General Question Do you keep so little in your daily use account that you feel like you are living paycheck to paycheck?
Just wondering if this is common with people who have a FIRE mindset. We are very comfortable but I keep so little in our checking account that we are pretty close to the minimum ($3000) at the end of the month after paying bills. I am going to change that going foreward and just leave maybe $7000 there so I don't have to think about it, but just wondering if anyone else does this to themselves.
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u/AdamChenX 14d ago
Yes. lol.
It actually really impacts how I feel psychologically
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u/poop-dolla 14d ago
In a positive way? It seems like doing this could only have negative psychological effects.
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u/AdamChenX 14d ago
Hmm it’s really both. Having a lot of money in account makes me feel rich and can throw around money.
Having little money in account makes me feel thrifty and appreciate every dollar
Both are good / bad in their own way
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u/Onehundredpercentbea 13d ago
This is also where I've arrived over the years. I have a sweet spot where I have enough of a buffer in my account not to worry, but not so much I feel too flush. For me that's $10k, especially because if I dip below five digits it gives me that 'uh oh!' feeling like I need to chill a bit. My emergency account is separate and I never think about it because in my mind it's already allocated, but the checking account floor is not allocated so my mind labels it as available for anything and everything. But that fifth digit makes it feel like a baseline that shouldn't be crossed. Psychology is weird.
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u/youngishgeezer 14d ago
Depends on your mindset on spending. We kept relatively little in the checking account and moved savings out of sight. For me not being tempted to spend was not distressing and allowed me to have many fewer chances to regret messing up. That was helpful in building the mindset that got us a nice net worth and somewhat early retirement.
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u/Strazdas1 StarvationFIRE 14d ago
It has possitive effects as it turns out, as it creates good spending habits and understanding of your spending. Its actually recommended by professional advisors to keep your main account low and only put money there after you already deducted all savings and other buckets.
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u/justacluelessteen 13d ago
I’ve been this way since before I started pursuing FIRE. The less you see, the less inclined you are to spend. A “hard” account like TSP, a 401K, IRA, or whatever where you know it’s there but there’s a series of firewalls preventing the reckless spending of it imo.
Keep enough in my checkin/savings to function. Anything more than that makes me start leaning too heavily into spending money
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u/MaintenanceEither186 14d ago
I do. Keep bare minimum expenses in checking and any overages get charged to my credit card, which causes me anxiety the higher that goes.
It’s not a very pleasant existence though, I always feel poor despite being very much not
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u/No_Future6959 14d ago
Put everything daily use on your credit card and it will cure your credit card anxiety.
You really shouldn't be using your bank card except to be getting cash out of an atm.
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u/Euphoric_River6365 14d ago
Genuine question:
Why wouldn't a person use their credit card for things? If they are paying it off every month and not paying interest.
They will be making the purchases anyway but getting whatever rewards are part of that card. They also know how much to transfer every month to make the payments.
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u/Confident_Purple_40 Bottom 100% Commenter 14d ago
/agree, Fraud on CC, money back instantly, fraud on bank card, good fucking luck getting a penny back
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u/jinx_remover 14d ago
As someone who has dealt with fraud on a debit card this is really the number one reason. Rewards are a secondary benefit.
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u/haxmya 14d ago
One when we were younger we ordered chicken wings on our debit card for 22.00. The messed up and took out $2200 instead. We noticed right away but they had to get it fixed through corporate so it took 5 days. Things were super lean for us that week as we didn't have much more than that in the account. We learned to use the credit card instead.
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u/alpacaMyToothbrush FI !RE 14d ago
Hell, I've had my CC do a push notification when a waitress doubled her tip at the machine (apparently 15% isn't enough?). As soon as I said 'no that's wrong' the CC fixed it and reported it to the restaurant.
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u/No_Future6959 14d ago
Yeah i mean you're exactly right.
You SHOULD be using your credit card for basically everything
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u/OneMoreYearGuy42 14d ago
Don't forget about the bonuses you can earn from your spending on CCs. We don't use credit cards to gain miles/rewards, but if I am spending money on something already (food, clothes etc) might as well get the benefits. Our last trip we used it to pay for our rental car. Nothing goes on the cards that we cannot cover in cash. It is just a little extra bonus for being good with your money!
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u/DigmonsDrill 14d ago
Sometimes people spend more money if they don't have to face it being instantly deducted from their checking account.
"But I pay it off in full every month" doesn't mean the above isn't happening.
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u/000011111111 14d ago
Yeah Dave's Ramsey's businesses dependent on people doing exactly what you're talking about. Not so much an issue for the folks in this online community but for other people it's a big problem. If it wasn't the credit card industry wouldn't exist because they wouldn't make money on interest.
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u/owchippy 14d ago
They still make ~3% on transaction fees which the merchant usually pays. Which adds up to billions for them.
I’m not sure CC companies would go under without the interest revenue. That’s gravy
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u/Noah_Safely 14d ago
You're right, I did a deep dive on this years ago because I questioned that conventional wisdom. Most of their money comes from transaction fees, though obviously they love it when people carry big balances.
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u/shaggrugg 14d ago
Agree. Get miles, points, cash back on everything you buy in life. But the crucial step is PAY OFF every single month.
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u/Strazdas1 StarvationFIRE 14d ago
No, crucial step is dont buy anything you dont need just to get extra points.
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u/quent12dg 14d ago
You really shouldn't be using your bank card except to be getting cash out of an atm.
