Even that cash could just be net borrowed cash. For instance, I keep $XX,000 in my bank account but a negative $XXX,000 balance in my brokerage account. And I

Even that cash could just be net borrowed cash. For instance, I keep $XX,000 in my bank account but a negative $XXX,000 balance in my brokerage account. And I'm not particularly wealthy. This way I have an isolated cash cushion buffer separate from my investments, and I don't really care what, if anything, that money makes. It's actually invested in my brokerage account, at a [edit](1.25%) margin APR, that's tax deductible - and offsets my capital gains. [edit] correction: I double-checked, I guess I'm paying closer to 1.25%. Looks like margin rates are both up at IBKR, and my recollection was off. Thanks for the spot-check throwaway2037. It's hard to find the historical rates, too.