Since, in the short run, the most productive place to put my pay is my checking account (2.75% yield):
On an excel sheet representing my checking account, I have 6 columns:
Emergency Fund, Dental Fund, Slush Fund, Subtotal, Checking, Total (Subtotal + Checking = actual checking balance).
Each payday I add an amount to emergency, dental, and Slush. As bills are paid, they come out of checking, or if they are
irregular (like vacation), they come out of "slush". Obviously, pay the dentist out of "dental".
Emergency + Dental + Slush = Subtotal (these are virtual accounts)
Subtotal + "Checking" (unallocated) = Total Balance When "checking" is negative, I have overspent. In some cases I have to remove from "slush" and place in "checking".
Emergency Fund gets invested when it's large enough (Jan 1 into an IRA).