How much do you keep in checking?

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RetiredAL
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by RetiredAL »

Retired here. Being in de-accumulation mode means it hardly matters if that $ sits in checking or is still in the IRA.

Typically, the min balance is about a month's worth of expenses. Everything is paid through the checking account at the bank. It's a mix of auto-pays and E-pays. Money comes in monthly to checking from our SS + 2 IRA withdrawals, spread across the month. Addition IRA $'s, to meet RMD, goes to our taxable brokerage account sometime in the fall.
Eno Deb
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Eno Deb »

anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:36 pm
Eno Deb wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:58 pm
anon_investor wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:52 pm
Eno Deb wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:49 pm
VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:29 pm I use a Fidelity brokerage as my “checking account” and keep $5K - $20K in FZDXX MM yielding 4.10%. I transfer extra money to my investment account at Fidelity.
Where do you see 4.1%? According to Fidelity the compound yield as of 12/15 is ~3.9%. Still good of course. :D But I'm not sure if a prime MMF is the best choice for a payment account given that it can theoretically be gated if there is some kind of liquidity crisis.
4.1% is the 1 day yield as of 12/15:

https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/ ... /2738.html
Hm, on the research page it shows 3.92% compound, and 3.85% 7-day:

https://fundresearch.fidelity.com/mutua ... /31617H805

In the list here it actually shows a 1-day yield of 4.24% as of today :shock:

https://institutional.fidelity.com/app/ ... ersisted=F
That's because the list page is showing the 1 day yield as of 12/16, the institutional link I shared only had as of 12/15. Also compound yield is different than 1 day yield.
Yeah, I know. The numbers are just kind of astounding. The other MMFs aren't bad either. The core sweep funds SPAXX and FZFXX are ~3.8% as of today. FDLXX is ~3.7% (in CA its TEY is now over 4%). I'm curious what the 4- and 8-week T-bill auctions next week will bring.
Ripcord
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Ripcord »

$1k buffer at all times. Income comes in, bills are paid, and whatever is left over that buffer gets put in savings/invested. Rinse repeat once or twice a month.
HKexpat
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by HKexpat »

$1,000. I pay all my bills when my paycheck is deposited, then move the rest into a brokerage account. I keep the amount in case I need to Venmo someone or get some cash from an ATM. In the event of some large, unanticipated expense, I can take cash out of the brokerage account as a margin loan.
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VictorStarr
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by VictorStarr »

Eno Deb wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:49 pm
VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:29 pm I use a Fidelity brokerage as my “checking account” and keep $5K - $20K in FZDXX MM yielding 4.10%. I transfer extra money to my investment account at Fidelity.
...
But I'm not sure if a prime MMF is the best choice for a payment account given that it can theoretically be gated if there is some kind of liquidity crisis.
People like to mention redemption gates and liquidity fees for prime funds. In my case a remote possibility of 10 business days suspension on redemption is not meaningful. I can draw cash from multiple sources:
- margin brokerage account at Fidelity
- standby checking account at Schwab
- another money market account at Schwab
- a credit card without cash advance fee, low interest and generous credit line
- a few other sources
123
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by 123 »

Checking account balance is normally between $5K - $10K each month. Our ready emergency cash is usually around $100K between HYSA and Fidelity MMF.
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FireSekr
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by FireSekr »

$500

When my pay is deposited, I pay credit cards, mortgage etc. Whatever is leftover after bills gets transferred to brokerage and invested in IVV. I leave $500 in checking just for the hell of it. I don’t have a savings account or emergency fund. If I need cash I just transfer from my brokerage either by selling investments or taking a margin loan which I usually can pay back within a few weeks.
Eno Deb
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Eno Deb »

VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:49 pm
Eno Deb wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:49 pm
VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:29 pm I use a Fidelity brokerage as my “checking account” and keep $5K - $20K in FZDXX MM yielding 4.10%. I transfer extra money to my investment account at Fidelity.
...
But I'm not sure if a prime MMF is the best choice for a payment account given that it can theoretically be gated if there is some kind of liquidity crisis.
People like to mention redemption gates and liquidity fees for prime funds. In my case a remote possibility of 10 business days suspension on redemption is not meaningful. I can draw cash from multiple sources:
- margin brokerage account at Fidelity
- standby checking account at Schwab
- another money market account at Schwab
- a credit card without cash advance fee, low interest and generous credit line
- a few other sources
That seems kind of backwards to me. A payment account should have maximum liquidity, precisely so I don't have to scramble to pull money from elsewhere, pay margin or credit card interest etc., just to pay my bills.
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VictorStarr
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by VictorStarr »

Eno Deb wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:26 am
VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 11:49 pm
Eno Deb wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:49 pm
VictorStarr wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:29 pm I use a Fidelity brokerage as my “checking account” and keep $5K - $20K in FZDXX MM yielding 4.10%. I transfer extra money to my investment account at Fidelity.
...
But I'm not sure if a prime MMF is the best choice for a payment account given that it can theoretically be gated if there is some kind of liquidity crisis.
People like to mention redemption gates and liquidity fees for prime funds. In my case a remote possibility of 10 business days suspension on redemption is not meaningful. I can draw cash from multiple sources:
- margin brokerage account at Fidelity
- standby checking account at Schwab
- another money market account at Schwab
- a credit card without cash advance fee, low interest and generous credit line
- a few other sources
That seems kind of backwards to me. A payment account should have maximum liquidity, precisely so I don't have to scramble to pull money from elsewhere, pay margin or credit card interest etc., just to pay my bills.
To each their own.
Interruptions in service due to acts of nature, technical problems or identity theft seem more probable to me than redemption gates but it does not matter what can cause interruption of service.
I do not control either of these factors but I can build redundancy into the system of my financial accounts that can withstand multiple failures.
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crinkles2
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by crinkles2 »

All of our cash

Lucky to have an offset mortgage, so it saves me my variable mortgage rate.

Do all spending on a credit card, paid off every month.
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JoeRetire
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by JoeRetire »

NYCaviator wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:41 am The responses to the thread on auto-paying bills was interesting, but it has me wondering what amount of money people are keeping in their checking accounts? Some people recommend one or two months' expenses, but that can be a pretty large sum if you consider mortgage, insurance, credit card, etc.

Our monthly expenses (including mortgage, prop. taxes, insurance, food, etc.) are generally around $8k/month, so I keep $10kish in checking. Curious what others do and what their rationale is?
I keep about 2 months of expenses in checking.

That covers the month completely, plus most unexpected costs.
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WannabeBogleHead01
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by WannabeBogleHead01 »

A few thousand above our average monthly spend, for lumpy expenses.
hudson
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by hudson »

ramram22 wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:13 pm I’m at like $30,000 – I’m surprised everyone’s number here is so low.

The issue is I have three checking accounts – one for my business, one for rental properties, and one for my personal expenses. The business has lumpy earnings and I pay myself a salary quarterly, so I always need to make sure there’s enough in that account. Similarly, the rental account needs to have enough to cover property taxes and the occasional repairs (I just had a $6,000 repair :annoyed ).

Moving money in and out of the accounts at the end of each month is frankly too much of a hassle. Plus, then I would have to explain to my accountant each extra inflow and outflow. I would think this is a pretty common situation, and I’m surprised to see that everyone is able to get by with so much less in checking.
How to make it with a low amount in checking?
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fundseeker
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by fundseeker »

For those of you who may have just kept large balances in your checking account (instead of your bank's money market) because the money market account only offered the same low interest as your checking, it might be time to reconsider and transfer the money into the money mark account at your bank.

PNC just started giving almost 3.9% interest!
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StevieG72
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by StevieG72 »

Mine seems to average 15k, I do a lot of autopay. Also have 15k open end account that acts as overdraft protection. Thing It has been used twice in 15yrs.
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cowdogman
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by cowdogman »

toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
Most savings accounts (e.g., Marcus) are paying over three percent. So, $20,000 is $600+/year.

