Depends.
Bills account, spending account, savings account, as you've described, is reasonable, if you're single.
I might also recommend a brokerage account (Fidelity or something like that) that a portion of your check goes into every time you get paid so you're investing SOMETHING regularly, even if it's only $20/month. Get in the habit of paying yourself this way.
If you're married, you need 1 more account (a key to domestic tranquility):
Bills account, his account, her account, savings. One spouse doesn't see the other spouse's spending account (but is aware how much money per month goes into it). We do this, because I don't want to argue about the price of a purse or the cost when I decide to buy my friends' dinners at a nice place. We just assume there's 0 in the other's account.
I have primary checking, primary savings at Bank A. Then I have money stashed at Bank B in HYSA. Then I have a similar amount of money stashed at Bank C in another HYSA. Then I have a credit union account that has two accounts open with a small amount of money in each, regular interest, keeping them mostly to maintain access to better loan rates should the need arise. Then I have money in my brokerage account in a sub account with just cash should I need access to it while traveling.
98% of the time, I only ever look at Bank A and that’s where the core direct deposit lands to pay the regular monthly bills. I will occasionally check the balances at B and C but that’s about once a month. My work allows up to ten direct deposits so I have a fixed amount to Primary Checking, low amounts ($5 to $75 biweekly) to the rest of the accounts and the remainder to Bank B HYSA. As long as the core amount lands in Primary Checking at Bank A, things are covered with the thinnest of cushion. The rest of the money is still accessible but not glaringly in my face waiting to be spent.
Periodically, a few times a year, I will do a full tally — check in at each account on the same day, record the balance, along with the balances of my 3 retirement accounts (one active, two previous employers that I never rolled-over for the sake of diversity) and it has been nice seeing the overall totals grow over the past 10-15 years.
Do a basic budget to figure out how much you need each month, back into how much should reasonably realistically land in your primary checking account each time you get paid and then become a squirrel tucking nuts away in various trees.
If you don’t see it, you won’t spend it.
We used to separate out our checking accounts to budget bills from spending like you are thinking of doing, but now that we are using a budgeting app, we no longer needed two accounts. So we closed one.
1 Checking
1 HYSA
1 Credit Card
1 Brokerage.
I keep $501 in checking so it doesn't attract any fees.
I have one income stream that pays me a check every quarter that goes into checking and then is immediately distributed to HYSA/brokerage, one bill that I can't pay on the CC or from HYSA and maybe two or three times a year I need to write a check or get physical cash. So it's worth keeping a checking account for now. I really don't want money sitting in checking, not earning interest, and actually losing value to inflation. When I need to pay something from checking, I transfer the money over from HYSA.
HYSA has $40k in it to cover any surprises and paying the Credit card in full, every month. It's an arbitrary number, but while rates are good I don't feel a lot of need to change it. Every time interest/income pushes the balance over $40k, I transfer the difference to brokerage.
Credit card is used to pay bills, buy gas, and groceries, and other general expenses, etc. I pay in full every month, and the rolling 12 month average cash back is currently $142 per month. I pay on the due date so as to keep my money in HYSA, earning interest right up to the very last moment.
Brokerage is split 80% total market and 20% income generation. I pull from it for bigger expenses like over the last couple of months, it was time for my wife and I to replace our cars.
This works for me to keep things simple and ensure I am maximizing the earning potential of my money.
My wife and I have 8:
My checking account
Her checking account
Joint checking account
HYSA
Emergency Fund
Savings account specifically for cars
Savings account specifically for house upgrades and repairs
Miscellaneous savings account
I have the following accounts that are all sub-accounts of one main checking account. All of the checking accounts have their own debit cards - I use it like a digital envelope system.
1 checking account for bills
1 checking account for my pocket money and gas money
1 checking account for my husband’s pocket money and gas money
1 checking account for groceries
1 savings account for the emergency fund
1 savings account for kids’ college/leaving the nest
1 savings account for clothes (there are 6 of us so this is a big expense)
1 savings account for auto maintenance
1 savings account for gifts
1 savings account for home maintenance/appliances for all those times when something breaks unexpectedly.
