Advice: When to Use Money Market Accounts

Money market accounts (MMAs) can be a great place to get the most out of the money that you've set aside for a rainy day.

Financial institutions offer FDIC-insured MMAs to their clients, just like they offer regular checking or savings accounts. The benefit? MMAs tend to offer higher interest rates than other deposit accounts. Zero risk for your money and a higher rate makes an MMA a much better place to stash your rainy-day cash than a savings account.

MMAs carry some conditions and restrictions that vary from institution to institution. In general, however, you are limited to a set number of transactions per month (about six total, including three checks), and must keep a relatively high minimum balance (often $1,000 or more).

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