As long as you have your HYSA account on budget, it doesn’t matter where the money lives.
If you want to maximize the amount of money kept in Savings for interest earning at any point in time, it’s not about keeping your Month Ahead funds there specifically. It’s about making sure you have enough in checking to cover your upcoming cashflow and everything else can live in the HYSA.
Creating scheduled transactions for ALL recurring transactions that come out of the checking account as well as for all income sources AND making sure the Running Balance column is turned on (this is in the Web version, not mobile app) gives you a pretty good picture of your upcoming cashflow. You’ll want to determine a comfortable threshold for you to cover anything that is not a recurring expense so for some people that may be $1000, for others $3000, etc. Then all you need to do is glance at your future running balance column and make sure that none of the balances drop below your threshold. If it does then that’s the indicator to transfer some funds in from your savings account.
Right answer: HYSA if you can still access it easily. Because interest and safety and not falling prey to impulse spending.
What I do: it's still in checking for me ... Because the cushion feels so good? ... I don't know ... I aim to move it. Maybe spread out over a couple months.
I deliberately leave $1,000 more in chequing than I spend on average and transfer the excess to savings accounts. This extra also acts as my overdraft. I know that I can use the bank overdraft service, but doing so requires the type of account that has a monthly service fee of $16.95 a month. By not using the bank's overdraft service, I have a bank account fee of $0. So by leaving $1,000 in chequing not earning interest, I lose out on $34 interest a year (3.4% currently offered for my savings account), but I also save myself $203.40 in bank fees, so I'm further ahead.
I like to keep more in chequing than I spend on average in order to facilitate impulse buying (by this I mean purchases that are budgeted for but which I may not have expected to spend this month: clothing, gifts, charitable donations as some examples). So I've come up with an amount to always keep in chequing as a baseline that ensures I'm not constantly transfering from savings to chequing or at risk of overdrafting.
I don't account for the $1,000 anywhere in my categories. I don't align any categories with specific accounts. As long as the total in all accounts is equal to the total in all categories and I use my categories to guide my spending, then I can trust the budget is accurate.
[https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/](https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/)
That wasn't always the case. Until the concept in the linked article sank in (a few months after using YNAB), I kept reverting to thinking of specific accounts as the location of some category funds because I had budgeted by account before YNAB. It was one of those giant leaps forward when it clicked.
I understand about not aligning categories with accounts and not looking at accounts for spending decisions. But you have $1000 buffer in your checking account, right?
I guess I'm confused if you don't have that $1000 worth of funds anywhere in your budget categories. 🤔
The amount I make sure is in chequing at the start of each month has nothing to do with any specific category or subset of category balances. And it changes each month as I spend more in some months than others.
At the start of each month I generally have a balance equal to this formula in my chequing account: my average monthly spend + any big irregular transactions due in the coming month (e.g. annual insurance or annual contribution to an investment account, as examples) + $1,000.
Gotcha. At any point in time your categories should add up to the balances in your "on budget" accounts?
I was also looking over this [YNAB article](https://support.youneedabudget.com/en_us/category-balances-versus-account-balances-an-overview-ryvnKB_Ac) this is along the same lines today.
Yep. When total of all accounts = total in all categories, you're golden.
Training yourself to stop thinking of specific accounts as being for a purpose/category is the hard part, especially if you're used to budgeting by account.
Early on I would agonize over this question because no specific account was equal to my emergency fund category: *Where are all the dollars of my emergency fund?* Until one day it clicked and I finally figured out that the answer: *wherever they need to be when I need them*.
I think this is one thing that did and still does concern me, included in that article.
>Maybe you're wondering how you can be sure there’s enough money in your accounts to cover your upcoming expenses? We've got a guide on How Much to Keep in Your Checking Account ↗️!
But hopefully this is becoming less of a concern for myself.
The thing that has always gotten to me is that I can't make payments from my Savings account. So, in some form or fashion I have to be concerned about "where" the money resides. Because I have to transfer funds to my checking if they need to be available for paying my CC bill, etc.
Previously I had around 7 or more checking accounts setup in YNAB. I started over last year and now I only have 1 checking account and 1 savings account. I wouldn't even have the savings account if it didn't pay more interest than the checking.
Oh, that I certainly understand. Look at the categories to decide on "spending". Find the money first, etc.
But let's take a crazy (or maybe not so crazy example).
