We normally get paid on the first of every month and this has worked out fine every month until this one. The first of this month was a Sunday, so normally we would get paid on the next business day….except that this month it happens to be Labor Day.

A holiday!!!

So there is no paycheck in my account today. I was a bit worried and logged in to our system and noticed it said we are actually getting paid on the third..which is Tuesday.  Sigh of relief!

This would have bothered me a lot more if I did not have a buffer in my account, because I have a number of things that are set to be paid on the first of the month.

I make the transfers for my car loan and car insurance on the first of the month and ‘pay’ my rent on that day as well. Technically I pay the rent on my credit card and then my account actually pays the credit card on the 7th..but that is a different post.

I usually keep about $200 as a buffer in my checking account because I have been getting my income on a regular basis. For some reason I decided to increase it to $500 recently and this came in VERY handy as the transfers that happened on the 1st were about half of that.

This just reinforces why it is important to have a buffer in your account. A buffer takes care of unforeseen things like a paycheck coming in late or something being withdrawn twice. It gives you a little bit of security if there is a glitch in your account because you do not have to go into overdraft and be hit with a number of fees.

Do you have a buffer in your checking account?