# Plan the lowest balance


Use this record with the worked examples first. For personal use, keep private financial details in your own secure records; the blank file does not need account numbers or credentials.

| Record field | Your observation |
|---|---|
| Pay dates and amounts |  |
| Required bills by date |  |
| Lowest projected checking balance |  |
| Known annual bills |  |
| First useful reserve target |  |
| Transfer amount and date |  |
| Access time and fees |  |
| Actual emergency withdrawal |  |
| Rebuild amount and review date |  |

### Try a different payday calendar

Before reading the answer, sketch the running balance. A household starts with a $200 checking cushion, receives $1,200 on the first, spends $1,450 before the fifteenth, receives another $1,200 and spends $850 afterward. Assume no fees, interest or other transactions. What is the lowest balance? What is the month-end balance? Can a planned $50 savings transfer on the second proceed without a shortage?

Then consider a separate $480 annual bill due in four months, with nothing reserved. Calculate the monthly provision and identify which part of the apparent surplus it uses. Treat this bill as additional to the listed spending.

### Check the dates as well as the total

The running balances are $1,400, −$50, $1,150 and $300. The $300 ending balance includes the original $200 cushion: only $100 was added during the month. The negative $50 is an uncovered obligation in the plan, not permission to overdraw. A $50 transfer on the second would deepen the first-half gap to $100. A feasible due-date change, additional starting cash or another real adjustment must come first.

The annual bill needs $120 monthly. Because the household's monthly surplus before that provision is only $100, it is $20 short before any emergency saving. Using the existing cushion might temporarily pay a bill but would not create a recurring surplus. The plan needs a specific change rather than an automatic transfer based on the $300 ending display.

Finally, suppose an independent $400 emergency reserve pays a necessary $175 repair. It falls to $225. Seven later $25 deposits restore $400 if nothing else changes. Record the withdrawal and its purpose; rebuilding is part of using the fund, not a penalty for doing so.