Americans keeping their money in savings accounts in commercial banks are losing a lot of potential earnings amidst surging returns on bonds and other savings vehicles, write Oyin Adedoyin and Ashlea Ebeling for The Wall Street Journal.

Many people have already taken advantage of the era of higher savings and bond rates ushered in by the rising interest rates over the last two years, but many others have not. Currently, there is around $17.5 trillion sitting in commercial banks, where the average savings account earns 0.45 percent in interest annually.

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That money is losing value both on inflation and by not earning five percent interest.

Despite the inflation cooling to 3.3 percent last month, the Federal Reserve is planning only one rate cut this year. Financial advisers recommend that if you still have money that is not earning anything, now is the time to take stock of your cash and adjust your strategy.

“I see a lot of people who lead the conversation with, ‘I know I’ve got way too much in my checking account, and I’m so embarrassed by it,’ but that doesn’t mean that they’ve done anything about it,” said Dann Ryan, managing partner at Sincerus Advisory.

Even savers with small balances should consider moving their money. For example, if you have $500, you could earn just $2.25 annually from an average account as opposed to $22.50 in one that paid 4.5 percent.

Additionally, this is the right moment to act for those who took advantage of better returns in high-yield savings, certificates of deposit, and money-market funds, as well as Treasury bonds.

This includes moving emergency cash and cash needed for known expenditures into higher-yielding online accounts at a brokerage. And according to financial advisors, this could also be the right moment to begin moving into other fixed-income investments.

“At Creative Capital Wealth Management Group, we have increased our absolute return allocation and started using cash now that it’s paying over four percent for a riskless asset,” said Fred Hubler, CCWMG’s CEO and Chief Wealth Strategist. “Cash in a portfolio offers stability, reducing overall risk during market downturns, and provides liquidity for investors to take advantage of buying opportunities.”

Read more about this era of higher savings and bond rates in The Wall Street Journal.

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