DEAR MARY: I love your column! During spring I put out beautiful, young plants hoping they would bloom flowers all summer long. But I've been having a problem: rabbits! They munch my plants right down to the ground. There's a fence around my vegetable plants, so they're safe, but my perennials and annuals are out in the open, and they're getting destroyed. Do you have any ideas? — Connie

DEAR CONNIE: Short of fencing your entire garden and roping chicken wire around the lower 18 inches, there are two labor-intensive approaches that work pretty well. Plant vegetables that rabbits hate — peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, corn and squash — among the flowers to repel them. This doesn't look very aesthetically pleasing, though, so perhaps the second approach will be more appealing to you — and the rabbits. Plant vegetables rabbits love, such as beans, peas, parsley and rosemary, to draw them away from the flowers. Just be sure to plant this rabbit bait far from your beautiful flowers.

DEAR MARY: I know you're a big proponent of carrying cash rather than a debit card. I've tried it, but I really like the convenience of a debit card, and I'm able to manage my spending better with it. The problem is I'm not earning any interest on the money in my checking account! Do you know of any high-interest checking accounts that would work well? — Maxine

DEAR MAXINE: These days, "high interest" is relative. Thirty years ago high interest would have been 9 percent or more annual percentage yield. These days? Compared to no interest, I suppose 2 percent APY could be considered high.

I do have good news and a recommendation for a checking account that pays up to 5 percent APY. Take a look at the new UltimateAccount offered by Northpointe Bank. Certain conditions must be met to get the 5.00 percent interest rate (mentioned below). But given your money-management style, I bet you'd easily qualify.

The UltimateAccount comes with other great features like free checking, refunds for ATM use up to $10 per month, 24/7 online access, mobile banking and free bill pay.

Of course there are other things you need to know and understand about opening this checking account (remember the times we live in): You must deposit a minimum of $100 to open an account. Balances over $5,000 earn 0.10 percent interest with a corresponding 2.54-5.00 percent APY. You must keep the account open for at least 120 days to get the goodies.

Additionally, you'll have to meet a few marks each statement period to reach that amazing 5 percent APY rate. You must make a minimum of 15 debit card purchases that amount to at least $500, and enroll in eStatements (online paperless statements) and either direct deposit or automatic withdrawal of at least $100 per statement period.

The Northpointe UltimateAccount is not for everyone. However, If you have a Contingency Fund (a personal emergency fund) or other savings that you want to keep safe and earn interest on, and if you are one of my readers who relies heavily on and enjoys the convenience of your debit card, it won't be difficult for you to meet the qualifications that allow you to take advantage of 5 percent APY.

Mary invites questions, comments and tips at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or c/o Everyday Cheapskate, 12340 Seal Beach Blvd., Suite B-416, Seal Beach, CA 90740. This column will answer questions of general interest, but letters cannot be answered individually. Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com, a personal finance member website and the author of "Debt-Proof Living," released in 2014. To find out more about Mary and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.