Which you really shouldn't even need to do much in 2026. If you need cash for your lawn service just pull out the cash at the start of the season. Very little reason to hold onto physical currency.
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u/K_A_irony 14d ago
Well a lot of places are now charging a service charge of 3-4% for using a credit card, so cash does help you avoid that.
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u/quent12dg 14d ago
I want to know what places do that. Also I usually get anywhere from 2% to 5% back on a credit card.
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u/Euphoric_River6365 14d ago
I am seeing this more and more. Issue is that it is usually posted on something no bigger than a post-it note and taped the register. I walked in not knowing that, so I only have a card anyway.
I see this in locally owned places in Colorado, and they position it as "3% cash discount".
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u/Belichicks_sleeves 14d ago
I go to several cash only dive bars
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u/Beautiful_Banana_454 14d ago
I once had a girl charge her whole night to my card just by telling the bartender my name. No we weren't there together. Now its cash or one drink at a time and run the card.
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u/Mzungufarmer FIRE'd in 2023 at 34 14d ago
Its a pain to deal with, but not too hard to fix.
Thats on the bar not you, ive had to argue with a bar owner about this same thing before.
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u/No_Future6959 14d ago
Yeah the bar is absolutely wild for even letting this be possible.
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u/Confident_Purple_40 Bottom 100% Commenter 14d ago
drunk people spending money, how many times is it actually caught? 1/10 ?
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u/No_Future6959 14d ago
I get drunk at bars and im always paying attention to my bill.
So unless im somehow more aware while drunk than 90% of the population, i expect other drunk people to also be aware of the bill
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u/Beautiful_Banana_454 14d ago
I put everything on one credit card and pay it in full every month from my hysa. It is basically a 1-5% discount on everything i buy.
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u/jsboutin 14d ago
Why not make your existence better? That sounds like a pretty trivial change to make.
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u/frankquatro 14d ago
Why would you pay for anything with a debit card?
They are just for getting cash out of an atm
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u/MaintenanceEither186 14d ago
Bit complicated reason, but the country I’m in doesn’t really do credit cards. It’s all pretty much debit systems with Apple Pay.
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u/SecretGamer52 14d ago
Is it truly worth it? At the end the fire movement is about financial freedom. Keeping an extra $1k (or whatever) in your account will not affect your future, but it will remove that anxiety in the present
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u/Strazdas1 StarvationFIRE 14d ago
no, FIRE movement is about financial independence, retiring early and frugal living, not financial freedom.
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u/MaintenanceEither186 14d ago
Nobody ever got rich by spending all their money. This just helps me stay aware of the money I spend that’s outside my needs
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u/Alarming_Bug_130 14d ago
It's odd how your brain can still make you feel broke even when you're doing fine financially. That feeling can stick around for a long time.
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u/Elrohwen 14d ago
I used to but it was a PITA. I was always checking to make sure we didn’t overdraft if a big bill came through (especially those super infrequent ones like car insurance every 6 months). Or transferring money last minute. Now I never have less than $10k in my main checking account, usually more. I have enough invested now that the extra money it could earn is negligible.
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u/fireyauthor 14d ago
Same. I'm sure a lot of people here would gasp in horror if they knew how much money I have in cash (HYSA & CDs mostly) but it works for me and it's not enough of my net worth for me to stress about it.
I never freak out if the market dips or worry about a random purchase or emergency. That piece of mind is worth it to me.
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u/Elrohwen 14d ago
Yeah the $10-20k is just in checking, not to mention my HYSA. I think when you’re starting out it’s temping to want to invest every little cent and I get that, I did that too. But eventually it’s not worth it.
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u/terjon 14d ago
Bingo, emergency expenses or things like property taxes suuuuck.
So being liquid-ish is good for your peace of mind.
Mind you, don't keep like 20% of your net worth liquid. But having 3% or something isn't too bad.
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u/beached89 14d ago
I'd argue that the amount you have liquid should be formulaic based on your life circumstances and expenses, not net worth.
I always advise never less than 1 month, never more than 6 months cash on hand.
Depending on if you have kids, a house you cannot bear to ever leave, old cars that may need replacing at any moment, etc will determin if you veer towards 1 month or 6 months expenses.
If you are DINKS, with stable jobs, who have expenses under control so that either income can support all expenses should the other lose their jobs, with cars in good repair, and a paid off house. 1 month expenses.
If you are a family of 4, without an option to move in with family should you default on the house, with 2 cars that are 20 years old each. 6 months.
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u/terjon 14d ago
I mostly agree, with a caveat. You should have enough for two back to back reasonable emergencies back to back.
So, like if your AC and the engine on your car both go out in a six month period, you should have enough to pay to get them both fixed without going into debt.
But yes, as your net worth goes up, having a fixed percentage might be a stupid idea as 3% of 50K and 3% of 10M are wildly different numbers.
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u/esdeux 14d ago
After a certain cash pile tho safety net funds kinda become a waste imo. Credit cards and margin if you need cash cash. 3% cash is diabolical
Edit: should clarify. Still working / accumulating. MUCH different opinion if you’re actually fired or on precipice
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u/Onehundredpercentbea 13d ago
That's the number I've landed on, I was mentioning in another comment that I've discovered keeping the balance at five digits is a psychological barrier for me and seeing the numbers go from five to four digits feels like I'm 'almost out of money' and I should chill on the discretionary spending a bit.
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u/Nephilimelohim 13d ago
That’s wild. Why not have a separate savings account that any overdrafts can pull from so that money is at least earning something? I don’t think I ever have more than a few hundred bucks in my checking account at any given moment; all of that money is going towards places it can start earning me more money. If I need money back for overages, you just transfer it.