I try not to fall below $1,000. My auto-pays all go to credit cards and my credit card bills are set to pay from a savings account.
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RickBoglehead
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by RickBoglehead »

My local checking account has $1.00.

My Ally checking account has $100. That's to absorb things like the cable bill.

Each month I setup transfers to move funds to Ally checking to pay bills. Could be one transfer a month, I do 3 - 6 because I'm greedy and want the savings account interest.

People need to prioritize where they spend their time, and that's a personal decision. Me, giving anyone $1,000 at 0.1% interest will happen when hell freezes over. Yesterday I spent about 15 minutes cashing out 3.3% No Penalty CDs to open 3.5% ones. Easy to do at Ally. Spent a few minutes figuring out how much I needed for Jan and Feb, and split the amounts to cash a smaller one for Feb. Yes, $10k in a year at 0.2% (3.5 - 3.3) is around $20. That's MY $20.

I just emptied my Capital One accounts that had maybe a total of $3.50 across them, leaving $.01 in each, should have done that a few years ago.

I have never understood keeping large amounts in checking, especially when someone has the time to manage the funds. My mother has thousands in her checking and plays tiles and cards all day. To each their own.
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Marseille07
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Marseille07 »

ramram22 wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 8:13 pm I’m at like $30,000 – I’m surprised everyone’s number here is so low.
Because my only use case of checking is quick cash at the ATM, which doesn't happen often anyway. I don't pay bills out of checking, I hardly write checks.
lostdog
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by lostdog »

$5,000 in checking. The rest in the Vanguard Federal Money Market sweep account.
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KyleAAA
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by KyleAAA »

We aim to have $1500 left at the low point after all bills are paid.
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

I too would better like to understand the mechanics of lowering the amount kept in checking. As many of you know I’m trying to reduce drag on my portfolio by increasing the amount my $ earns by putting it into Fidelity and t bills

I have payroll direct deposited into 2 banks.
I have a certain amount auto transferred into Fido each month.
I have my 401k obviously auto funded from payroll.
I pay bills out of 3 banks for historical reasons.
I have online banking set up on two of the three banks.
I plan to close one of the banks - a national paying me zero.
I have trouble keeping my bank a/cs under the insured limit because I net 260k and spend 40.
I looked into having payroll go directly to Fido but decided against it because it goes through a bank anyway - bank of Warsaw and I’m not comfortable with the complexity there since I don’t have an account with bank of Warsaw so I don’t want my money going through it.
I’m not really comfortable with a CMA account yet.
One bank is linked to Treasury Direct.
One bank is linked to Fidelity.

If someone can tell me a rational way to get this under control please pm me. My goal is to have two banks and earn more on my savings.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sat Dec 17, 2022 12:23 pm, edited 3 times in total.
toddthebod
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by toddthebod »

cowdogman wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:07 am
toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
Most savings accounts (e.g., Marcus) are paying over three percent. So, $20,000 is $600+/year.

I try not to fall below $1,000. My auto-pays all go to credit cards and my credit card bills are set to pay from a savings account.
My checking account sucks in that way (Schwab).
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cowdogman
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by cowdogman »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:36 am I too would better like to understand the mechanics of lowering the amount kept in checking. As many of you know I’m trying to reduce drag on my portfolio by increasing the amount my $ earns by putting it into Fidelity and t bills

I have payroll direct deposited into 2 banks.
I have a certain amount auto transferred into Fido each month.
I have my 401k obviously auto funded from payroll.
I pay bills out of 3 banks.
I have online banking set up on two of the three banks.
I have trouble keeping my bank a/cs under the insured limit because I net 260 and spend 40.
I looked into having payroll go directly to Fido but decided against it because it goes through a bank anyway - bank of Warsaw and I’m not comfortable with the complexity there since I don’t have an account with bank of Warsaw so I don’t want my money going through it.
I’m not really comfortable with a CMA account yet.
One bank is linked to Treasury Direct.
One bank is linked to Fidelity.

