4 accounts you need to build wealth

At 21, I started investing last year, and I have a portfolio on track to reach six figures before the year ends. Here are the four accounts that I have that help me reach that goal. First is my checking account. Every dollar I earn or every dollar you earn flows in here for daily expenses. It gives immediate access for anything that you need, bills, rent, anything of the sort. And also your checking account also separates from your savings so that you don't spend money you shouldn't. Second is a HYSA, high yield savings account. Your emergency fund lives in here. 3 to 6 months of expenses that you need should be in your high yield savings account. Um, a pro tip is the more responsibility you, the more responsibility you have, I believe the more months you should have saved. For example, if you're single in your early 20s, you might want to have 3 months of expenses saved up so that you can allocate the rest of your money into the next two accounts I'm going to talk about. But if you're married with two kids, you might want to have 6 months of expenses saved. Um, the high yield savings account also earns interest on the same money you would have in a normal savings account. Uh, most standard banks only give you about 0.01% APY, but a high yield savings account, at the time of this video, May 2026, they're giving anywhere from 3.3 to 4% uh APY. I personally use EverBank, um, and I believe I have a 3.9 APY at the time. Uh, I plan on going into some new high yield savings accounts soon once I reach the limit that the FDIC insures. Um, the high yield savings account also creates separation from spending money and saved money. Third account is your retirement account. This is a tax-advantaged account. Let's your money grow completely tax-free. Um, compound interest works hard for you. Um, the difference in starting your retirement account at 21 versus 31 can be the difference in hundreds of thousands of dollars. That's why everyone says no matter if you start with $10 a week, $50 a week, $100, a thousand, whatever it is, just start now because of compound interest. And number four is a brokerage account. This is a taxable investment account where wealth before retirement is built. It's completely flexible. You can pull the money out, all you would do is pay a capital gains tax. It gives you access to your investments with no penalties like I said. Um, and also builds generational wealth. Your checking handles today, high yield savings handles your emergencies, um, your retirement accounts builds for your future, and your brokerage builds you freedom.