust fund money and it took me a good 8 months of researching different companies before I found something that aligned with my values. And so far Ellevest is the only one that I’m comfortable talking about. They are an investment platform by women for women and as a woman and knowing i will likely outlive my husband and that as a Domestic engineer my earnings have plummeted before beginning the work of a digital business… I’m for it. Now they do charge for investing, either $12/month or $144/yr or $129/yr now with their ten percent savings on an annual plan. I see investing as a step three option; if you’re struggling to keep the lights on don’t start investing right now. Again this is about what you can manage right now; not an idealized you. The four banking options I put up top will take deposits as low as $1. And any dollar working for you beats a dollar doing nothing.
Some Closing Thoughts…
You might have noticed a few things that I didn’t talk about… SoFi Bank and a lot of shiny new FinTech Banks. That’s entirely by design. Because number one as one of the millions of Americans who went to college and didn’t take out a single dime more then it cost to pay for my education, and made good faith attempts to pay it back, I was disgusted and furious when I learned that SoFi Bank sued the federal government during the student loan payment and interest pause… in the middle of a global pandemic they were more concerned about their bottom line than the humans beings that would be devastated by abusive and frankly criminal student loan payments that have kneecapped a generation long before corporate greed base inflation had the chance.
That’s everything I had for you on banking, I’ll be back more regularly with my ideas and opinions now that the first two months of back to school are in the history books.