How The Wealthy Are Beating Inflation

Tips to combat inflation for both investors and non-investors

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How to Beat Inflation for Non-Investors

Inflation, inflation, inflation. If your money isn’t growing faster than the inflation rate, you’re doing personal finance wrong.

What is Inflation?

In 2020, a trip to the grocery store would cost the average American family $609.70 per month. In 2025, that family is expected to spend around $1,000 monthly. Why? Inflation.

Inflation measures how much the prices of goods and services increase over time.

There’s a rule in personal finance—when the cost of goods and services increase, so should your money. If your money isn’t outpacing inflation, you’re becoming less wealthy every day. And the longer inflation outpaces your cash, the more your net worth will eventually drop to zero… or less.

What can you do to beat inflation?

The best way to beat inflation is to transition your cash to a specific asset, but we’ll save that for the PRO section. If you’re not investing (or aren’t a PRO subscriber), you can—and probably should—open a High-Yield Savings account. These accounts don’t always beat inflation, but they keep up with it well.

What is a High-Yield Savings Account?

HYSA (high-yield savings accounts) are similar to accounts that can be opened with big banks like JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, but they have two main differences:

1. Most of them are online only. Typically, you won’t be able to deposit or withdraw money by visiting a physical location.

2. Your interest is much higher than what you’d get from big, traditional banks. One of the HYSAs on today’s list pays more than 9.5x the national average at 4.00%, compared to 0.42%.

Clarifying misconceptions about HYSAs:

I can’t tell you how often I’ve suggested that friends or family open a high-yield savings account. Usually, they don’t.

The reasons vary: They don’t trust the companies, mistake it for a traditional investment, fear losing money from an online-only account, or just aren’t motivated.

While I can’t do much to change motivation, I’ll clarify the first three misconceptions:

1. Trust: Most HYSA products derive from large banks and other financial corporations you trust and bank with today. All three products listed below come from a few of the world's largest domestic and international banks.

2. Investments: HYSAs are investments but aren’t exposed to market risks. While stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency prices constantly change because buyers and sellers negotiate their value, banks set the rates on high-yield savings accounts. Typically, rates only change when the federal funds rate is adjusted.

3. Losing money: HYSAs are FDIC-insured up to $250,000 for single individuals and $500,000 for joint account holders. Those are the same insurance limits on traditional savings accounts. So don’t worry, your money is safe.

Here Are 3 High-Yield Savings Accounts for 2025:

1. Barclays Online Savings - 4.00% APY

I’ve had a Barclays HYSA since 2017 and never had a complaint. It offers a 4.00% APY, much higher than the 1.90% when I opened mine, and more than 9.5x the current national average.

It’s important to know that Barclays is a British bank but has a presence in the US. It has over 325 years of banking experience and is the second-largest bank in the UK, making it a prime choice for anyone concerned about securing their money (all of us).

2. Marcus by Goldman Sachs - 3.90% APY

My wife and I have had a joint savings account at Marcus since 2021. Their interest rate is over 9.2x the national average, at 3.90% APY.

They’re also rated #1 in customer satisfaction for online-only banks by J.D. Power, have no fees or minimum deposits, and offer many tools and resources to manage your finances.

3. American Express High-Yield Savings Account

American Express—I haven’t met many people who haven’t heard of them. They’re the second-largest credit card issuer in the US and have a reputation that precedes them.

However, it’s less known that Amex offers products like High-Yield Savings Accounts. It currently offers the lowest APY on today’s list, at 3.80%, but it is still more than 9x the national average.

What I like most about the Amex HYSA is if you already have other American Express products (credit or charge cards), you can manage all of them with a single login. American Express makes it extremely easy to navigate your products without juggling login names and passwords.

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For Investors: How The Wealthy Are Beating Inflation

In 2023, 35% of US families said inflation was their most concerning financial problem. In 2024, that number jumped to 41% of US families.

When President Trump takes office today (his inauguration day), he’s bringing major tariff plans that could spark inflation, affecting more families in 2025.

Businesses, American citizens, and even some members of the US Senate are confident in saying that if the tariff plans are passed, they will send inflation to the moon.

Here’s a proven way investors beat rising inflation roughly 80% of the time.