<prompt> Human: At least, this is what has worked for me. Whenever I see a large number in my checking account i.e. more than 2000, I start thinking about the stuff I could blow it on, and that usually leads to foolish spending decisions and regret.Now, I try to keep my checking account balance at around 1000 after all my bills are paid. Its just enough of a buffer for me to feel like I could handle an unexpected expense or have a little fun, but low enough for me to feel like I cant really blow it on something stupid. Any excess I have after bills are paid goes into my savings account or brokerage account. Ive been using this method for a few years now, and as long as you stay disciplined with it, your savings and investment account balances grow nicely over time.  <response>: I do this as well. I keep just enough in my checking to cover the automatic withdrawals that I know will occur on the first of the month mortgage, car payment, etc. 99.99 of the time my paycheck hits at least 24 hours before those payments are taken, but I like the money being there just in case. One of my automatic withdrawals is 100 transferred to savings my checking and savings are linked for instant transfers. If its a tough month with a lot of expenses, that may be all I contribute, but usually Ill have some extra money left over that will get shifted to savings. I pay all of my bills and expenses with a credit card, and that gets paid automatically about three days after payday each month. Once thats done, I look at the checking balance and anything over my minimum buffer 1100 gets shifted to savings. 