float

Pouring the jug: How to handle when your income is irregular

I propose an allegory and model for thinking about how to deal with irregular income in a way that will help you reduce risk and uncertainty. … Read More

Why Ally’s Surprise Savings is terrifying

I explore the Surprise Savings product from Ally and suggest a different way to achieve the exact same results. Last night, I was logging on to Ally to adjust some of my automatic transfers between my checking account and my … Read MoreRead More

ATM receipt

It is possible to have too much float

It’s important to have enough money in your account to not have to worry when your bills are paid, but too much float brings problems too. … Read More

Orange

In defense of rounding

If you’re used to just “not worrying” about money (which can ironically make one pretty anxious) or just wanting to “let things happen”, my suggestion that you track all of your spending (all of it, every purchase, every month, forever) … Read MoreRead More

Infinity pool

What to do when your account balance is different than expected

Balancing your household budget might be difficult to do, but it’s not complex. You just make sure that the money you have going out is the same amount that is coming in. (In this way, Charles Dickens’ Micawber was only half-right, … Read MoreRead More

Diving board

How to calculate your true account balance at the end of the month

WARNING: This post contains math. How much float do you need? Well, optimally you’d have enough float such that you could cover your entire month’s expenses on day 1, just to be safe. But in general you want to have … Read MoreRead More

Floating ball

How float can help you track your expenses more effectively

Let’s talk about float. As I’ve defined it before, float is the money in your checking account that is above and beyond your paychecks. It is a cushion for your day-to-day balance changes. Having adequate float in your account is … Read MoreRead More