If someone can tell me a rational way to get this under control please pm me.
At the very least you could have 100% of your payroll go to an online savings account (e.g., Marcus now paying 3%) and then distribute from there.

And why have multiple checking accounts?
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

cowdogman wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:50 am
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:36 am I too would better like to understand the mechanics of lowering the amount kept in checking. As many of you know I’m trying to reduce drag on my portfolio by increasing the amount my $ earns by putting it into Fidelity and t bills

I have payroll direct deposited into 2 banks.
I have a certain amount auto transferred into Fido each month.
I have my 401k obviously auto funded from payroll.
I pay bills out of 3 banks.
I have online banking set up on two of the three banks.
I have trouble keeping my bank a/cs under the insured limit because I net 260 and spend 40.
I looked into having payroll go directly to Fido but decided against it because it goes through a bank anyway - bank of Warsaw and I’m not comfortable with the complexity there since I don’t have an account with bank of Warsaw so I don’t want my money going through it.
I’m not really comfortable with a CMA account yet.
One bank is linked to Treasury Direct.
One bank is linked to Fidelity.

If someone can tell me a rational way to get this under control please pm me.
At the very least you could have 100% of your payroll go to an online savings account (e.g., Marcus now paying 3%) and then distribute from there.

And why have multiple checking accounts?
I have multiple accounts because I value FDIC insurance highly, I’ve earned way more than I can spend for decades now (after starting out lower middle) and for historical reasons: I started with a local one 30 years ago by my grad school (Bank A) that got acquired by a good national bank that offers good rates on checking, CDs and savings. I don’t live near my grad school anymore and this national bank doesn’t have NY branches.

I opened a second out-of-state bank (Bank B) for free atm withdrawals and atm reimbursements in the mid 90s when that was a new and unusual feature for banks generally. I used ATMs a lot back then (because my bank wasn’t in my city and I worked such long hours I couldn’t get to a branch), so reimbursed ATM fees saved me a lot of money and this bank was recommended by a reputable financial publication. It has around $25k in it, so payroll mostly goes here for now since the other banks are near the fdic limit.

Then around 5 years ago I had to open a local in-state bank account at Bank C when I bought my apartment and I chose one that had a coin counter machine. It closed that due to litigation in which customers alleged undercounting, and my local branch but it still has a good local branch presence. It’s good to have a physical branch imo for things like notary services etc. I didn’t realize it would pay nothing even when rates rose… I learned that last week in the wsj article. :(

Bank B is linked to Treasury Direct. I have to keep that open because switching banks on Treasury Direct causes problems. Before I knew this, I’d wanted to close that a/c. Now I have most of my payroll directed there. But it pays nothing: 0.01).

Banks A and C are at 280k and 248k, respectively. So I opened some CDs at Bank A that offered 4.1. I’ve had job interviews that were shorter than what they put me through to open CDs there by phone even though I’ve had that account for 20 years (they told me to do it online next time). Bank C earns nothing. But has a lot of locations in my state.

If I open Marcus or the like that’s 4 banks and I’m trying to streamline, but yes it’s not a bad suggestion. Also when I tried to move 80k from Bank A to B, to get under the limit they only let me transfer 5k at a time. So if I opened Marcus and close Bank C, would they even agree to transfer it all? Or would I have to do it incrementally like in my other example?

I could just pull large amounts into Fidelity and put them in t bills. Fidelity pulls even in large amounts seem to work fine. I’ve bought t bills through Fidelity before.

