Money in One Chart

where money goes

Your savings balance might be costing you money while a card balance sits open.

Cards charge about 22%. Savings pays about 0.38%. Holding both at once means lending to the bank at one rate and borrowing at the other.

You asked for the one-month calculator. It is below, as the slides from the post, then the one move, then the tool the chart points at.

Slide 1 of 7: Your savings balance might be costing you money while a card balance sits open.Slide 2 of 7: The rate you pay on a card balance is roughly 58 times the rate you earn on savings.Slide 3 of 7: Every dollar sitting in savings while a card balance is open costs you roughly this multiple.Slide 4 of 7: Building six months of savings while a card balance sits open feels responsible, and it costs the most.Slide 5 of 7: You do need savings in case something happens, and one month of expenses is that cushion.Slide 6 of 7: Three moves, in this order.Slide 7 of 7: Save this for payday.

Three moves, in this order.

  1. 01
    Keep one month of expenses in savings.Rent, food, transport, and every minimum payment.
  2. 02
    Send everything above that at the highest-rate card.Minimums on the others.
  3. 03
    Rebuild savings once the card is at zero.Then the high-rate account earns something worth having.

The tool this chart points at

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Sources: Federal Reserve G.19 Q2 2026; FDIC national rates 2026-08-17; Ratio of the two figures above.

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