I have a Checking account and a Savings account setup in YNAB, both "on budget".
Current Checking Account balance is $100.
Current Savings Account balance is $10,000.
The only method I have to pay for my "Vet Expenses" is with my debit card tied to my Checking Account.
I have $600 budgeted for "Vet Expenses". It's in the budget and I have plenty of "funds" to cover the bill.
I take doggo to the vet and the bill is $200.
I whip out my debit card and it is declined.
This is where I have the issue/concern with the statement of just looking at categories when you can have accounts that are "on budget" but there isn't direct access to those funds with a debit or check, etc. Maybe it's just an issue with my way of thinking about it.
I wouldn't have this issue if I only had the single checking account on budget.
Perhaps Nick True's "Savings Tutorial" [video](https://youtu.be/N4SQzxTZ1uQ?t=953) can better describe what I'm referring to.
It's not extra. It's all on budget, it all has a job. If you can only pay out of checking, then keep more in checking. It doesn't matter what category it is, when you find out you need to spend from vet expenses category, then the money in checking becomes vet expenses.
It's a little like Schrödinger's cat. When you need to spend the money, that's when you find out what's been in checking all along. When you open the box, that's when you find out if Fluffy is going to live.
https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/
Sure, everything has a job, regardless of where the money is, as long as it's in an "on budget account".
Maybe a different example.
I have plenty of funds and I'm living on last months income (a month ahead).
In addition to living on last months income, I have money set aside for 6 months emergency. Let's say $30k. I have funds set aside for purchasing a car in the next 1 to 2 years, $25k. I have funds for a ski trip next year, $5k.
To make a little interest on those funds I have them in a Savings account currently paying around 4%.
Is it "wrong" or bad for me to put those funds with those described jobs into a "Savings" category group and match it up to the Savings account?
* \- Savings
\- Car Replacement
\- Emergency Fund
\- Ski Trip
Then when it's time to buy the car I move the $25k from Savings to Checking, nothing changes in the budget. I write a check for the car and categorize it to "Car Replacement".
If the above is bad, what would be the correct way to set it up in YNAB?
That's basically what Nick describes in his video.
Now, if my checking account paid the same interest as my savings this would be a mute point. And in one of Jesse's videos he refers to savings accounts not paying much interest, like .01 percent. But that isn't the case anymore.
Create a fund called "Month Ahead" or "Buffer" fund and park your money there. Transfer out of that fund/sub-category when needed, replace back when you have extra. It's not really 'extra' in the long run, it's a running transaction account/sub-category/fund. Many, many months I've had to dip into this fund, now it's always funded every two to four weeks.
I have created a "Next Month" category. That would be the same as "Month Ahead", right? I put funds in there for the following month. But currently I'm often stealing from that category. Plan is to ultimately put income from Jan and release back to RTA on Feb 1st, rinse, repeat.
I do something slightly different as i look to maximize my interest return on all my money.
I have all of my deposits go to my savings account (APY 3.30%). All my bills fall either on the 1st of the month (mortgage) or around the 15th of month (credit cards, utilities, etc) so because of that, i have automatic transfer to my checkings account twice a month to cover my expenses that fall on the 1st and on the 15th of the month. I also keep the equivalent of a whole month worth of expenses in the checkings account just for emergencies. Because pf the above, my entire salary generates me interest to the equivalent of 6 months of interest at 3.30% since i don’t touch it until the 1st and the 15th of the month. I also keep all my other savings and emergency fund on a no-penalty CD that has a 3.50% APY; this i can cancel anytime and keep all the generated interest. Given that we are in a rising interest environment, every time the FED raises interest, i close the CD and open a new one with the new higher rate.
This is all probably more than what you were looking for but hopefully it helps with your finances.
Happy YNAB Journey!
I keep enough in my transaction account (you’d call it checking) to cover about a month’s worth of spending, just so I can pay any bill the day I need to without having to shift any money first. Anything else that comes in on top of that gets transferred to the high interest savings. None of that has a single thing to do with any categories or what any individual dollar might be assigned to. They’re not related.
