Putting money aside "just in case" or relying on credit cards?

I’ve tried the “bucket” thing with my savings, and honestly, it’s a mixed bag. On one hand, it’s kind of satisfying to see a little pile growing for each goal—like, “hey, that’s my insulation fund right there.” But after a while, I started feeling like I was just shuffling digital envelopes around. Sometimes I’d forget which bucket was for what, or end up raiding one for something urgent anyway. Maybe it works better if you’re super organized, but I found a single emergency stash plus a loose “project” pot keeps things simpler. Anyone else get analysis paralysis from too many categories?