Anticipating the comment that I don’t know what it’s like and that I should donate - respectfully, I do, and I do. Why do you think I work so hard, save so much and keep it insured?
But I’m trying to do better and steward my wealth better so that I can support myself, help family and leave a modest legacy while enjoying the present.
Last edited by AnnetteLouisan on Sun Dec 18, 2022 4:28 am, edited 1 time in total.
Eno Deb
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Eno Deb »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:36 am I too would better like to understand the mechanics of lowering the amount kept in checking. As many of you know I’m trying to reduce drag on my portfolio by increasing the amount my $ earns by putting it into Fidelity and t bills
Sounds like you're an ideal candidate for moving your checking to a Fidelity account.
I have payroll direct deposited into 2 banks.
I have a certain amount auto transferred into Fido each month.
I have my 401k obviously auto funded from payroll.
I pay bills out of 3 banks for historical reasons.
I have online banking set up on two of the three banks.
I plan to close one of the banks - a national paying me zero.
I have trouble keeping my bank a/cs under the insured limit because I net 260k and spend 40.
I looked into having payroll go directly to Fido but decided against it because it goes through a bank anyway - bank of Warsaw and I’m not comfortable with the complexity there since I don’t have an account with bank of Warsaw so I don’t want my money going through it.
Not sure I understand your reasoning correctly, but your auto transfers to Fido are already processed by UMB, since they handle all bank transactions such as ACH for Fidelity. This is largely transparent for the customer though.
I’m not really comfortable with a CMA account yet.
I'd recommend to open an additional Fido brokerage account instead of a CMA, since it has high-yielding treasury MMFs as auto-sweep options. Current yields are around 3.8%. There is little reason to choose the CMA.
Barsoom
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Barsoom »

I transfer one month of expenses at the beginning of each month and then auto pay throughout the month.

-B
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Eno Deb wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:36 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 11:36 am I too would better like to understand the mechanics of lowering the amount kept in checking. As many of you know I’m trying to reduce drag on my portfolio by increasing the amount my $ earns by putting it into Fidelity and t bills
Sounds like you're an ideal candidate for moving your checking to a Fidelity account.
I have payroll direct deposited into 2 banks.
I have a certain amount auto transferred into Fido each month.
I have my 401k obviously auto funded from payroll.
I pay bills out of 3 banks for historical reasons.
I have online banking set up on two of the three banks.
I plan to close one of the banks - a national paying me zero.
I have trouble keeping my bank a/cs under the insured limit because I net 260k and spend 40.
I looked into having payroll go directly to Fido but decided against it because it goes through a bank anyway - bank of Warsaw and I’m not comfortable with the complexity there since I don’t have an account with bank of Warsaw so I don’t want my money going through it.
Not sure I understand your reasoning correctly, but your auto transfers to Fido are already processed by UMB, since they handle all bank transactions such as ACH for Fidelity. This is largely transparent for the customer though.
I’m not really comfortable with a CMA account yet.
I'd recommend to open an additional Fido brokerage account instead of a CMA, since it has high-yielding treasury MMFs as auto-sweep options. Current yields are around 3.8%. There is little reason to choose the CMA.
Thank you. I have one fidelity brokerage and one Fidelity Roth IRA account. Would you recommend a separate brokerage for the extra SIPC coverage (if any), or what is the rationale for the additional brokerage? Thank you so much.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Eno Deb »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:51 pmThank you. I have one fidelity brokerage and one Fidelity Roth IRA account. Would you recommend a separate brokerage for the extra SIPC coverage (if any), or what is the rationale for the additional brokerage? Thank you so much.
One reason is security. You don't want our main investment account to be drained e.g. by fraudulent checks or debit card transactions. Another is that separating checking from longer term investments makes it easier to stay on top of things; you can easily see the balance set aside for checking purposes, and the checking account activity is easier to follow if it isn't intermingled with investment transactions.

