<prompt> Human: In July, my financial system had a major hiccup when my long term relationship ended and my ex-girlfriend moved out of our apartment. For a while, I panicked, not because I couldnt pay the bills, but because I thought it was going to really hurt my savings for things I will need in the next few years new car, new phone, etc. I started working more overtime and really tracked and reduced any unnecessary spending, but the biggest thing that helped was:I made a set point in my checking account that is high enough to pay my bills with a small cushion for fluctuations if I spend more or less on my cc, etc. On the last day of every month, I take everything over this cut-off point and move it to my savings account.It seems like pretty common sense, but before that I was calculating out how much I needed from each paycheck and saving the rest. This is much simpler, and honestly, I have been able to save a lot more than I thought this way.  <response>: The emergency fund everyone here pushes accounts for that. 2 months in checking and 4 months in savings. 