Ways to free up money to invest

By . Published 2026-10-21. Rates from the FDIC, the Federal Reserve, the IRS and the ICI.

Move your cash to high-yield savings

Do this first

  1. Look up what your savings account pays. It's on your statement or the bank's rates page.
  2. If it's far under 3.63%, open a high-yield savings account.
  3. Move your savings there and keep checking for bills.
  • A typical savings account pays 0.37%. The government paid 3.63% to borrow for 3 months the same week (the 3-month Treasury yield), and high-yield accounts pay close to it [1].
  • On $10,000 that gap is $326 a year.

Take the whole 401(k) match

Do this first

  1. Find your plan's match formula in your benefits portal. It usually reads like "50% of the first 6%".
  2. Set your contribution to at least the percent it matches.
  • A match is an instant 50% or 100% return on the dollars it covers, depending on your plan, before the market does anything.
  • It's the first step in your plan for that reason, right after a small cash cushion.

Pay off credit cards before investing past the match

Do this first

  1. List every card with a balance and its rate.
  2. Pay the minimum on all of them, and everything extra on the highest rate.
  3. Once they're gone, send that same amount to your plan.
  • The average card with a balance charges 22.15% [2]. On $5,000 that's about $1,100 a year in interest.
  • Paying it off is a guaranteed 22% return. The S&P 500 has historically returned about 6.8% a year after inflation, 1928 to 2025 [6]. More on the order in Emergency fund and debt first.

Use an HSA if your health plan allows it

Do this first

  1. Check whether your health plan is a high-deductible plan (HDHP). Your benefits portal says.
  2. If it is, open the HSA through work, so it comes out of your paycheck before tax.
  • In 2026 you can put in $4,400, or $8,750 for a family plan [3]. It goes in before tax, grows tax-free and comes out tax-free for medical bills.
  • At a 22% federal rate, $4,400 saves $968 of federal tax this year [3]. That's $968 you can invest instead of sending to the IRS.

Check what your funds and advisor charge

Do this first

  1. Find each fund's expense ratio (its yearly fee, as a percent of what you hold) in your 401(k)'s fee disclosure or the broker's fund page.
  2. If you pay an advisor, find the fee as a percent of assets on your statement.
  • Stock mutual funds averaged 0.40% a year in 2025 [4]. The total market funds on our funds page cost 0.03% or less. On $50,000 that's $200 a year against $15.
  • A 1% advisor takes about 16% of the result. $20 a day for 30 years grows to $602,539 in today's money, or $505,836 after the fee [5]. More in Why index funds win.

Sources

  1. FDIC, National Rates and Rate Caps, 2026-09-21. The page lists the national savings rate and the matching Treasury yield.
  2. Federal Reserve, G.19 Consumer Credit, Q2 2026 rates, released 2026-10-07.
  3. IRS, Rev. Proc. 2025-19 (2026 HSA limits) and Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 tax brackets).
  4. Investment Company Institute, fees in 2025, released 2026-03-25.
  5. Lazy Nest Egg calculation: $20 a day for 30 years at 6.24% real (90% stocks, 10% bonds, Damodaran, 1928-2025), with and without a 1% yearly fee.
  6. Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, Historical returns on stocks, bonds and bills, 1928-2025. The S&P 500 averaged 6.78% a year after inflation.