Opening another brokerage account is very easy, and you can order a debit card and checks for it if you want. You can also customize the portfolio view so that the account shows up in the "Spend Accounts" section, and rename your account (mine is called "Checking").
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

Eno Deb wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 2:28 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:51 pmThank you. I have one fidelity brokerage and one Fidelity Roth IRA account. Would you recommend a separate brokerage for the extra SIPC coverage (if any), or what is the rationale for the additional brokerage? Thank you so much.
One reason is security. You don't want our main investment account to be drained e.g. by fraudulent checks or debit card transactions. Another is that separating checking from longer term investments makes it easier to stay on top of things; you can easily see the balance set aside for checking purposes, and the checking account activity is easier to follow if it isn't intermingled with investment transactions.

Opening another brokerage account is very easy, and you can order a debit card and checks for it if you want. You can also customize the portfolio view so that the account shows up in the "Spend Accounts" section, and rename your account (mine is called "Checking").
Thank you - that makes a lot of sense! And that way I can relax a bit on the fdic coverage limits.

What I’m doing now sure doesn’t!
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by $=WxTxI »

NYCaviator wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 7:41 am The responses to the thread on auto-paying bills was interesting, but it has me wondering what amount of money people are keeping in their checking accounts? Some people recommend one or two months' expenses, but that can be a pretty large sum if you consider mortgage, insurance, credit card, etc.

Our monthly expenses (including mortgage, prop. taxes, insurance, food, etc.) are generally around $8k/month, so I keep $10kish in checking. Curious what others do and what their rationale is?
2 incomes.

Lowest checking ever goes is 2k.

All bills paid by the 15th. Excess gets swept into savings/investing. Repeat monthly.
Eno Deb
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Eno Deb »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 2:40 pm
Eno Deb wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 2:28 pm
AnnetteLouisan wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 1:51 pmThank you. I have one fidelity brokerage and one Fidelity Roth IRA account. Would you recommend a separate brokerage for the extra SIPC coverage (if any), or what is the rationale for the additional brokerage? Thank you so much.
One reason is security. You don't want our main investment account to be drained e.g. by fraudulent checks or debit card transactions. Another is that separating checking from longer term investments makes it easier to stay on top of things; you can easily see the balance set aside for checking purposes, and the checking account activity is easier to follow if it isn't intermingled with investment transactions.

Opening another brokerage account is very easy, and you can order a debit card and checks for it if you want. You can also customize the portfolio view so that the account shows up in the "Spend Accounts" section, and rename your account (mine is called "Checking").
Thank you - that makes a lot of sense! And that way I can relax a bit on the fdic coverage limits.

What I’m doing now sure doesn’t!
If FDIC insurance is important to you then the CMA might be of interest as well since it has an FDIC-insured core position which is not available in other account types. It has higher limits than normal bank accounts too ($1.25 million if I remember correctly). But the interest rate is lower (currently 2.19%) than the money market sweep options in the brokerage account. Personally I consider money market funds like FZFXX as comparably secure since they are backed by treasuries.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by gavinsiu »

My checking account is usually near zero act as more of a conduit of money than a place to save. At some point it equals both our paychecks, but then it drops close to zero again.

The paychecks are deducted by 401K/403b first, and then deposited into the checking account. A certain amount is automatically saved into a high yielding savings account that holds the emergency fund, which has about 6 months of expense. This automatic saving is to ensure we have money for big ticket payments. Let's say you have to pay $3000 of life insurance in June, you save $3000/12 per month into the emergency. Some money are saved into IRA. Some are saved into the kids college fund. Bills will get paid for the month. At the end of the month the checking account will usually end up with roughly the same amount as it started. If there are extra at the end of the year, it can be sweep into other accounts. If there is a short fall, then we draw into emergency and find out why there is a short fall.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Morgan Dollar 1921 »

$138 at the end of the month after everything is auto-deducted, in fact, it is sitting at $138.30 right now, and I will never stress over why it is off 30 cents, or $3. DW and her Mom stress and wear out the keys on the calculator trying to find a missing $100, or an extra 45-60 dollars, usually the extra $$ is a quarterly stock dividend, that is auto-deposited, and when I remind them, she says, "Oh, that's right!" I was raised on St Rt 138 in Ohio. See how easy you can set it up? Money flows in and then it flows right back out.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by White Coat Investor »