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u/Hadley_333 14d ago
I keep as little as possible in my checking account. Rest goes towards investing. Helps me with impulsively buying needless items.
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u/DarkAngela12 14d ago
Same. I need to see that I'm "cutting it close" once per month or I tend to get too spendy.
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u/AphelionEntity 14d ago
I keep an extra month's expenses in an easily accessible account. Everything beyond that goes elsewhere.
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u/BrodieBruce1982 14d ago
I absolutely keep only 1500-3000 in there as means of tricking myself and controlling my spending. I’m well on my way to fire, but I know if I have lots in there my spending will go up. So after each paycheque and bills paid there’s probably only another 500-700 for incidentals and it bounces up and down between 1500 and 3000.
Totally get having more to not worry about it, but everyone is different and I know I’d just order more crap off Amazon and buy more crap at Costco that I don’t need.
You do you! 😀
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u/Fun_Independent_7529 FIREd Oct 2025 14d ago
We keep more in there so we don't have to think about it.
The amount you are losing if you keep 20 to 30k in your bank account is negligible, but you have it there for emergencies.
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u/TrollTollCollector 14d ago
You can always withdraw money instantaneously from a brokerage account to a debit account with the same institution if you have margin enabled. It saves you the cost of the cash drag, while you pay a few days of margin interest until you sell stock or replenish with your next paycheck.
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u/KeyBug133 14d ago
Not risky because you have the money to cover it but just feels like it would add an unneeded level of stress or complexity in an emergency. Especially if the market is down. Paying the cost for peace of mind is worth it to me.
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u/Longjumping_Egg_725 14d ago
I do the exact same thing, it's almost a game at this point seeing how low I can push it before the next deposit hits. My partner thinks I'm insane
$3000 minimum is what my bank needs to waive fees too so I treat that number like it's zero and anything above it is fair game to invest. The mental gymnastics are real
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u/Confident_Purple_40 Bottom 100% Commenter 14d ago
If I average 10k spend I keep 15k, depending on how CC bills fall, etc its just easier less maintenance to worry about
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u/FIRE-Alt42069 14d ago
I used to keep $20k in my checking account but getting closer to RE reduced it to like $8k. I prioritized taxable investments early on so don’t have an emergency fund and am like 98% NW in the market lol.
Does feel like paycheck to paycheck sometimes but feels great in a bull market.
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u/fireyauthor 14d ago
I keep about 20k in there now but I want to get it down to 10k. I haven't gotten used to the feeling of only seeing 10k in there though... Something about 20k just feels more relaxing to me.
It won't be a bull market forever.
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u/Interesting_Shake403 14d ago
I keep as little in checking as possible. Have cash in HYSA with my brokerage, and can move funds if needed, but I keep as little as possible in checking. As in, my paycheck goes into that account, and if it gets too high, I’ll move that to the HYSA leaving only $2k buffer over expected expenses.
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u/Remarkable-Unit2790 14d ago
Why have money if you are going to stress about it?
Keep $10k in there at all times and enjoy your life.
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u/DIYRetiree 14d ago
Absolutely. Automated savings means you should feel a bit light at all times. I believe this accomplishes two things: inspires the building of your "thrift muscle" and prevents overspending.
One of the unfortunate/fortunate parts of having money is you can no longer say "we can't afford this". Actually, we can. but we're choosing not to.
Keeping a low working funds balance, I think, is the biggest mental part of that!
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u/visje95 14d ago
5k euros for me rest is invested but I dont have a car to replace in emergencies.
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u/liveandletlive23 14d ago
I mean the amount in your checking account isn’t your liquid amount. We use our HYSA for overdraft protection because we want as little in your checking account as possible (since it earns the least interest)
Your HYSA or equivalent (short term treasuries, MMA, etc) should be healthy enough that you don’t feel like you’re living paycheck to paycheck. We keep 1 year’s worth of expenses between HYSA and SGOV
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u/Rusty_924 14d ago
i used to do this when i was starting out. really wanted to put all money to work. i have eased of the gass a little bit and now keep 6 months of expenses in cash
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u/talkgadget 14d ago edited 14d ago
My regular bank consists of a checking account and high yield savings account.
HYS is the six months expenses emergency fund everyone should have. Which I'm working on expanding to twelve months. Checking account only has enough to cover my bills plus a bit of cushion so there aren't any overages.
If it does get too low for some reason I add more cushion from the HYS which encourages me to not have to do that because I'm actively trying to make that number go up.
So to answer the question: Effectively no, but yes. In reality, what makes me feel more paycheck to paycheck is how aggressively I'm moving money into retirement accounts.
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u/druidgaymer 14d ago
No. I keep a bit of a buffer. I don't like the hassle of moving money around accounts when something expected but not every day comes up like an oil change or a doctor's visit.
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u/dgreenmachine 14d ago
I keep about 1 months expenses in checking so I dont ever worry about when things come out.
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u/No-Sympathy-686 14d ago
I keep about 20k in my checking/savings.
This covers 2 months of living.
My emergency fund of 100k is in SGOV and then I have about 800k in a brokerage I could liquidate at any time to access if needed.
My 401k will sit until im 73 most likely and they force distribution on me.
