Vehemently disagree! I always had the impression that you were financially savvy based on your knowledge of tax issues. However, seems your finance choices are as bad as your living location choices.

First, a tax refund?! Why are you giving the gov't an interest-free loan? At your age, your taxable income should be fairly predictable, so why are you withholding more than necessary?

Checking accounts pay squat in interest, so I only keep enough in it to cover monthly bills for the current month. If something unexpected comes up, I do electronic transfers (which clear instantly) from my linked savings account (which also doesn't pay much in interest) either from my home computer or my cell phone app. Most of the money I have in cash is in an online bank money market acct currently paying 2.4% in interest. The transfers from the MM acct to my checking acct clear in 3 days.

I don't do any automatic withdrawals for bills due. I don't trust anyone to stick their electronic fingers in my account. I use electronic billpay, but schedule every payment myself.