One very savvy reader offered the following suggestion on how to use different savings accounts to help get through tight financial spots:
No matter how carefully you have planned your monthly expenditures, there are are times when an unplanned expenditure leaves you short. What I do is save term deposits in my postal account. When I am short, I overdraw the postal account. I think I can overdraw to the limit of the time deposits that are in force. When I repay the overdraft I am charged interest but it is insignificant. I only overdraw small amounts when I am really desperate.
Another condition I have for borrowing in this way is that I must have confidence I can pay it back in a short time. The longest I have borrowed by overdraft is two weeks. The interest really was minimal. Doesn’t happen more than once or twice a year but it sure helps when you are desperate.
(Thank you for your comments! Keep writing!)