The Psychology of Saving: Why Finding the Best High Interest Savings Account Isn’t Just About Numbers

By definition, saving money is a numbers concept.

You earn, you save some, you earn a little interest, you go back to the earlier routine. Unfortunately, if it were only about the numbers, we’d all have good savings habits. The fact is, money (and saving money, as a result) is more about psychology than about numbers. That’s why finding the best high interest savings account isn’t just about money — it’s about mindsets. Pick the right account, and you’ll do more than save money; you’ll change your attitude towards saving.

Let’s see why that is, and how knowing your mindset will make you a saver.

The Hidden Motivation Behind Saving

Saving money isn’t just about the money. It’s about safety, freedom, or the freedom to say “yes” to the things that matter. In behavioral economics, they often describe it as the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation.

Extrinsic motivation can be something like the interest you earn, or a money goal, such as saving for a car. Intrinsic motivation is, well, a bit deeper — it’s the satisfaction of seeing your balance grow quietly or the feeling that nothing can happen to you if something goes wrong.

How “Mental Accounting” Shapes Your Habits

Have you ever known anyone who has ‘pots’ of money? While some are purely based on their bank statement, others only exist in their heads. Their emergency pot, holiday money, or deposit for a house. All in the same bank account, but out of bounds for dipping into on a whim.

Money is a great leveller — but it’s what we can do with it that counts. And we like to keep our options open. We try to remain rational and logical (to a point), so when we want an indulgent massage or simply something to brag about for the weekend, we’ve got pots for those too.

This is why using multiple high-yield savings subaccounts — or even separate accounts altogether — can be a game changer. When your “future travel” money feels off-limits from your “rainy day” savings, you trick your brain into being more disciplined without feeling restricted.

The Interest Rate Illusion

When you’re trying to decide where to park your hard-earned cash, it’s tempting to look for the account with the highest return. You know — the fancy, fast, “high-interest” account that’s just giving money away?

Except here’s the rub. People underestimate the psychological advantage of time in the market, versus trying to optimize gains by trading places with their money every few months. Worse, continually moving your money around can actually work against the psychological advantage of a steadily increasing balance — a source of reward that can help you meet your goals, long-term.

What’s the best way to approach it? Find a higher-yield account you can trust that does the job you need it to do and stick with it for a while, just long enough to establish that positive feedback loop. Then see how much compounding — in your balance, and mental health — can truly happen!

Automate Everything, Forget Nothing

One of the easiest ways to fortify your savings habit is to make no decision at all. Doing it automatically eliminates the need for willpower. Your paycheck comes in? The money goes out — no second thought, no pause for reflection, no opportunity to contemplate spending it this month and save next month.

It’s also a reminder that saving isn’t something to do only if you feel like it, or if it’s April, or if your lucky numbers come up. You set it up, and it’s part of the infrastructure, like your 401 (k) at work — pay now, spend the balance. You miss one week, rather than saying let it go for the month. Saving this week wasn’t because that was the plan; you missed a chance to save, and you’re trying to catch up.

The Emotional ROI of a Safety Net

The “return on investment” for a savings account isn’t just the interest you earn — it’s the reduced anxiety you feel when you see a cushion getting bigger. A cushion is what buys you options in life: to take a chance on a new job, to travel, to say no to something that doesn’t serve you.

Psychologists have a term for this: it’s called financial self-efficacy, or the belief that you can build and wield the skill of managing money well. And the more you do, the stronger you become, and the more likely you are to keep up the saving effort. All that growth mindset research tells us that. And witnessing progress, even if it’s slow at first, grows confidence.

The Quiet Satisfaction of Financial Momentum

The best savers aren’t the trend followers. They’re the momentum chasers. They’ve designed a plan that makes sense, one that’s less about making decisions on the fly the other way more about making smart ones simply part of life. They’ve set the stage for a more natural relationship with money, and that relationship isn’t stressful.

When your savings start doing their thing without a lot of interference from you, your mindset about money starts to change. It isn’t something you wrestle with — it’s something you can trust. When you squirrel money away in an account and let it build, it becomes something else, too. It’s no longer just cash in a bank account. It’s an element of a process you’ve created and that represents what you care about and are building for.

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More Recommended Ebike/Scooters

Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:

Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.

More Recommended Investing App Bonuses

For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:

M1 Finance ($75) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.

More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses

If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.

Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
US Bank Business ($400/$1200) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.

Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.

Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.

Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:

SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $400/$1200 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $75 for opening an account.
Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.

Feel free to send Kevin a message here.