Kept my emergency fund sitting in a regular savings account at one of the major banks earning basically nothing

Like 0.01% interest. I just assumed that was normal and never questioned it.

A few months ago I started looking into high yield savings accounts after someone mentioned them casually in conversation. I had no idea how big the difference actually was. Moving my emergency fund over took me from earning a few dollars a year to a few hundred dollars a year on the same money, without changing my habits at all.

It felt like one of those things nobody tells you when you're starting out. The big banks spend millions on advertising but quietly offer terrible returns on your deposits, while online banks with no physical branches pass those savings on to you as interest.

I know rates fluctuate and a HYSA isn't an investment strategy on its own, but for money you want to keep liquid and safe it seems like a nobrainer compared to letting a major bank hold it for almost nothing.

Curious if anyone here made a similar switch and what prompted you to finally do it. Also wondering if people split their emergency fund across multiple accounts or just keep it simple in one place. Would love to hear what's actually working for people.