Dear Dave,

Where is the best place to keep my savings?

Angie

Dear Angie,

In my mind, when it comes to savings, the idea is to park the money in a safe place — like a money market account or basic savings account — and keep it separate from the rest of your cash, so you don’t accidentally spend it on the wrong thing.

I’m not really concerned with making money in a savings scenario, so things like setting money aside for an emergency fund or vacations fall into this category.

Investing, on the other hand, is when you’re going to leave the money alone for a bare minimum of five to 10 years to grow it. Things like college planning and retirement fall into this category. In these instances, I recommend good, growth-stock mutual funds that have stable track records of at least 10 years.

I hope this helps, Angie!

— Dave