[Tapin]

* Every week, I take 10% of my winnings from the past week (if any) and put them into my checking account. This keeps my wife approving of the poker hobby.
* Big tournament wins are used to pay off credit cards. This has happened exactly once.
* Poker-related purchases (everything from books to the 'poker laptop' to Vegas flight tickets) are paid for out of the bankroll.
* Occasionally the bankroll is used to pay for a family trip, typically to take my daughter to see her grandparents.

Basically, since my bankroll is much greater than what I need for the limits that I'm playing at, the excess is treated as "mad cash" and used for things that would otherwise severly deplete checking or savings, or require me to use a credit card. Surprisingly, my overall credit rating has actually improved while I've been playing. I'm not exactly paying my bills with my play (not even close to that), but it's certainly eased the load on my general finances.

I'm sure most poker book authors would disapprove of the frequency with which I remove money from the pool -- or at least that's the impression I get from reading Feeny's treatise on why tournaments are bad for poker.