System 01: Saving foundations and the household money system
Start here: how a household money system works, the one number that tells you it is working, and the small set of habits everything else on this site hangs from.
The system guide
Working guides in this system
Saving foundations An Emergency Fund for Households, Explained Without the Hype What an emergency fund is, what it is for, where to keep it, and how households build one gradually alongside everyday saving. Saving foundations Cash Buffers: Smoothing the Uneven Months A buffer turns lumpy bills and uneven income into a level monthly amount. How to size it, build it and use it without raiding it. Saving foundations House Rules for Money: Five Agreements That Do the Saving for You Five simple household agreements - on subscriptions, waiting periods, windfalls, renewals and meetings - that save money without daily debate. Saving foundations Needs, Wants and the Grey Area Between A calmer way to sort household spending: judge by what happens if you stop paying, handle the grey area honestly, and argue less. Saving foundations Pay Yourself First, Explained Simply Move money to savings on payday, before spending begins. How the payday transfer works, how to size it, and what to do when income varies. Saving foundations Saving When Money Is Tight: Small Systems That Still Work When there is little spare, the big versions of saving systems break. Here are the small versions that survive a tight season. Saving foundations Systems Beat Willpower: Saving by Design, Not by Guilt Why routines, defaults and automation save more reliably than daily discipline, and how to redesign one money decision at a time. Saving foundations The Household Bill Calendar: Every Payment on One Page One page listing every regular payment, its date, amount and account. How to build it, keep it current, and use it to stop surprise bills. Saving foundations The Keep Rate: The One Number That Shows If Your System Works The keep rate is the share of take-home pay your household does not spend. This guide shows how to calculate it, read it honestly and improve it slowly. Saving foundations The Monthly Money Meeting: Thirty Minutes That Run the System A fixed thirty-minute monthly meeting with a simple agenda: last month, this month, one change. How to run it without it becoming an argument. Saving foundations Where Does the Money Go? A One-Hour Household Spending Audit A one-hour audit that sorts the last three months of household spending into fixed, flexible and forgotten, so you can see the leaks before you fix them.