You can earn 155 times more interest just by using a different kind of savings account

If you let a $10,000 deposit sit in a standard savings account for a year, you'd earn a mere dollar in interest. That's because most major banks out there offer an interest rate of 0.01 percent. But if you put that $10,000 in a high-interest savings account at an internet bank like Synchrony, Ally or iGoBanking, which offer interest rates between 1 percent and 1.55 percent, your $10,000 deposit could yield up to $155 after one year.

The reason internet banks can offer 155 times more interest is because they don't have to spend money building thousands of branches and hiring people to fill them. The major drawback is convenience: It will take you a couple of days to access your money, whereas you get instant access, and lots of ATMs, with big banks like Chase and Wells Fargo.