I was talking with my younger sister today about savings/checking accounts and how low the balances have to be before we start to feel "uncomfortable".
She was saying that her and her husband were fine with spending their checkbook down to zero right before the next paycheck, and that they have no savings. They have a nice home, two nice, reliable cars, really good secure jobs with the hospital, and fantastic health insurance. Anyway, she said that was why they weren't too worried about savings, because it would be exteremly unlikely that they would ever lose their jobs.
On the other hand, I have a friend who will not let her savings dip below $30000!! (No, I am not kidding!) She will save up for expenses such as a $120 dental appointment or make payments instead of letting her balance dip below that!
I, however, always have to have something in savings at all times. I try to keep at least $1000 in savings, but usually try and have more. We are currently working on building up 3 months of DH's income as an emergency fund. (We're almost at two months income!!! ) I do spend my checkbook down basically within $20 or so on the day before my husband gets paid, but I know that I always have money to cover it in savings, just in case. So, I guess I would have to say that the least amount I would be comfortable with in savings is $1000, and in checking, I am fine with being down to the wire, so to speak.
So my question is this: How close do you have to be to the "financial edge" before you begin to feel uncomfortable?

I like having cash on hand just in case. So we have a savings account stashed away. And then we always have extra in our checking account. I just like knowing we have the "security" if needed.

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$2K in my EF, then another $100 in my check book. If my check book gets to $0, I really have $100, but I've never let it get that low in the past 2+ years.

That being said I am really not comfortable with those numbers. I will rest much easier when I have about $10K in an EF.

We have an extra $2000 in our checking account that is not written in the register. (It's a bonus DH received over 8 yrs ago). We never get close to spending it but its there if we ever happen to need it. We also have a savings account but never touch it.

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Here's my breakdown where I feel comfortable:
Emergency Fund: $10,000-$15,000
Money Market Savings: $5,000-$8,000
ING Account: Growing
Checking at the end of month: $250.00

The bulk of our other money is in our retirement funds.

I think it's pretty risky of your friend and husband to live on the edge like that. They may feel their jobs are secure, but you really can't know for sure. Anything can happen. Illness, accidents, etc. or business going under.

Did you ever think to take that money and place it in a higher interest CD or even an ING account where you can earn over 3.5%. If you're checking account doesn't offer interest (and if it does it's probably very little) you're not gaining anything on it. Just a thought.

We are pretty much live on the edgers. But we are really trying to change that!
Usually our checking account doesn't go below 200-300, but when I was working part time last semester (teacher) it went as low as 30 and I was FREAKING OUT.

I would be very uncomfortable with no savings and less than $500 in checking. But, I supose if you have available credit on a credit card that would cover emergencies it wouldnt be horrible.
Personally, we try to keep at least two months of expenses in savings to avoid ever needing to use a credit card. When we do have to use some of it we "borrow' it from ourselves and pay it back in 1 or 2 payments or however long it takes.

My husband is more like your friend. When we were first married he said we couldn't start having kids until we had $10k in the bank, and his number just keeps growing. "But we don't have three months of income saved!" Our checking account gets pretty low sometimes though, because he is so proactive about transferring it to a higher interest account.

We keep at least $200 in checking and $6-7,000 in MM at all times.