"Unlike businesses, there is no concept of saving money in the bank to build up a war chest"
OTOH, if you're running a lab and are actually hands-on, unlike the management of Chris G's sister's lab, you use the end-of year surplus to buy routine consumables that aren't going to have a limited shelf-life; microscope slides and cover-slips were examples in may case. Some of the money you might otherwise have spent on those next year then becomes your contingency fund.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
