Checking Account?

I wish. If we were able to have that amount left over after bills and other necessary expenses, I would put in it savings. I think it's fine to leave maybe $100 extra just so you don't accidentally go over with a coffee splurge or filling up the gas tank. But it doesn't make sense to me to keep all that in checking. Set up an emergency fund savings account that is separate from your regular savings. Then just transfer it if you need it in checking. Or carry an emergency credit card and pay it off in full immediately from the emergency fund.

Yes I call them my squirrel funds. I have too many as a matter of fact because when my computer crashed last year and I lost my Excel spreadsheet I thought I was doomed because I would never know what made up the balance. Luckily a friend recovered my old files.

While yes you should have an emergency fund/savings outside of your checking account, I too like the buffer + with the economic climate we are in the interest you are missing out on is so minimal.

If you're keeping track of your spending, then I don't really see the need for that big of a buffer, especially if you are not going to touch it. You might as well put most of it in savings at that point. You're pretty lucky to be able to allow for that large of a buffer.

Do you have a separate savings account? With the assumption that you do, I still agree that you need to keep a buffer in your checking account. Assuming that you do have a savings a/c, then you should have at least 6 months of rent/mortgage saved up in case for an emergency. Cars breakdown, water heaters break, etc - there will always be something waiting to use that emergency stash!

In my personal account? I don't have a buffer sorry to say!!

In our main checking account? We have a $2500 buffer and enough in savings to live off of for six months should my husband lose his job unexpectedly.

My mom keeps $500 in their account.

I do my banking on-line. I can always see my current balance and my pending payments. Also, we do not use a debit card. I rarely write an actual check. Therefore, I don't see a need to keep a buffer. However, it's very rare my balance goes below $200.

Back in the day before on-line banking, I always kept an extra $100 to allow for an errors or an unexpected expense.

I don't bother transferring an extra to savings (I direct deposit into savings weekly), since the amount of interest earned in only a few pennies.

I have my savings tied to my checking as overdraft protection. Then I don't have to worry about it.

We leave extra in our account. I think around $400 that I don't add but have sitting there. I have never used it but like the security. My husband well he has nothing to do with the check book :) By choice though he could care less as long as everything gets paid. He was bad at it before I came along he paid late fees for no good reason except not sitting down to do bills. Needless to say I don't think you're crazy.

We don't necessarily keep a buffer and keep the amount "hidden" because I bank online almost daily. We run the business from home so I am often wiring money for business,etc and I keep up with personal because they are all tied together.

We keep about a $1000 extra in checking but it is also tied to our savings which is a combined monthly amount for free checking etc and that is a minimum of $20,000, not including other accounts.

I also stick with $500 minimum.

I keep at least $500- enough for emergencies where I want to write a check on the spot rather than have to transfer money, for things like a plumber, etc. If you're good at balancing your checkbook you don't need to worry, but I don't want to worry about overdrawing. It's not like that $500 would be making much interest in another account, even a savings...

I round my checkbook to allow for a buffer. I round my purchases up (ex. 20.45 gets rounded to a 21.00 purchase) and I round my deposits down (ex. 235.60 deposit might be rounded to 230.00). This allows me to save without really thinking about it and allows us to have a buffer in case we have an emergency and need to use our debit cards or we're in need of some extra cash that month. I do not include this buffer in my balance when I look at what I have to pay bills with. Since I do not have access through an ATM for my savings, I keep this extra in the checking in case we would run into an emergency and not have bank access. I have now accumulated about 2 grand over the past 2 years doing this. My husband does not know about it because he is a spender and would find something unnecessary to purchase with it. :) I know it is there and I'm the one who budgets the money and looks at the balance, so no harm no foul.

If you put it in a savings account it would draw interest and you can always call or go online ans move funds from one account to the other if you need it. If it's in the checking account it's liable to be spent in my house.

Do you have a savings account? That is what we have a savings account for, in addition to our checking account. The savings account is no touch money unless emergency and not enough in checking account. It is nice because you can not just write a check from the same checkbook for the savings account AND it is not even included in the baseline of the checkbook so it is like it is not there (but you know it is there in a seperate account).

Hubby likes to have 3-5 months of paycheck backup in savings and 1 month of paycheck backup in checking account. Lately the checking account has only had 1/2 a months paycheck in it because we have transfred a big chunk to savings, college fund for daughter AND 5 wedding gifts to get/gotten.

I personal think that in the checking account you should have enough for bills, food, gas and then $100-$500 just in case you are driving more that month and need to fill up more the normal.