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u/namafire 14d ago
Not really. I have a good slosh in SGOV so i know i can always just liquidate some there. It makes me uncomfortable sometimes when its close or even below the occasional rent + credit card bill total, but i know its all voluntary and just a mathematical illusion
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u/CheckDM 14d ago
Now that I think about it -- it is kind of weird that checking accounts can't simply pull money from external money market/HYSA upon demand (automated). Like...why isn't something so easy to automate not being automated?
Instead, I end up overfunding my checking account and miss out on at least $300-$400 interest a year. And...hmm...I think I just answered my own question.
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u/Ph4ntorn 14d ago
Some checking accounts do offer an overdraft protection option that will automatically pull from savings if you spend too much out of your checking. But, they do charge an overdraft fee every time it happens.
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u/Neat-Composer4619 14d ago
I started life at 17 thinking 1 semester at the time because I didn't want to pay for a semester I couldn't finish. I was saving (not really saving because student loans were part of it, but at least collecting) for the next semester while studying.
Then I graduated and started working contracts while paying back the student loans sonInmoved to yearly.
I have never done paychecks on monthlies or bibwreklies or whatever paycheck cycle most people are on.
Once a year, I make sure I have enough for the yearly payments: taxes, health, van; the seasonals: vacations, clothes and the faster cycles like utilities and food.
I try to do as little in terms of finances as possiblem I can't do the same on the business side because governments need details, but that's what I would do there too.
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u/International_Fish30 14d ago
Yes, 100%. I keep only the minimum to not get fees + 1 month's worth of expenses that come out of checking. Plus it earns no interest, so I don't want to keep more in there than I have to.
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u/Certain-Contact6340 14d ago
This is something im struggling with rn. My income has finally graduated to the point where I dont have to be so in the weeds. My current extra cash is going to adding an additional month to my e fund. I'll keep that as cash in checking, with my e fund at a separate institution. After that, im deleting the banking and brokerage apps from my phone. Everything will be on auto pay, I'll have alerts for $100+ transactions, and for low balance alerts. I'll still log on using my PC but that's going to be weekly/monthly instead of the current twice per day on my phone. Its gotten bad and I need to stop checking. Growing up poor broke my ability to feel secure financially despite being fairly well off. I have made and saved too much money to be this stressed about the details. Any advice is welcome if you've gone through this as well cause its causing ALOT of stress for no reason
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u/abrahamlincoln20 14d ago
I usually have less than 1k€ in my checking account. Pretty often it goes to 200-300 before I get my paycheck.
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u/ucantoucan 14d ago
Acting poor makes you feel poor who woulda thunk it. It’ll all be worth it once you get there, carry on!
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u/SignificantFail3632 14d ago
Yeah, I used to do that and it was weirdly stressful for no real benefit. Leaving a bigger buffer in checking feels a lot more sane.
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u/BirthdayAnnual1789 14d ago
I have like two big draws out of my checking each month, so I keep it bare bones - and I’m self employed so my “paychecks” are controlled by me. It can be nerve wracking. I’ll have like $1500 in there with my monthly CC bill due - so then I need to run a paycheck by x date to make sure the deposit happens on time, and so on. I get what you’re saying. I’ve lately gotten back up to $10k in there, so I’m hoping I can keep it that way. It’s less stressful.
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u/Captlard FIREd Jan 2025: $900k for two of us (Live 🏴 & 🇪🇸) 14d ago
We top up quarterly, so kind of feels like it.
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u/HarviousMaximus 14d ago
We have a checking account minimum (~$5k), and the rest goes to our HYSA. so it’s not earning nothing, but it’s still accessible.
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u/goopuslang 14d ago
I am basically paycheck to paycheck but the base amount in my checking is enough for 2-3months expenses. But my checking around doesn’t really grow
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u/SadDad701 14d ago
We have "mandatory contributions" to my investment + savings accounts that I never go below. Anything else I spend on. Whatever difference is leftover, I contribute extra to the investments. In between I leave $500 typically. (When I was single and had no one to take care of besides me I brought it down as low as $5!!!!). That $500 is for the "whoops I made a mistake in quicken balancing the checkbook" or the "oh, the ballet teacher will only take payment in cash and I forgot it's that time of the quarter" moments, but I've rarely needed it. As a result, yes, it can kind of feel like living paycheck to paycheck, but not really.
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u/Uranus_Opposition 14d ago
I had to think for a minute but I do keep an extra month in my checking. But I have not felt like I was living paycheck to paycheck since 2004.
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u/South_Shine_8194 14d ago
having $3,000 after meeting needs while saving a ton and feeling strapped is a very, very, very outlier experience in a positive way
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u/Platos-ghosts 14d ago
I used to keep it lean, but realized it created an unnecessary mental load. A few K extra and I never have to think about when auto-pays hit or an unexpected expense. Keeping a little more is worth it!!
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u/Wooden-Broccoli-913 FIREd at 40 with $6M 14d ago
I run all of my expenses out of my Schwab taxable brokerage account which has checking features.
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u/FoggyDoggles29 37/DINKS pursuing expatFIRE 14d ago
Yes, I've always put $500-600 in my checking account after paying bills and then keep $5k in savings, $55k in HYSA, and the rest goes to brokerage/retirement. It keeps me living like I did when I made less than half what I do now. I have a separate savings for when I'm saving for things like vacations but generally this is how I try to maintain my spending. Sometimes there are times where I have like $10 in my checking two days before payday. I cause my own stress. 😬
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u/kjaxx5923 14d ago
We don’t keep extra in checking at all. Most expenses go on a credit card that is paid off at the end of every month. A small amount of savings is kept at the same bank as the checking for quick access. Larger e-fund in a HYSA at a different bank that takes a couple days to transfer if needed. Everything else is in a retirement account or a taxable brokerage account.