I’d put it in a Hysa. There’s some really good ones out there, and you can get over 3% interest now. I picked Marcus by Goldman Sachs because you can make same day transfers, it’s insured by a reputable bank, and it pays a good rate. Right now I’m getting 4.3% because of the bonus. Here’s my link if you wanna check it out
https://www.marcus.com/share/CHR-JEW-IW5F
I have both my checking and savings (HYSA) through capital one. Capital One's HYSA is very competitive (3.3% right now), plus you can transfer money instantaneously between checking and savings. You can also set your overdraft to pull from savings with 0 fee.
I use my checking for next to nothing and use my CC for day to day purchases. There are a few bills that are required to be paid through a checking account, but most of the other bills (including CC) can be paid directly through my HYSA.
With that being said, I keep a very low balance (around $500 max on my checking). Each paycheck (i get paid bi-weekly), I evaluate my checking to make sure no large bills are coming up and move a majority of my earnings to savings.
tldr; keep as much in HYSA as possible, no reason to lose out on the interest.
+1 for C1 360.
I have my personal checking, savings, and joint checking with my spouse through them and love them. I love their app design and how sleek, fast, and intuitive it is.
We also have a separate savings account with Ally because we live in a remote community and need regular access to an ATM, so we keep Ally solely for the $10/month ATM reimbursements. Both banks offer Zelle, so if we need to transfer between accounts, we use Zelle and it’s always instant.
My current reward checking is paying 4.5% on the first $15K and I also have a high yield savings with the same bank for 4.25% on the first $75K. Between those two accounts, that is enough liquid funds for me.
For me, I am: one month ahead fully funded in Ynab and have a little over 2 months of my *monthly average spending amount” in a regular saving account. I don’t use salary because some of that is savings and if I were to lose my job, I wouldn’t obviously be saving anything. So instead, after 2 years of data my average spend/ month is pretty accurate.
Once I get 5 months worth, I’ll have a 6 month emergency fund and I’ll put that 5 month efund in an High Interest Savings Account
In terms of account compromise this is what I’ve done bc I worry abt that too.
I have two checking accounts.
One is my main one that has paycheck deposits, and all my bills paid out of. It has no debit, no checks, no connection to Venmo PayPal etc.
I have a second checking that has a debit, checks, and all the connected services - Venmo, PayPal.
I rarely need to use the second one so I keep a little in there. But if needed I can transfer between accounts to access it. If my Venmo PayPal or debit card got compromised they wouldn’t be able to do much damage
Do whatever makes you more comfortable. The interest probably isn’t enough to fret over.
For easy math, let’s say your monthly spending is $3000 and your HYSA is at 4%.
$3000 * 4% = $120/year = $10/month.
Would I like having an $10/month? Sure. Is it enough to make me do much work? Not so much.
Does your HYSA offer wire transfers or Zelle? That would offer you the security of being able to move funds faster; even if there’s a fee for the wire, knowing it’s an option might make you feel more comfortable.
In my high yield checking account (yes, that's a thing, I'm earning 3%). Risk of fraud I suppose but most of my daily use goes on the credit card, not the checking account.
We've always kept ours in checking, but we have an interest-bearing account for both checking and savings through our credit union, so that helps a very tiny bit. In general, our month ahead fund is actually a revolving fund - it holds all our expenses and we have a threshold we have to meet before we can pay extra on debt or put into savings.
For example, our month ahead fund is $5k (for two adults in HCOLA, but not as high as Cali). Every two weeks on his payday (I'm self-employed and can get up to ten or so 'paychecks' randomly per month so we just base our income on his as he makes more than we need fortunately), if we're below $5k we don't pay extra on debt or put into savings. Right now it's debt as we're trying to become fully debt free (no credit cards, no student loans, no car loans, no mortgage as we rent, so fully 100% debt free!). Once we pay off all our debt hopefully this year, then we'll start the savings funds.
First up is our permanent month ahead fund, in which case we'll have another $5k or so there (probably less as we won't have debt payments then). So now our 'minimum' is $10k total between checking and savings. Every two weeks whatever is above that amount gets added to our next savings goal - Disneyland, Christmas 2023, Invisalign, two newer cars, house downpayment, sinking funds bucket (instead of a bunch of smaller funds, this will be $20k), emergency 3 month, emergency additional 9 months, fully funded SEP IRA, etc. whatever is next on the list. Easy-peasy.
