03/16/2026
Two friends, Grant and Arden, start investing in 1980. Each with $10,000.
Grant plays it safe. He puts his $10k in a high-yield savings account, earning a modest 4%.
Arden decides to put her $10k into the stock market. She invests in the S&P 500, buying a small piece of the biggest 500 companies in the US.
Neither of the two touch their accounts and this is what they have today…
Grant: $60,700
Arden: $1,899,000
A HYSA is good tool for an emergency fund or money set aside for vacation, but a bad tool for building long-term wealth.