The Notgroschen, the emergency penny, is money put aside for purchases nobody planned. The consumer advice centers, the Verbraucherzentralen, explain it in a series for young people, Auf eigenen Füßen: Laura zieht aus, On Her Own Feet: Laura Moves Out. Laura comes of age, starts work and is responsible for everything herself for the first time. Then the washing machine suddenly breaks down, the fridge stops working, or the smartphone screen stays dark. For such cases, the advice is a buffer of two to three months’ salary. It is best kept in an overnight savings account, a Tagesgeldkonto. The money does not belong under the pillow or in the coffee tin. The centers call the amount a rule of thumb that depends on each person’s situation.