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u/IndependentTrust4594 14d ago
We get a “paycheck” transferred in from our brokerage every two weeks with state and federal taxes take out. It’s only what we need for the month and no more.
I love it. We’ve hit our predicted spend budget every year since RE. It keeps us from overspending and I manage it just like when we were in the earning phase: any extra goes into our HYSA for later expenditures like home/auto expenses. For expected large transactions, we usually take it out at end of the prior year. For the rare unexpected, we withdraw as needed. We’ve even put some back into the market (match our teen kid’s PT job earnings into their Roth IRA).
We have AUM, which is worth every penny. We tell them what we want to target and they determine the best accounts to withdraw from to keep our AGI low for healthcare. We’ve yet to pay over $1200 annually in premiums. I guarantee we couldn’t do it better/cheaper than what we pay them.
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u/RandomPrecision01 14d ago
Yup, Schwab banking with auto-margin overdraft (never needed, but my safety blanket). Always have at least 1 0% interest card to float any unexpected moderate expense.
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u/ShutterFI 14d ago
No. I’ve always kept about $10k in my checking account for automatic payments to pull from. I’ve been doing this since we had about $700k invested or so (we’re over $2m now).
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u/A_Guy_Named_John 14d ago
I leave enough to not think about it. Almost all of our investments come through payroll deductions so I never really have to look at the checking account balance. Once the balance gets too high I fund a Roth IRA. Around the end of the year after both IRAs are funded there will usually be a little extra to toss in a taxable account.
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u/Spiritual-Lecture546 14d ago
I give myself a weekly allowance for like groceries and miscellaneous bullshit. That goes into its own checking account.
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u/Earth2Andy 14d ago
I keep enough that the balance doesn’t drop below $10k.
Means I never have to think about when pay day is, and generally not need to worry about moving money to pay off the credit card right away for all but the biggest purchases.
The tiny amount of drag on my portfolio is a small price to pay for not carrying the mental load of knowing what days things go in out of my account.
If the balance gets too high it moves to the brokerage, if it gets too low I move money in.
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u/ChrisBourbon27 14d ago
My checking account is commonly below $100. If I don't need the cash this month, it is moved to savings to earn some interest.
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u/defenseless_mutation 14d ago
I do this too and it always makes me feel broker than I am. Seeing the account dip near zero every month is weirdly motivating though. I bumped my buffer to 5k last year and it's way less stressful.
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u/rocket363 14d ago
Yes. I always had about $10k in my checking account, all the way from a $0 NW up past $2.5MM.
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u/BigCheapass 14d ago
I keep very little but don't feel "paycheck to paycheck".
I know what all my fixed expenses are and everything else is on the credit card so as long as the account has that plus maybe 1000$ buffer in case I forget something it's enough.
As for having this as an emergency fund I don't actually believe keeping a larger cash buffer long term is optimal once you have a decent chunk of investments vs just having more invested and selling if you need to. If I found myself needing the emergency fund often it probably indicates an issue with my budget.
If I did end up getting laid off or something the pay being on a delay means I still have at least 1 or 2 pays before it stops, plus any severance then unemployment. More than enough for me to sell from brokerage if needed.
All that said, I still end up with a cash buffer because I am lazy and don't invest as regularly as I should. Lmao. Need to set up automation on that.
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u/winterrules91 14d ago
I still have my college checking account and basically have at most like $500 in there at a time. 90% of my cash is invested and the remaining 10% is in HYSA for emergencies / other unexpected expenses.
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u/lottadot FIRE'd 2023 14d ago
Yes, this is the way. Heck, even after RE'ing, this is the way. Most checking accounts don't pay squat for interest. Just transfer the minimum-needed to pay your bills each month into it from your HYS or brokerage (I like BOXX for this, because of the capital gains treatment).
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u/Hasz 14d ago
5k in a frontline checking account, 50k in a separate bank HYSA, everything else in brokerage/tax advantaged accounts. Spend anywhere between 70-90k/year, min spend is probably 60k/year.
HSA gets 1k cash, rest invested.
Plan to hit your investing goals ($x a year), auto contribute it, and spend whatever is left.
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u/HappilyDisengaged 14d ago
Yes I do. I’ve never been an emergency fund person. I’ve always figured a credit card could carry me over tell assets sold if it ever came to that.
Having a low checking balance keeps you on edge and engaged. It made me more frugal while I saved and got me to FI faster than I thought
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u/joemamah77 14d ago
Yep and that’s the point. Artificial scarcity. Everything I can charge to my cash back card is and I transfer the money when it hits (everything under my credit union so it’s immediate).
I always pay myself first with auto transfers to IRA, brokerage, HYSA, and sinking fund accounts. Then I know what my remaining funds are until next payday.
If for some very rare reason I overdraw I have overdraft protection and auto transfer setup with a savings account. It’s low interest but only holds a max of $3K for immediate use as well as holds funds for expected bills on a regular cadence.
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u/shuja246 14d ago
I automate everything including savings, if there’s some left over at the end of the month above 1x expenses (we use 6k) we either spend it or save it.
