What is the difference between savings and money market accounts? What are the benefits/setbacks of each?

Hi! This is a great question. WalletHub has some great articles and definitions about these terms – I will provide them below. I’ll add that you can’t go wrong with putting money in either of these types of accounts to save money! In my opinion, as a safe place to save, both have equally great benefits. The only "drawback" (which really is just an across-the-board fact of life) might be that we are in such a low interest rate environment these days that no one saving in "safe" places can earn very much on that money; however, low interest rates are the way it is today. Best wishes and thanks for writing!

Savings Account – A bank account that’s federally insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC or a credit union deposit accountinsured by the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). In other words, if your bank or credit union fails, you can count on getting your money back, up to a limit of $250,000 per depositor, per institution. There are a few exceptions to this rule, so if you don’t see the FDIC or NCUA logo displayed anywhere on a bank’s website or at a branch, ask about it. From https://wallethub.com/savings-account/

Money Market Account - A money market account is like a traditional savings account, but it offers higher interest rates in return for a higher minimum balance. Since it is a type of savings account, there are limits on how many withdrawals you can make per month by phone or computer. It is also important not to confuse money market accounts, which are insured bank products, with money market mutual funds, which are investment products and are not FDIC insured. The difference between the two products is that the average MMDA provides a higher interest rate than the average savings account. That’s because MMDAs require higher minimum balances. Does that mean that every money market account will offer a higher interest rate than every savings account? No. It pays to shop around. But the general rule of thumb is that the higher the minimum balance, the higher the interest rate. The minimum-balance requirement varies from product to product, and can soar into the tens-of-thousands. If the account dips below that minimum, the bank will assess a fee. From https://wallethub.com/money-market-account/