Dave Ramsey says: Keep your boundaries in place when it comes to your banking accounts

Dear Dave,

I have a money market account that I use as both my checking and savings account.

I have a debit card and check writing privileges with the account, and I get a better interest rate on my money.

Is what I’m doing a good idea, or is it better for some reason to have separate savings and checking accounts?

Bonnie

Dealing with financial account confusion

Dear Bonnie,

It’s always good to have a physical and emotional boundary between your savings and the everyday funds in your checking account. This is especially important when you’re talking about savings or an emergency fund.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with getting a better interest rate, but when everything is all lumped together it can become easy for the line between savings and checking to become blurred. And if you’re not careful, you might find yourself dipping into your savings or emergency fund for things that aren’t emergencies without realizing what you’re doing.

—Dave

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