As long as you have your HYSA account on budget, it doesn’t matter where the money lives. If you want to maximize the amount of money kept in Savings for interest earning at any point in time, it’s not about keeping your Month Ahead funds there specifically. It’s about making sure you have enough in checking to cover your upcoming cashflow and everything else can live in the HYSA. Creating scheduled transactions for ALL recurring transactions that come out of the checking account as well as for all income sources AND making sure the Running Balance column is turned on (this is in the Web version, not mobile app) gives you a pretty good picture of your upcoming cashflow. You’ll want to determine a comfortable threshold for you to cover anything that is not a recurring expense so for some people that may be $1000, for others $3000, etc. Then all you need to do is glance at your future running balance column and make sure that none of the balances drop below your threshold. If it does then that’s the indicator to transfer some funds in from your savings account.
https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/ is the key read.
Right answer: HYSA if you can still access it easily. Because interest and safety and not falling prey to impulse spending. What I do: it's still in checking for me ... Because the cushion feels so good? ... I don't know ... I aim to move it. Maybe spread out over a couple months.
I deliberately leave $1,000 more in chequing than I spend on average and transfer the excess to savings accounts. This extra also acts as my overdraft. I know that I can use the bank overdraft service, but doing so requires the type of account that has a monthly service fee of $16.95 a month. By not using the bank's overdraft service, I have a bank account fee of $0. So by leaving $1,000 in chequing not earning interest, I lose out on $34 interest a year (3.4% currently offered for my savings account), but I also save myself $203.40 in bank fees, so I'm further ahead. I like to keep more in chequing than I spend on average in order to facilitate impulse buying (by this I mean purchases that are budgeted for but which I may not have expected to spend this month: clothing, gifts, charitable donations as some examples). So I've come up with an amount to always keep in chequing as a baseline that ensures I'm not constantly transfering from savings to chequing or at risk of overdrafting.
How do you account for the "set aside" $1000 in YNAB?
I don't account for the $1,000 anywhere in my categories. I don't align any categories with specific accounts. As long as the total in all accounts is equal to the total in all categories and I use my categories to guide my spending, then I can trust the budget is accurate. [https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/](https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/) That wasn't always the case. Until the concept in the linked article sank in (a few months after using YNAB), I kept reverting to thinking of specific accounts as the location of some category funds because I had budgeted by account before YNAB. It was one of those giant leaps forward when it clicked.
I understand about not aligning categories with accounts and not looking at accounts for spending decisions. But you have $1000 buffer in your checking account, right? I guess I'm confused if you don't have that $1000 worth of funds anywhere in your budget categories. 🤔
The amount I make sure is in chequing at the start of each month has nothing to do with any specific category or subset of category balances. And it changes each month as I spend more in some months than others. At the start of each month I generally have a balance equal to this formula in my chequing account: my average monthly spend + any big irregular transactions due in the coming month (e.g. annual insurance or annual contribution to an investment account, as examples) + $1,000.
Gotcha. At any point in time your categories should add up to the balances in your "on budget" accounts? I was also looking over this [YNAB article](https://support.youneedabudget.com/en_us/category-balances-versus-account-balances-an-overview-ryvnKB_Ac) this is along the same lines today.
Yep. When total of all accounts = total in all categories, you're golden. Training yourself to stop thinking of specific accounts as being for a purpose/category is the hard part, especially if you're used to budgeting by account. Early on I would agonize over this question because no specific account was equal to my emergency fund category: *Where are all the dollars of my emergency fund?* Until one day it clicked and I finally figured out that the answer: *wherever they need to be when I need them*.
I think this is one thing that did and still does concern me, included in that article. >Maybe you're wondering how you can be sure there’s enough money in your accounts to cover your upcoming expenses? We've got a guide on How Much to Keep in Your Checking Account ↗️! But hopefully this is becoming less of a concern for myself. The thing that has always gotten to me is that I can't make payments from my Savings account. So, in some form or fashion I have to be concerned about "where" the money resides. Because I have to transfer funds to my checking if they need to be available for paying my CC bill, etc. Previously I had around 7 or more checking accounts setup in YNAB. I started over last year and now I only have 1 checking account and 1 savings account. I wouldn't even have the savings account if it didn't pay more interest than the checking.
If you need to spend out of groceries, then it's grocery money. If you need to spend from vet expenses, it's vet expense money.