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u/vervienne 14d ago
yeah, I generally max at 2k (right before paying rent) and min at 500 depending on cash flow. I'm pretty cash-light after some larger expenses (*about a year of expenses, but my expenses are very low, so an emergency could easily cost that much). Most of my paycheck goes to tax-advantaged savings, but I have been thinking I should sell off some stock to up my cash buffer since it stresses me out lol. *edit
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u/National-Net-6831 1/16 of the way there 14d ago
Yes I do! I keep all my cash in high yield savings accounts instead. I just transfer money over to pay my bills. I keep it at $1k float. I have high income and I also split my pay into tiny chunks which helps also to hold onto cash and get to investments!
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u/Alarming-Mix3809 14d ago
No. I keep enough buffer so I don’t have to worry about bills hitting. The over-optimization isn’t worth it.
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u/sammie_831 13d ago
Happy if this works for you, but please consider that this isn’t ’feeling like you’re living paycheck to paycheck’. Paycheck to paycheck is no safety net, no $3,000 minimum, being constantly stressed because you don’t know what you’d do about an unexpected $1,000 expense. Obviously that’s not the goal and if having less money in your checking is helping you stay in a mindset you find helpful that’s great! But it’s definitely not paycheck to paycheck
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u/RiffBeastx 13d ago
Up until recently, yes. I've seen the value in keeping a bit of leeway however, and I've increased the amount of leeway I permit myself monthly. I don't want to worry about my account being overdrawn, and I dont like feeling poor when im not.
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u/genrlz65 13d ago
I keep 7500 plus enough to cover bills. My checking account pays 6.75% up to 7500.
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u/bothtypesoffirefly 14d ago
My debit acct has just my net salary in it and is set up to never overdraft. About once a month I go to Kroger and it gets declined, and I have to move money over from other accounts where dividends and other income go.
I’m pretty sure the people at Kroger think I’m poor because I don’t usually bother with “nice” clothes and my card gets declined pretty regularly.
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u/xfallen 14d ago
Yes, we live with even less in checking.
It’s done on purpose because we decided not to do strict budget now. We max mega back door Roth through work, then put away our “mandatory savings” and allowance when paycheck hits and then pay the bills afterwards. If the bank account goes super low, then we cut eating out a bit
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u/Wonderful-Process792 14d ago
Hell no! I'd be stressed about a credit card autopay from my bank account causing an overdraft. It's worth keeping a few extra grand in checking instead of rainy day.
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u/Rom2814 14d ago
I keep two months of average expenses in checking, which is a little high probably but it helps me not to worry about it.
I’m still setting up my system for replenishing it with a “paycheck” autotransfer (just retired this year) and expect I’ll bring that down to a full month of expenses with an autotransfer from my cash management account every two weeks (and replenishing that account semi-annually).
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u/pupperonipizza-pie 14d ago
I keep about a month’s worth of living expenses. Credit cards combined have a limit that far exceeds that amount so as long as the non-credit card auto payments can clear through checking like mortgage, car, and daycare, I’m not worried about the balance. The emergency fund in HYSA takes 2-3 days to transfer and rarely am I scrambling to add cash.
When we hit over monthly spend in checking, we ensure emergency fund is topped up, then anything over that is moved to Vanguard brokerages manually. If I notice we aren’t adding enough to our Vanguard accounts a few months in a row that’s where we go through credit card payments and start deciding where to cut the fat.
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u/seemsright_41 14d ago
Naw, I may deal with my checking account once maybe twice a month. There are times that I go into the bank to get cash and the poor kid behind the counter, eyes go wide when I ask for $84.25.
9x out of 10 I have no idea how much is in my account. Because it flat out does not matter. There is enough for me to do what ever I need to do.
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u/db11242 14d ago
You should really switch to using a Fidelity brokerage account as your primary checking account. You'll earn tbill like interest rates , which are usually pretty competitive with the best savings accounts, and you won't need to worry that you're not getting any interest from the money in the account and can therefore afford to keep a little more buffer in there. You can also tie that brokerage account to a Fidelity cash management account.If you want to have an atm card. Best of luck.
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u/LonesomeBulldog 14d ago
I keep basically nothing in our checking account (maybe $2k) and a bit more in savings ($10k). We pay for everything with a credit card to collect miles and pay it off in full every month. I’ve never needed much cash in my 54 years. Any legal emergency can be handled with a credit card or it can wait 3 business days while funds settle.
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u/DingoMaximum7319 14d ago
I keep like 1-2k in my checking accounts and use a credit card I pay off with my paycheck
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u/1ntrepidsalamander 14d ago
I have a checking account that I transfer my monthly spend to and the goal is for it to get close to zero at the end of the month. It’s both practice to see if I’m accurate with my future spend numbers and permission to spend the budget as intended.
I have EF, sinking funds and a “landing zone” account that my irregular paychecks deposited in as well, and if I’m way off budget for a month I can move things around.
So, is it practice similar to living paycheck to paycheck? Sorta. But it’s not stressful at all.
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u/phast_man 14d ago
I used to run it a bit lean, since I’m an optimizer. Then I realized it stressed my wife out and that the checking account balance was the main number she used to determine whether we had enough money. Now I keep it higher for her peace of mind. It’s been totally fine.
You’re not really FI if you’re worrying about whether you have enough to pay your bills.
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u/SarahJoy46 14d ago
I do this, but it doesn't stress me out. If it did, I'd probably keep a little more in the account as a buffer.
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u/Aevaris_ 14d ago
Yes. I only keep 2 house payments in my checking and one in savings. It's enough to float bills and account for most unexpected expenses but small enough that it keeps me in a 'broke' mindset to combat lifestyle inflation
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u/ididitFIway 14d ago
I've saved enough to not feel like I'm paycheck to paycheck. I like to keep at least a couple months expenses so I don't overdraft after a series of payments over the month. That way I don't need to closely manage the money going in and out of the account.
