Checking account buffers
Once you go 1099, your income becomes a little more variable.
I say a little more because in the federal space, your work is pretty consistent and likely near full time.
But, there are months where you take a vacation and that means you'll get paid maybe 50% less than a normal full time month.
If you normally get paid $20,000/month and you take a two week vacation, you'll get paid $10,000.
This is not a big deal overall, but if your expenses stay constant and say they exceed $10,000, you will have to transfer in money from savings or elsewhere to cover the difference.
I used to do this early on in my 1099 career, but it became annoying to do it because some months I'd save say $10,000 but then another month I'd have to transfer $5,000 out of savings back into checking.
It made it hard to get the big picture of my finances and plan for investments, savings, etc.
A few years ago I took a page out of Ramit Sethi's personal finance automation system and just stuck approximately two months worth of expenses in my checking account and then automated everything.
This way I didn't have to worry about "having" enough in the account if my pay fluctuated. The average balance remained about the same.
I recommend you do the same. It will lower your administrative overhead and you focus more on enjoying your life.
Want the full playbook? Check out Going 1099.