Dear Dave,

My husband and I have been blessed financially in our work and in our lives. We simply love working, money aside, even though we could both easily retire and be very comfortable. These feelings have made me think a lot lately about what’s really important in life. What’s your financial advice on this? How do you balance ambition with contentment?

— Barb

Dear Barb,

I get the feeling you thought ambition was the opposite of contentment. But I don’t look at it that way. It’s not like a teeter-totter. They don’t have to balance out, because they are not on the same spectrum.

I’m content and ambitious. I’m content with what we have and what God has entrusted to us. But I’m not content to sit around and do nothing just because we’ve been blessed. That kind of attitude isn’t contentment. It’s apathy.

I do what I do because I love helping people. You can have peace and contentment, and still be ambitious. They’re not inconsistent concepts.

In my mind, problems are created when ambitious people are driven by a lack of contentment.

Let me ask you something. Do you think Jesus was content? Do you think He was ambitious? I believe the answer to both questions is yes. Just think about how He lived, and how He instructed us to live. Think about His mission and His purpose.

More than anything, I think it has to do with what’s driving your ambition. If a desire for “stuff” is the motivating factor, then maybe they are on the same spectrum. But that’s a really bad way to live your life.

You can buy and pile up tons of stuff, but you’re not going to be truly happy until you find contentment.

— Dave

***

Dear Dave,

I need financial advice. I have a money market account that I use as both my chequing and savings account. I have a debit card and cheque-writing privileges with the account, and I get a better interest rate on my money. Is what I’m doing a good idea, or is it better for some reason to have separate savings and chequing accounts?

— Bonnie

Dear Bonnie,

It’s always good to have a physical and emotional boundary between your savings and the everyday funds in your chequing account. This is especially important when you’re talking about savings or an emergency fund.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with getting a better interest rate, but when everything is all lumped together it can become easy for the line between savings and chequing to become blurred.

And if you’re not careful, you might find yourself dipping into your savings or emergency fund for things that are not emergencies without realising what you’re doing.

— Dave

• Dave Ramsey is an eight-times national bestselling author, personal finance expert and host of The Ramsey Show. He has appeared on Good Morning America, CBS This Morning, Today, Fox News, CNN, Fox Business and many more. Since 1992, Dave has helped people regain control of their money, build wealth, and enhance their lives. He also serves as CEO of Ramsey Solutions