I'm embarrassed to say after reading the rest of the responses to this thread. The benefit is that I don't have to look at my checking account very often I suppose. I do feel bad about the cash drag sometimes though.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by NYCaviator »

toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
That's the way I look at it and I'm kind of surprised at a lot of the responses about keeping everything but the bare minimum in a high yield savings. After tax, $200 in missed interest seems worth it not to keep making transfers and keeping track of what money is where.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by mindboggling »

I keep a $5k floor in one checking account and about a $1k floor in another.
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AnnetteLouisan
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:45 pm
toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
That's the way I look at it and I'm kind of surprised at a lot of the responses about keeping everything but the bare minimum in a high yield savings. After tax, $200 in missed interest seems worth it not to keep making transfers and keeping track of what money is where.
That’s how I viewed it, it was a time suck to micromanage it. That made more sense when no one was paying any decent interest.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by NYCaviator »

Has anyone had success paying bills from an Amex high yield savings account? I wasn't sure if its possible/advisable, but it sounds like people are using HYS accounts more as traditional checking accounts?
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Trance »

I'm lucky enough to have a credit union that pays an 2.25% APY for checking up to $15,000. When I start a family I'd like a money market fund to hold some more at a higher rate
60% VT 40% BNDW (no bonds in Roth)
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by jebmke »

NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:45 pm
toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
That's the way I look at it and I'm kind of surprised at a lot of the responses about keeping everything but the bare minimum in a high yield savings. After tax, $200 in missed interest seems worth it not to keep making transfers and keeping track of what money is where.
Just load all your expenses on credit cards if you can. They will set the due date whenever you want if you ask - at least they have done that for me.
Don't trust me, look it up. https://www.irs.gov/forms-instructions-and-publications
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Normchad »

jebmke wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 7:23 pm
NYCaviator wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 6:45 pm
toddthebod wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 9:57 am $15,000 - $20,000. I figure the $200/year in interest I lose is a small price to pay to never have to worry about the timing of bills.
That's the way I look at it and I'm kind of surprised at a lot of the responses about keeping everything but the bare minimum in a high yield savings. After tax, $200 in missed interest seems worth it not to keep making transfers and keeping track of what money is where.
Just load all your expenses on credit cards if you can. They will set the due date whenever you want if you ask - at least they have done that for me.
I guess I haven’t looked in a while. Do most places let you pay your bills with a credit card, with no additional fee? I always assumed there would be a surcharge. (Recently, a local fave restaurant of mine started adding a 3.9% fee for credit cards).
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by abner kravitz »

I am not so concerned about keeping a lean balance now that the interest rate is close to 4% (Fido) but when rates were close to zero $10K was the target.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by hmw »

I usually keep about $1k to $2k in my checking account. I transfer money from my saving account to my checking account to pay mortgage and cc bills twice a month just before they are due.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by Sage16 »

I keep a little more than a month's worth of anticipated expenses in my CMA account plus another $10k in a Treasury MM in the CMA for overdraft protection and piece of mind. I keep the brokerage account walled off from the CMA but can manually transfer funds to the CMA if needed.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by invest4 »

Family of 6 - $20k

I want everything to run smoothly and readily handle larger expense months with ease.
Last edited by invest4 on Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by newyorker »

10-20k
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by rr2 »

I aim to have a 10K buffer in checking which is a little more than one month's expenses.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by AerialWombat »

............
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This post is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real financial advice is purely coincidental.
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by whodidntante »

fundseeker wrote: Sat Dec 17, 2022 10:10 am PNC just started giving almost 3.9% interest!
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HomerJ
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Re: How much do you keep in checking (2022)?

Post by HomerJ »

sunny_socal wrote: Fri Dec 16, 2022 6:12 pm $50.

I get paid, I pay the bills and make sure to leave $50 in there. It's nothing but a conduit for paying bills.
Seems like work.
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