It boils down to the relationship you have with your money. For me, bigger bankroll = higher score. For my wife, a bigger bankroll = more shopping. The tr

It boils down to the relationship you have with your money. For me, bigger bankroll = higher score. For my wife, a bigger bankroll = more shopping. The trick is to break your money up into several purpose-driven accounts and automate that. 2 Roth IRAs: maxed out (Vanguard S&P500 Index. 1 more year and it'll be 70/30 split with bonds). 1 brokerage: for fun, for research, for programming. Unfunded, no continuing additions. Go big or go home. 3 checking accounts: mine, wife's, joint - the paychecks 2 MMAs: mine, wife's - excess money must go somewhere. One of which is sub-divided into: health, gifts, emergency. 2 savings accounts: tiny siphons ($300/mo) that corrupt my sense of reality. It's money-out that looks like normal transactions. Hacks: By having a high-deducible health insurance plan, I'm able to put 3k/yr that would have been my insurance premium into a health-related emergency fund. As long as I don't get injured in an at-fault car accident twice in one year, I'm saving tons of money Edit: formatting.