Intro!

getnauti · July 2014

Hi Everyone!

My name is Liz and I'm a late 20-something from the Northeast. I've been married to my husband for 3 years and I have 1 daughter who is 10 months. I'm the money manager in the relationship and I'm always looking for ways to save. I'm an admitted cash hoarder so I have a GTKY question:

How much money do you keep in checking? How low does it have to get before you get uncomfortable?

Thanks and looking forward to getting to know everyone!

hoffse · July 2014

Welcome!

Honestly, I keep about $50-$100 in our checking account over what we need for bills. Probably not the greatest idea ever, but it keeps me motivated to check balances, payment schedules, etc. almost every day.

I keep a lot more in an account at a different bank, which I can wire to the regular checking account if I need cash immediately. I've never needed to do that though.

We are in the process of buying our first house, so once the mortgage is set I'll probably keep an extra mortgage payment's worth in our regular checking account, just in case.

CuriousKiddosMama · July 2014

Welcome! We keep part of our emergency fund there so we keep 15 k in
Checking at all time. That probably isn't a good thing to do, but interest doesn't amount to anything right now so we figure it can't hurt to have it there.

brij2006 · July 2014

Welcome.

We keep a $500 buffer in checking at all times. Very rarely does it get below $1,000 though, and that's when I get nervous.

lifeonthehill · July 2014

We don't keep a specific amount but there is always more than $50 or DH gets all panicy and paces the apartment until payday. We have plenty budgeted for saving and bills and sometimes there is a bit leftover, It has built up to a $70 buffer so far. .

als1982 · July 2014

Hello, and welcome!! We set aside about $150 each paycheck. Anything left over the next payday goes to savings/debt.

cbee817 · July 2014

Welcome! DH and I have separate checking accounts but I usually like to have an extra $100-$250 in there throughout the month. Our bills are all on different cycles and we still have to write checks for day care and the water bill, so it's nice to have the buffer. I have gotten down to $7 before but I knew it was going to happen and thankfully got paid that Friday. I try not to panic about finances.. we have good control over ours (mortgage is our only debt, have 9 month emergency fund, 401K, 403B, pensions) and I'm finally starting to realize my cash hoarding addiction isn't going to help us get to our long term goals (so this year, we've started 529 plans, Roth IRAs, and a vacation fund).

mc0113 · July 2014

We keep $1000 in our checking account after all bills, retirement and savings. I usually don't get nervous until it's about $600, but it rarely gets that low.

Xstatic3333 · July 2014

Welcome! We keep very little buffer in our checking accounts; it could be as low as $20 at the end of a pay period. I transfer everything to savings, retirement, or debt right on payday or I WILL blow it on sushi :-P All that's left is generally gas and fun budgets. We do have a linked savings account for any overdrafts, but they are rare.

getnauti · July 2014

Thank you! Right now, my eye gets twitchy if I even approach $5,000.

jessica490 · July 2014

Welcome neighbor! I'm in CT!

We keep about $250-$300 in there mostly for gas or any unplanned small purchase such as dinner out etc...Other than that, we do a 0 based budget so the rest of the money goes to different things.

vlagrl29 · July 2014

We don't keep extra in our joint account. We have 3 different savings accounts we allocate that extra money for

formerlyGDaisy09 · July 2014

I keep an electronic ledger and have all auto-pay bills in there along with paydays through the end of the year. I transfer money out to savings at the end of the month (after all bills are paid before the next paycheck deposits on the 1st) most often it has $1000+ in it, when I transfer money out I don't like to let it go below $100.

jlaOK · July 2014

We run a zero based budget so when bills are paid there's only a small cushion of around $100. We have an emergency fund in a money market account at the same bank so if more money is needed it's as easy as jumping on my bank's app and transferring money. I will also say that we run primarily on cash, so "oops" purchases with the debit card don't usually happen.

Mom987 · July 2014

We reset our checking account at $1,000 each week, because we get paid bi-weekly on alternating weeks (so every Friday). All the bills are paid from there throughout the week and everyday spending is on a credit card but paid each Friday.

purplehaze11 · July 2014

Welcome

at the beginning of the month our savings is always at $5,000. We also have an easily accessible emergency fund, but it has never been used for that purpose.

smbenevides1989 · July 2014

Welcome! I usually make sure there is at least $20 buffer in our account. I'm the one who watches over our accounts daily, and I allocate all our money to payments or savings, and give a little to ourselves as an allowance. I do not get worried unless there is close to $5 left in the account, but that is very rare unless its the day before payday.

strickland8052 · July 2014

We have separate checking accounts. I keep a $500 buffer in mine and H keeps a $1500 buffer in his. I get nervous if mine gets below $200, and H gets nervous if he gets below $1000. I think it is all about personal preference.

maple2 · July 2014

Since we don't earn much in interest in our savings account right now, we usually have $3,000 "extra" in our checking account so I don't have to worry about the exact date that various auto-pays are going to happen. Basically, I want to be sure that whenever the credit card gets paid off there is plenty of money in the account no matter where we are in our payday schedule and/or our other expenses for that month. I am just not interested in checking all my accounts daily, so I have a bigger buffer than some people. If the interest rate on our savings account was better, I might change my approach, but I don't feel like I'm losing out on a lot by leaving it in checking instead. We got down to $800 last month, and I got nervous.

KatieCutie05 · July 2014

We have a 500 buffer in our checking account. We only get nervous when it goes below 500 because that means we've spent the money before our paycheck came in.... especially when we arent getting paid for another week. We know it will all balance out at the end of the month but we have a tendency to spend it before we get paid since most of our bills are stuck at coming out at the beginning of the month.

MommyLiberty5013 · July 2014

We don't have a debit card (we use credit for everything) and we only write checks for the dog sitter and to church. All our other uses of the checking account are to pay bills, the mortgage, and the above mentioned credit cards, which we pay off in full each month. The balance varies in the checking, but we have gone as low as $20 in there. I think we even had $6 in there. It's not a big deal to me. Why keep extra money in a 0% interest account? What would I need cushion in checking for?

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