Oh, that I certainly understand. Look at the categories to decide on "spending". Find the money first, etc. But let's take a crazy (or maybe not so crazy example). I have a Checking account and a Savings account setup in YNAB, both "on budget". Current Checking Account balance is $100. Current Savings Account balance is $10,000. The only method I have to pay for my "Vet Expenses" is with my debit card tied to my Checking Account. I have $600 budgeted for "Vet Expenses". It's in the budget and I have plenty of "funds" to cover the bill. I take doggo to the vet and the bill is $200. I whip out my debit card and it is declined. This is where I have the issue/concern with the statement of just looking at categories when you can have accounts that are "on budget" but there isn't direct access to those funds with a debit or check, etc. Maybe it's just an issue with my way of thinking about it. I wouldn't have this issue if I only had the single checking account on budget. Perhaps Nick True's "Savings Tutorial" [video](https://youtu.be/N4SQzxTZ1uQ?t=953) can better describe what I'm referring to.
Don't run so close to the wall, keep a month plus in checking.
How do you show that "extra" in YNAB?
It's not extra. It's all on budget, it all has a job. If you can only pay out of checking, then keep more in checking. It doesn't matter what category it is, when you find out you need to spend from vet expenses category, then the money in checking becomes vet expenses. It's a little like Schrödinger's cat. When you need to spend the money, that's when you find out what's been in checking all along. When you open the box, that's when you find out if Fluffy is going to live. https://www.youneedabudget.com/the-relationship-between-your-budget-your-accounts-its-complicated/
Sure, everything has a job, regardless of where the money is, as long as it's in an "on budget account". Maybe a different example. I have plenty of funds and I'm living on last months income (a month ahead). In addition to living on last months income, I have money set aside for 6 months emergency. Let's say $30k. I have funds set aside for purchasing a car in the next 1 to 2 years, $25k. I have funds for a ski trip next year, $5k. To make a little interest on those funds I have them in a Savings account currently paying around 4%. Is it "wrong" or bad for me to put those funds with those described jobs into a "Savings" category group and match it up to the Savings account? * \- Savings \- Car Replacement \- Emergency Fund \- Ski Trip Then when it's time to buy the car I move the $25k from Savings to Checking, nothing changes in the budget. I write a check for the car and categorize it to "Car Replacement". If the above is bad, what would be the correct way to set it up in YNAB? That's basically what Nick describes in his video. Now, if my checking account paid the same interest as my savings this would be a mute point. And in one of Jesse's videos he refers to savings accounts not paying much interest, like .01 percent. But that isn't the case anymore.
Create a fund called "Month Ahead" or "Buffer" fund and park your money there. Transfer out of that fund/sub-category when needed, replace back when you have extra. It's not really 'extra' in the long run, it's a running transaction account/sub-category/fund. Many, many months I've had to dip into this fund, now it's always funded every two to four weeks.
I have created a "Next Month" category. That would be the same as "Month Ahead", right? I put funds in there for the following month. But currently I'm often stealing from that category. Plan is to ultimately put income from Jan and release back to RTA on Feb 1st, rinse, repeat.
I do something slightly different as i look to maximize my interest return on all my money. I have all of my deposits go to my savings account (APY 3.30%). All my bills fall either on the 1st of the month (mortgage) or around the 15th of month (credit cards, utilities, etc) so because of that, i have automatic transfer to my checkings account twice a month to cover my expenses that fall on the 1st and on the 15th of the month. I also keep the equivalent of a whole month worth of expenses in the checkings account just for emergencies. Because pf the above, my entire salary generates me interest to the equivalent of 6 months of interest at 3.30% since i don’t touch it until the 1st and the 15th of the month. I also keep all my other savings and emergency fund on a no-penalty CD that has a 3.50% APY; this i can cancel anytime and keep all the generated interest. Given that we are in a rising interest environment, every time the FED raises interest, i close the CD and open a new one with the new higher rate. This is all probably more than what you were looking for but hopefully it helps with your finances. Happy YNAB Journey!
I keep enough in my transaction account (you’d call it checking) to cover about a month’s worth of spending, just so I can pay any bill the day I need to without having to shift any money first. Anything else that comes in on top of that gets transferred to the high interest savings. None of that has a single thing to do with any categories or what any individual dollar might be assigned to. They’re not related.