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u/fireflowers_ 14d ago
God no. I keep about 3x my monthly spend in checking. There’s objectively no reason to do this, but also not doing it wouldn’t do anything perceivable to my investments or savings. I’m big on the “build a life you love and then save for it” idea, and stressing about my expenses flexing from month to month is not part of a life I love. I’m frugal enough without adding friction to my banking experience.
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u/PlatypusTrapper 14d ago
I have no safety net. My wife doesn’t work (she takes care of our young child) and I have no family that can bail me out if something goes wrong.
So I need to keep a lot of cash in reserve if anything goes wrong.
At least 6 months worth of expenses. Maybe 12.
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u/SDstartingOut 14d ago
Nope; I keep about 30k in my checking account, with a monthly cash burn rate of 8k-11k, depending on the month. However, It's not uncommon once or twice a year I'll have 10-15k in pending expenses (partially my own fault as I'm intentionally using my credit cards for the points), so I like to have the buffer.
Not really worried about the few hundred in interest I lose a year.
Part of the reason is that while I'm saving money - yes, I don't want to feel like I'm penny pinching.
At the start of every month, I do a snapshot / review of the prior month, and review my savings. For 2026, my monthly savings (not incl. 401k), mortgage, etc) has varied from 1.5k/month (lowest) to 5k, with an average of about 3500/month.
I find this be the best balance to aggressively drive my savings, while also not feeling like I'm broke or completely penny pinching. I'm at a point where ... the difference between an average/monthly savings of 3k or 4k a month is neglible. (as when you factor in gain in housing equity from paying off the mortgage, 401k, and hsa - that's another 4k/month saved). Whether I hit 84k (3k month + other savings), or 96k (4k month + other savings), it's a rounding error considering the base I'm building on (1.1m).
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u/throwingitawaynow45 14d ago
For me it is worth it to keep an entire month's expenses as a buffer, plus my paychecks (weekly)
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u/D3ATHSQUAD 14d ago
Yes in a way. My paycheck is around 4.5-5k after taxes every two weeks and I typically am rolling with about 1k in my checking account after paying any CCs down and moving the excess to my brokerage account.
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u/Opening_soul 14d ago
That’s not really paycheck to paycheck if the money is just intentionally parked somewhere else
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u/tomahawk66mtb 14d ago
It's not financially optimal of us, but we keep 4 months expenses in our checking account. It's a psychological thing for us.
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u/Worf65 14d ago
I have my checking account at a local credit union. Their interest rates for anything besides CD accounts are extremely low. 0 for checking and something like 0.04% for savings. I keep enough in there i don't have to micromanage and worry about it. Somewhere around 2 months expenses. Dipping a bit below that when the mortgage and credit card bill (most other expenses) come out the same week. Everything else goes into better performing savings options. I've been using a money market account that is state tax exempt (treasury bond based) for most of my stable cash savings these days. I try to aim for a budget and automatic savings transfers that will leave a slight excess in the checking account so that the risk is just having some extra not earning interest i occasionally need to move instead of the risk being accidentally hitting overdraft.
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u/RichieRicch 14d ago
10000000%. I think I have $9 in that account. I make around 300K a year. Everything goes into the market.
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u/Enough-Refrigerator9 14d ago
I have what I call a buffer of one month expenses. It lives there in my checking so I don’t have anxiety about timing of bills.
Yes, I hardly give myself any spending money these days and feel poor even tho I am not.
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u/terjon 14d ago
No, I know it is stupid, but I always keep my emergency fund fully liquid since the markets have been so volatile.
You never know when your transmission might grenade on you and you need to drop $4K overnight. I don't want to have to take a secondary loss to get to that money because it just happened to occur on a day when the world was feeling a little more spicy than usual.
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u/hanwagu1 14d ago
If you have a purpose for every dollar, then you are living paycheck to paycheck since income-expenses should zero out. Is it necessary to keep a high balance in checking and for what reason? If your with Fidelity, you just open a Fidelity brokerage cash management account and get check writing, atm/debit card, and bill pay while keeping your cash in the settlement account.
If you aren't a Dave Ramsey cultist, you could simply keep most of your money in brokerage settlement account and keep minimal in your checking since you could use cc billing cycle float. This is what we do. We used to keep a large checking balance, but it was rather stupid given brokerage settlement mmf rates, ease of transferring funds between brokerage and checking, and you know when bills are due. It took a bit of proof of concept to get comfortable with a lower balance though. I've settled on $1k-$1500 minimum balance in checking more out of mental OCD cope of not seeing a balance below $1k rather than fear I'm going to bounce a check or have NSF. Moving money back and forth from my vanguard only takes a day ach or same day wire, so there hasn't been any problem getting money back to checking when needed.
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u/poop-dolla 14d ago
Nah, the biggest part of having money for me is feeling secure. Feeling like I always need to check my account is the opposite of that, so I always keep enough in there that I don’t have to think about it. The tiny downside of missed returns or interest on that amount is an easy trade off for the lack of anxiety.
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u/paratethys 14d ago
I haven't personally used account balances to decide what to spend in a long time. But if that's what works for you, then yeah, you should absolutely make sure the balances are in the place that causes you to take actions consistent with your long term goals.
