Man leaves $10,000 in a savings account for 6 years, earns under $20 in interest

Seymen Usta, CEO of Seus Lighting, told GoBankingRates he kept $10,000 parked in a regular savings account for six years, earning annual interest of 0.03 percent, which added up to under $20 in total interest over that span. Factoring in inflation, Usta said the $10,000 had the purchasing power of roughly $8,200 by the time he reassessed the account.

Usta estimated that putting the same $10,000 into an S&P 500 index fund averaging 10 percent annual returns would have grown it to more than $18,000 over the same period, meaning the decision to leave the cash untouched cost him close to $8,000 in missed gains.

Usta said he now splits his money by timeline: a high-yield savings account for emergencies, money market funds or short-term bond ETFs for medium-term goals, and index funds for anything he won't need for three or more years. He also runs a quarterly financial audit, asking whether each dollar is growing, protecting or just sitting idle.