I am very on top of our budget and feel confident in the overall amount we are spending vs saving, etc. However, I struggle with knowing how much to transfer to savings at any given point. I am constantly running into the issue of wanting to transfer money to savings but then a bill comes due and I need to transfer it back again before my next paycheck hits when I can then transfer some but not totally sure how much. Do you all have a certain limit that you set for your checking account to cover all outstanding bills? Or do use a calendar to track income vs bills? When bills are variable, do you guess at a higher amount? Any tips welcome!
So this is sort of what I’m leaning towards which basically means a month without transferring to savings. Do you guesstimate on the high end for your bills?
I view it as part of my emergency fund since next month’s money is ready after bills. I round up to the nearest $1,000 for simplicity. You could do $100 increments, like $2,100 or $4,500.
I like that; considering it one month of emergency fund!
I would probably do the nearest $1000 too as the round number makes me happy and I feel like I might breathe a bit easier with a slightly larger buffer. Thank you for the help!
I maintain a buffer, and most of my bills are fixed (mortgage, water, insurance, cable). My electric bill varies, so I average it over the year and pay $200 monthly. In winter, it might be $80, but I build credit to offset higher summer bills. All my bills are paid automatically.