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Started By
Message
How much money do you keep in your checking account?
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:29 am
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:29 am
My wife and I make sure we have $1,000 in our checking account after all bills are paid and retirement contributions are pulled. That $1,000 goes quickly, though, and I often find myself checking each day for the last few days before payday just to make sure we’re still positive. We’re in debt payoff mode right now after a kitchen remodel and credit card usage over the past few years so nearly 80% of what we have left after bills are paid each paycheck goes towards debt, which is good because we get to see the satisfaction of paying off large chunks of debt each pay period but I’m wondering if I’m holding us back from fun and living a little more by putting so much towards debt each time one of us gets paid.
Am I crazy for leaving us just $1,000 to live on for two weeks at a time (time between each of our pay periods)? Years ago before kids I’d leave us with $1,500 and I thought that was too little but now $1,000 seems to be the more responsible thing - even though we have two kids now. Each month I have anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 bonuses which have all gone straight towards debt and we barely get to enjoy those while just living on my base pay. That’s hard to do knowing the fun we could be having with those bonuses! I know there isn’t really any right or wrong answer to my question but my wife thinks I’m insane and making us live like we’re poor so it has me thinking if I’m crazy or not
.
TIA
Am I crazy for leaving us just $1,000 to live on for two weeks at a time (time between each of our pay periods)? Years ago before kids I’d leave us with $1,500 and I thought that was too little but now $1,000 seems to be the more responsible thing - even though we have two kids now. Each month I have anywhere from $2,000 to $7,000 bonuses which have all gone straight towards debt and we barely get to enjoy those while just living on my base pay. That’s hard to do knowing the fun we could be having with those bonuses! I know there isn’t really any right or wrong answer to my question but my wife thinks I’m insane and making us live like we’re poor so it has me thinking if I’m crazy or not
. TIA
42
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:40 am to TDsngumbo
Congrats on the debt free goal. Once you get there, life is so much better. We keep a joint checking account with a working range of 2,000 to 3,000. Debt free here.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:50 am to Popths
We keep ~$20K in joint account. CC bills of $8K or so a month. I like having enough cash available that I never have to worry about an autopay bouncing. I automatically scrape a fixed amount each week into taxable investment account to keep the checking account cash balance consistent over time.
This post was edited on 11/23/23 at 9:41 am
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:51 am to TDsngumbo
It’s not crazy, but it is an added stress. You could check w your bank to see about overdraft protection and have it pull any overdraft from your savings (not sure if this is still a thing for personal accounts).
We keep 1 month bills in our checking at all times. Simply to reduce stress of having to watch the balance, and we’re not losing much interest for having a few extra grand in checking instead of savings.
We keep 1 month bills in our checking at all times. Simply to reduce stress of having to watch the balance, and we’re not losing much interest for having a few extra grand in checking instead of savings.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 8:53 am to TDsngumbo
$15,000, if I get below $10,000 I get extremely stressed, but I’m self employed and I have a huge amount of individual $500-$1,000 expenses each month. I honestly don’t know how someone can live off of $1,000 for two weeks in the current day and age
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:05 am to TDsngumbo
I don't really have a set amount. Each month, I move enough into my checking account to cover the budgeting expenses(cc bills, checks for school/daycare, car/house notes etc.) So by the end of the month the account dwindles to around a 1-2k. But all the "extra" money that I didn't transfer at the first of goes to retirement, paying off debt faster or hysa emergency. I'm self employed, so my monthly income fluctuates somewhat.
So even if I had an unexpected expense it's easy to pull more money into the checking if needed. Because of that I have no issue letting the checking account reach a low balance because in actuality I have enough money elsewhere.
So even if I had an unexpected expense it's easy to pull more money into the checking if needed. Because of that I have no issue letting the checking account reach a low balance because in actuality I have enough money elsewhere.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:05 am to TDsngumbo
$350
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:20 am to TDsngumbo
Usually 5-10k bc there are big swings each month but usually I keep it all in correlating savings at 5.25.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:25 am to TDsngumbo
Since Capital One did away with overdraft protection, I keep a $5,000 buffer.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:30 am to TDsngumbo
About a 1k buffer over what we'll need for bills and spending money. Everything else goes into investments or a high yield savings account.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:31 am to TDsngumbo
Interest on checking is minimal and 4.3% on savings. So we keep minimum $500-$1,000 to cover certain known expenses we pay via check. My paycheck goes into our checking which pays for Mortgage and Credit Card at the end of each month.
Wife’s paycheck goes straight into savings and we typically don’t touch that.
Wife’s paycheck goes straight into savings and we typically don’t touch that.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:32 am to TDsngumbo
I keep 4-5k and pay the CC every week or two. Anything over 4k at the end of the month goes to savings.
This post was edited on 11/23/23 at 9:33 am
Posted on 11/23/23 at 9:49 am to GrizzlyAlloy
$5K with savings that can be transferred mobiley.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 10:13 am to TDsngumbo
I keep about $1500 in a traditional brick and mortar local bank for the very rare occasions that I need cash. My true checking/savings is in a brokerage account where I’ve got a check book, debit card, etc and get 4.7% on the checkable balance in the brokerage money market and 5.3% on the savings 3rd party money market fund. I keep roughly $20k in the checking. That covers my largest outlay I’ve ever had in a month so far, and is more than enough for most months.
This post was edited on 11/23/23 at 10:17 am
Posted on 11/23/23 at 10:45 am to TDsngumbo
Around 50k
Posted on 11/23/23 at 11:23 am to TDsngumbo
Only 4-5k in our savings account. We have our “emergency fund” in a brokerage account with fidelity. It only takes 2-3 days to get the funds, and we get around 5-6% annually rather than .1% or whatever a savings account normally gets.
We keep just enough in our checking account for the mortgage and bills. We use a CC for 95% of our expenses for the points/cash back, but we pay that off monthly.
We keep just enough in our checking account for the mortgage and bills. We use a CC for 95% of our expenses for the points/cash back, but we pay that off monthly.
This post was edited on 11/23/23 at 11:26 am
Posted on 11/23/23 at 11:37 am to TDsngumbo
5k on payday, bills usually come out the next few days. So around 3k usually. Less stress worrying about over drafting.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 11:53 am to TDsngumbo
Serious answer, 1 year of expenses (or 6 months + emergency fund).
Posted on 11/23/23 at 12:18 pm to TDsngumbo
I keep to much in the checking accounts, but if we both want something or some major expense hits us; we pay it out of that.
I’m looking at doing more of a money market or rolling CDs for some of it.
I’m looking at doing more of a money market or rolling CDs for some of it.
Posted on 11/23/23 at 12:34 pm to TDsngumbo
Since all of my recurring bills are on autodraft, I always try to have at least 100% of my monthly expenses (including food and gas) in checking at all times.
And I keep roughly 6 months of expenses in savings. Although with short and long term disability as well as residual income, I could probably get away with 1/2 that amount. But I'm paranoid.
Anything above that gets invested or spent on toys
And I keep roughly 6 months of expenses in savings. Although with short and long term disability as well as residual income, I could probably get away with 1/2 that amount. But I'm paranoid.
Anything above that gets invested or spent on toys
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