how much do you keep in no interest checking?

[badatmath]

I think I am keeping too much . . . but then what is "too much" ? 1.5% interest (from moving it to savings) is hardly a going to make me wealthy so may be worrying about nothing.

Mostly I could use a card for an "emergency" and pay it off but some places will offer a discount if you just write a check so I like to have "extra" around. . .

So, for anyone who feels like offering advice, how did you arrive at your "number"?


Editing to add - no fees on balance regardless so that is not a factor.

 

[Texas Proud]

Anywhere between $3K and $12K depending on how much I owe and when...


For my mom's account I have to keep over $7K because I have two checks totaling close to that that are floating around... add another $7K to bills that have to be paid and we get close to $15K for some decent period of time during the month...

 

[googily]

Just enough to cover the bills.

 

[mamadogmamacat]

actually I do not have no interest checking. MY CU pays (it changes often lately of course with the rate hikes) something like 1.8% on up to 25K and about half that on the amount over 25k. I do not need to keep more than 25k for bills (not even close to that), so all my money is earning something somewhere all the time (until the next correction/bear, etc etc of course hits the investment accounts)

 

[Another Reader]

With a couple dozen rentals, quite a bit, split between three large banks. And more squirreled away in on-line savings. Total cash is in the low six figures. In the house? A crumpled up dollar, a two dollar souvenir bill, and some change. Plastic for daily use.

ETA: The big banks essentially pay no interest. But I can get $20k by walking in the door. The online accounts pay 1.6 to 1.75 percent, last time I checked.

That's not counting the cash in the inherited IRA's set aside for RMD's.

 

[badatmath]

Google tells me "average" is btwn 1K and 9K depending which article I look at. . . guessing I could find one that said anything I wanted it to match!

 

[brett]

$1500. at most. If we need money we simply transfer it from our bank account. We keep that account balance at $10K max. Most of our cash is held in an internet bank HISA. Since retiring we have move most of our accounts away from our historical bank.

 

[pb4uski]

~$10k

 

[RetireAge50]

Just enough to pay whatever is coming up. Transfers from online savings happens overnight (as needed).

 

[calmloki]

Yup, rentals. We are at $43k right now in six accounts. Quarterlies and big repairs kinda eat up a bunch of cash every now and again, and about $23K is deposits from the tenants. If a big set of bills, like quarterlies or property taxes are coming up I hold a month or two of rent in checking; when things are looking good I siphon off cash to the interest bearing accounts and hold it there till I get antsy and we plug it into stocks or a new loan.

 

[audreyh1]

Just enough to cover the bills.

Yeah - pretty much + meet the account minimum for no charges.

Have monthly transfers from high yield savings to checking. These are automated, but updated as needed depending on the variable credit card bills.

 

[Totoro]

Around 10k typically, up to 30k.

 

[flintnational]

Last month was $40k but then we bought a truck. So, $10K.

 

[Golden sunsets]

One month's expenses. Everything else is funneled to a HY savings account.


Sent from my iPad using Early Retirement Forum

 

[athena53]

I do get interest but the amount is laughable. Every 4 months I get expenses for the next 4 months from my brokerage accounts and deposit it. Average balance is maybe $15K since it's not just current expenses but "reserves" for various things such as property taxes, state and federal tax estimates and OOP medical expenses that I accumulate over time and spend when needed. I get nervous if it falls under $5K.

 

[badatmath]

Okay I am convinced I will move some on out. . . thanks for answering.

 

[scrabbler1]

The minimum daily balance for my local bank's checking account is $1,500. I keep at least $2,000 in the account with the extra $500 as a buffer, or cushion, to cover any small, unforeseen expenses. It's my first-tier emergency fund.


How much over the $2,000 is in at a given time depends on the time of the month and if I need to carry forward a previous month's excess to cover a future month's larger, lumpier expense.


Anything over $2,000 I don't need to keep in there to cover a lumpier expense I move out and put into something which generates an actual return, usually a bond fund.


Right now, I am at low point for the month because my last regular monthly expense was just paid and I won't get a new infusion of money until the (May) monthly dividend arrives a few days into the next month (June).

 

[mrfeh]

$1000

 

[bizlady]

One month expenses plus $200-$500

 

[RunningBum]

Usually in the $10K-$20K range. As interests rates get higher, I'll manage it better, but when MM rates were well below 1% it just wasn't at all worth it. If PF MM or savings paid more I'd do it, but I don't want the delay of external transfers.

Plus, my PenFed checking pays some dividends, but not every month. I still haven't figured out why it does some months and not others. Something to do with deposits maybe? My balance rarely dips below $10K.

 

[COcheesehead]

0

I use a cash management account with Billpay tied to my brokerage account at Fido. Cash earns 1.82% right now. Trying to make every penny work for me.

 

[Gumby]

Right now, about $60k. I would normally manage it a little more tightly, but we're about to drop $25k on painting the exterior of the house and refinishing the wood floors.

 

[bclover]

Just enough to pay whatever is coming up. Transfers from online savings happens overnight (as needed).

that's me. I have a part time gig so my paycheck gets directly deposited. not much. anywhere from 800-1000.

 

[kaneohe]

. . . but then what is "too much" ? 1.5% interest (from moving it to savings) is hardly a going to make me wealthy so may be worrying about nothing.

..........................................

so true! I keep $1100 at bank checking. $1K of that keeps the safe deposit box free. At credit union checking, pension checks/bond fund monthly dividends pretty much balance out 5 utility/health insurance bills so keep $200 or so for cash withdrawals. At broker, monthly SS and dividends provide the bulk to pay cc bills but usually have to import some funds periodically to keep up. I try to do this on a timely basis to maximize interest earned in linked acct
but avoid margin interest in brokerage acct.

At the moment I am trying to educate DW on how the accounts are linked and how to make transfers. The process is painful enough at times that the thought crossed my mind on how much easier it would be if there were larger balances so the transfers did not need to be made so "often". As you observed, even if I kept 10K balance in the checking accounts, at 1.5% interest
I would lose $150/yr in interest before tax, perhaps a bit over $100 after tax.
A possible problem might be that if you don't have to worry about the balances so often, you might not worry at all until things bounced or in our case, the margin interest bit.

 

[mystang52]

300 - $1000. I keep some 15,000 in the same bank's MMA that pays 1.5%, so I can make an instant transfer if needed. And I have a fail-safe overdraft protection (many years since I ever used it) so no worries about forgetting to make a transfer.