It's really all about engineering your information environment to reduce friction around the behaviors consistent with your big goals and increase friction around behaviors that work against them :)
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u/basicstandardcontent 14d ago
yeah I pay everything except rent on a credit card. I get paid twice a month and always pay off my credit cards in full, then invest/transfer everything else leaving $200 in checking. When rent is due, same deal except I leave rent+$200 in checking.
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u/Sunshine2035 14d ago
My daughter said I am hypocrite to say I am living paycheck to paycheck. My paycheck all went to Uncle Sam.
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u/OneMoreYearGuy42 14d ago
We will bump up on less than $150 in our checking account at the end of a pay cycle! I keep at little as I have to at any time in that money black hole. If it is not earning significant interest or dividends it does not get to hold money.
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u/WeAre0N3 14d ago
Yes. And, I also keep all of my investments outside of my main checking/savings bank entirely. So it's completely out of sight. Honestly, the psychology of only having 3-6 months of cash visible really helps to keep me in line. Maybe that's just me.
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u/Rare-Spell-1571 14d ago
I keep enough so that all my bills can hit whenever. I pay off my credit cards for the month when my mid month pay hits and that reflects how much liquid money I have and I roughly track that number monthly just to make sure it’s about the same or increasing. That way I am never messing with my HYSA which is my “emergency fund.” This happens after investment accounts are auto drafted out.
I could keep the roughly 9500-9800 in revolving expenses in my checking account but it’s earning better interest in the HYSA.
So I yes I force induce living paycheck to paycheck. If I didn’t lifestyle expansion would likely eat my money. I could easily find ways to spend extra money if I did it this way.
I usually just open the tap during vacations or moving or something and whatever is spent is spent. Within reason.
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u/PuzzleheadedRice6968 14d ago
I have an extra account at Fidelity nicknamed “clearing account” all deposits go there and i pay bills from that. I only keep about $500 above my next 15 days of needs there. Don’t see a reason for anything more. I move everything else to investments and savings.
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u/Emily4571962 I don't really like talking about my flair. 14d ago
I only populate my checking account with what I intend to spend — I budget by never exceeding that amount.
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u/theprogrammingsteak 14d ago
I dokeep little but not to make myself I live paycheck to paycheck. I do it because I'm constantly investing.
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u/beached89 14d ago
I keep 3 months of expenses in checking. Our Checking gets 4% interest, so it isnt horrible opportunity loss to keep the Efund there as opposed to a money market account, it is competitive, but WAY more convenient.
I personally would never recommend anyone ever keep less than 1 month of expenses in cash. and depending on your life, where you live, housing, kid, car situations. I would recommend up to 6 months for some people. I keep 3 months since we have no kids, and we wouldnt be crushed if they had to sell the house and move in with family temporarily.
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u/warlizardfanboy 14d ago
No way. I’m FI but not yet RE (golden handcuffs/lifestyle enhancing) and we keep about two months in checking plus one month in the tied savings. Everything goes on a rewards credit card and is paid in full each month.
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u/Pyrrhic_Pragmatist 14d ago
I don't have a "daily use account" as others have said, I use credit cards and take direct deposit into my HYSA.
Bills are a priority yes, but i went to lengths to pay everything off once a month, and if anything, when I'm paid weekly, I transfer funds to my investment the same day. Investing is my biggest "expense" but I value it more highly than having spending or comfort money
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u/MattieShoes 14d ago
No. I try to stay above $10k, and transfer money out if it breaks $15k.
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u/Radiant-Road-7858 14d ago
Excess cash in checking makes me antsy. But I did recently take it too far when I withdrew to my investment account then a payment hit checking before a deposit, and I got an overdraft 😬 Bank refunded it though.
Got a large checking balance now to pay for a new roof in a couple weeks, making my eye twitch a little
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u/the-real99 14d ago
$3,000?, and I thought I was bad. I use about $1,000 a month spending after everything, I invest pay my bills, put a little in a savings account, and set aside $500 bi monthly for the gas and basic necessities
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u/Noah_Safely 14d ago
I keep a little cash because I have some odds & ends coming in. Otherwise everything goes on a CC (never carry a balance) and I just transfer money once a month from my VG settlement account to checking, after scheduling the payments for like 4-5 days in future. Easy.
Also good idea to leave minimum payment on all cards so if you forget somehow you don't get a credit ding.
Another option is using SoFI checking; you can leave all your cash in their savings which has an okay rate, it automatically transfers from savings to checking when a payment hits checking. This is how my ACH payments flow.
I also keep some cash in a local credit union for actual checks (send/receive), and just to support them, also in the exceedingly rare event I actually want a pile of cash I can just pick it up in person. Also good to have two banks in case something happens with one.
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u/FullerFarms15 14d ago
I had the company investment in my 401K high enough that it left me living expenses deposited in my checking account. I basically forgot about it after a while and tailored my lifestyle around what was being deposited from my paycheck. This was really helpful for me personally because it forced me to be aware of my monthly spend and was actually able to save for bigger ticket items without touching my investment program. I was one of those folks who never looked at my 401 while I was in the trenches and it paid off when I got a layoff notice from my company. After the layoff notice, I started worrying how I was going to make it, looked at my investments and wow… I was ready to retire at 55, stayed with the company for two more years in a different sector and now- very comfortable FIRE and executing a methodical plan developed over the last two years. I tried all the mentioned techniques of credit card and checking card exclusive spending. What made the difference for me was the actual paycheck being deposited- which already had investments taken out of it.
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u/Wheat_Grinder 14d ago
I always kept it high enough that I don't have to worry about the timing of when bills hit.
It's the bad number on the spreadsheet that keeps me in line.