Dead money: Your savings account is losing inflation fight — where 4 financial advisors grow their cash instead
The U.S. inflation rate was 3.4% as of July 2026, based on the most recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That’s based on the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, and it’s well above the Federal Reserve’s target inflation rate of 2.0% (although the Fed measures that goal using the PCE price index).
Inflation has been stubbornly high in the post-pandemic era, with the annual inflation rate averaging 8.0% in 2022 (the highest average year-over-year price increase in decades).
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Unfortunately, with prices rising so much, savers are being hit hard — especially those with their money in a traditional savings account, which the FDIC reports offer national deposit rates averaging 0.38% as of mid-August.
There are high-yield savings accounts that pay more than average, but these accounts often still don’t offer rates generous enough to help investors keep pace with such high inflation, let alone to get ahead.
Fortunately, there are other investment options. We’ve checked in with several financial advisors to find out what they’re doing with their money to stay ahead of rising prices. Here’s what they had to say.
1. Floating-rate Treasury funds
A floating-rate Treasury fund is the investment of choice for Domenick D’Andrea, an accredited investment fiduciary, certified retirement plan counselor, and co-founder of DanDarah Wealth Management — after making sure he has emergencies covered, of course.
“I make sure that I keep just enough in my savings account to cover up to six months of my normal expenses,” D’Andrea told Moneywise. “I have the rest of my liquid cash in a floating-rate Treasury fund. This yields me over 3.69% and avoids state taxes.”
A floating-rate Treasury fund is an ETF or mutual fund that invests pooled funds primarily in U.S. Treasury Floating Rate Notes (FRNs). Treasury FRNs have variable interest rates, unlike traditional Treasury bonds, but are still considered fairly safe investments because the underlying assets are U.S. government notes.
These funds provide rate protection as payouts adjust periodically with changes in short-term Treasury rates, and they are also considered highly liquid. D’Andrea explained that he chose them because the potential return is better than what a traditional savings account could offer.