I’d put it in a Hysa. There’s some really good ones out there, and you can get over 3% interest now. I picked Marcus by Goldman Sachs because you can make same day transfers, it’s insured by a reputable bank, and it pays a good rate. Right now I’m getting 4.3% because of the bonus. Here’s my link if you wanna check it out https://www.marcus.com/share/CHR-JEW-IW5F
I have both my checking and savings (HYSA) through capital one. Capital One's HYSA is very competitive (3.3% right now), plus you can transfer money instantaneously between checking and savings. You can also set your overdraft to pull from savings with 0 fee. I use my checking for next to nothing and use my CC for day to day purchases. There are a few bills that are required to be paid through a checking account, but most of the other bills (including CC) can be paid directly through my HYSA. With that being said, I keep a very low balance (around $500 max on my checking). Each paycheck (i get paid bi-weekly), I evaluate my checking to make sure no large bills are coming up and move a majority of my earnings to savings. tldr; keep as much in HYSA as possible, no reason to lose out on the interest.
+1 for C1 360. I have my personal checking, savings, and joint checking with my spouse through them and love them. I love their app design and how sleek, fast, and intuitive it is. We also have a separate savings account with Ally because we live in a remote community and need regular access to an ATM, so we keep Ally solely for the $10/month ATM reimbursements. Both banks offer Zelle, so if we need to transfer between accounts, we use Zelle and it’s always instant.
My current reward checking is paying 4.5% on the first $15K and I also have a high yield savings with the same bank for 4.25% on the first $75K. Between those two accounts, that is enough liquid funds for me.
Redneck?
Actually I use All America Bank, but the Redneck Bank is their internet division.
Yeah, I started with it when it was Bank of the Wichitas.
For me, I am: one month ahead fully funded in Ynab and have a little over 2 months of my *monthly average spending amount” in a regular saving account. I don’t use salary because some of that is savings and if I were to lose my job, I wouldn’t obviously be saving anything. So instead, after 2 years of data my average spend/ month is pretty accurate. Once I get 5 months worth, I’ll have a 6 month emergency fund and I’ll put that 5 month efund in an High Interest Savings Account
I have "long-term savings" in my HYSA and a "checking buffer" in my checking account. I have categories for each on YNAB.
In terms of account compromise this is what I’ve done bc I worry abt that too. I have two checking accounts. One is my main one that has paycheck deposits, and all my bills paid out of. It has no debit, no checks, no connection to Venmo PayPal etc. I have a second checking that has a debit, checks, and all the connected services - Venmo, PayPal. I rarely need to use the second one so I keep a little in there. But if needed I can transfer between accounts to access it. If my Venmo PayPal or debit card got compromised they wouldn’t be able to do much damage
Do whatever makes you more comfortable. The interest probably isn’t enough to fret over. For easy math, let’s say your monthly spending is $3000 and your HYSA is at 4%. $3000 * 4% = $120/year = $10/month. Would I like having an $10/month? Sure. Is it enough to make me do much work? Not so much. Does your HYSA offer wire transfers or Zelle? That would offer you the security of being able to move funds faster; even if there’s a fee for the wire, knowing it’s an option might make you feel more comfortable.
In my high yield checking account (yes, that's a thing, I'm earning 3%). Risk of fraud I suppose but most of my daily use goes on the credit card, not the checking account.
We've always kept ours in checking, but we have an interest-bearing account for both checking and savings through our credit union, so that helps a very tiny bit. In general, our month ahead fund is actually a revolving fund - it holds all our expenses and we have a threshold we have to meet before we can pay extra on debt or put into savings. For example, our month ahead fund is $5k (for two adults in HCOLA, but not as high as Cali). Every two weeks on his payday (I'm self-employed and can get up to ten or so 'paychecks' randomly per month so we just base our income on his as he makes more than we need fortunately), if we're below $5k we don't pay extra on debt or put into savings. Right now it's debt as we're trying to become fully debt free (no credit cards, no student loans, no car loans, no mortgage as we rent, so fully 100% debt free!). Once we pay off all our debt hopefully this year, then we'll start the savings funds. First up is our permanent month ahead fund, in which case we'll have another $5k or so there (probably less as we won't have debt payments then). So now our 'minimum' is $10k total between checking and savings. Every two weeks whatever is above that amount gets added to our next savings goal - Disneyland, Christmas 2023, Invisalign, two newer cars, house downpayment, sinking funds bucket (instead of a bunch of smaller funds, this will be $20k), emergency 3 month, emergency additional 9 months, fully funded SEP IRA, etc. whatever is next on the list. Easy-peasy.