Best Personal Finance Idea of the Year

One of my favorite bloggers, Mrs. Micah, has a great collective post today. She's asked bloggers and readers to submit the best PF idea we've come across this year.

Over the last couple of years a major bank has run television ads stating that they will round up your checking account withdrawal amounts and put that in your savings account. I guess it's supposed to be a way to help people save money. Of course, the bank charges a fee for doing this.

I was intrigued by this idea. But, I didn't want to pay a fee, and I really didn't want the money to go into my savings account. What I was looking for was more along the lines of a credit line, but you very well know that more credit was the absolute last thing that I needed. I was looking for a way to make sure I always had at least $100 in my checking account. So, I made this idea my own. Whenever I make a withdrawal or write a check, I round up in my check register. So if the check was $10.01, I enter $11.00 in my register. Also, when I make a deposit, I round down. If the deposit is $90.52, I round it down to $90. This way I always have a small "cushion" in my checking account. It's come in handy especially when I used to make frequent ATM withdrawals.