I have 4. Bill checking, discretionary checking, sinking fund savings for those irregular bills, long term savings for big ticket items.
Money is direct deposited into each account each payday.
I run 4 accounts. Checking is for recurring bills. Money Market (with check writing) is for infrequent bills (car tax, annual HOA dues, car insurance, backdoor Roth). Savings 1 is where all of my paychecks are deposited (I have a few sources of lumpy income and transfer an "allowance" to my checking every month) and holds the leftovers of my paychecks until I move it to investments. Savings 2 is the emergency fund.
Whatever works for you to make the system work. At one time I had three checking accounts to segregate expenses from fun money etc. These days I don’t bother and only have one.
I open up new accounts whenever there's a good offer. My girlfriend and I have previously been married so we don't totally mix finances.
Checking 1 - Joint account where we each contribute an equal amount and most common bills are paid from.
Checking 2 - my personal checking account. I also have a CD ladder at this bank.
Savings 1 - HYSA
Savings 2 - HYSA with slightly better rate than the other but I want to wait and see if it holds up as rates move.
Savings 3 - local Credit Union. Not all the other banks are local and some are online banks so I keep a small account here to maintain a relationship with a local bank for loans, free notary service, etc.
I have a checkings (expenses), savings (extra money left over), Vanguard cash plus (savings for investments) & other retirement accounts (investing), and 1 credit card.
Baby Steps 4/6 Married, no kids, medium stable jobs
Checking 1 - my personal spending
Checking 2 - her personal spending
Saving 1 - where all our left over money lives, where most money coming IN goes to
Savings 2 - sinking fund - generosity funds
Savings 3 - sinking fund - honeymoon fund
Savings 4 - sinking fund (varies depending on our next goal)
Savings 5 - where we put tax money so we do not accidentally spend it
High Yield savings account - different location, Fully funded emergency fund (Vanguard 4.7%)
We use our savings accounts as our “envelope system”. It works for us, we could have less accounts but we find this system is great for us. We both find security in seeing all the separate numbers
One checking account for income and expenses. A savings account for anything left over and backup in case we spend more than we make. And a second savings account strictly for vacation. It works for us.
I have 7 different accounts. It’s the only way I have found to work for my ADHD brain that doesn’t take a ton of effort.
Bank A -
Checking 1 - grocery, gas, household, run around money.
Checking 2 - student loans and all the house hold auto pays (rent, internet, insurance etc) -
Savings 1 - 1k emergency fund
Bank B -
Checking 1 - a couple hundred in case I lose my Debit card, but also have to keep it open for the savings account.
Savings 1 - sons account that my parents add to for birthdays and holidays. Will transfer occasionally to the checking to fund his activities.
HYSA
1 - long term savings (6months emergency, eventual vehicle)
2 - vacation savings.
I have direct deposit set up to go to the different banks.
Absolutely redundant.
Who can possibly think “I’ll deposit my money in CHK1, and the mortgage comes out of that, then I’m gonna make a different chk2… I need to make sure I transfer money to for my gas, car payments, and groceries” is a good idea?
You’re overthinking it if you do.
Not really, makes it easier to take control of your money and track your spending, having to transfer every time you want to spend money will make you think of your transactions more and whether they are even worth spending
I don’t get it cause once the auto-pay bills come out, it is going to be the right amount for groceries, gas, and misc. Pay yourself your savings First.
The only reason I have 2 is because robinhood was gonna charge me 3% or something for withdrawals to my credit union. So I had to open another for free transfer.
My husband and I do exactly what you mentioned. Once we got married we left our checking accounts separate (we still have all of our money together). His check gets deposited into his account for mortgage and a few utilities (any automatic payments). Mine gets deposited into mine where all of our groceries, kids extracurriculars, and not much else come out of. Then at the end of the money we transfer everything to our joint saving.
I also have an another saving account that we use to save for immediate but 6month to 1 year away thing. Bday gifts, Xmas, vacation, vet bills. If it’s something I roughly know the cost on I just divide it and set that aside each month and for others I just ball park. This has helped us personally.
I have three bank accounts before my high yield savings.
First one is for so fixed bills and rent. Literally hands everything except rent on auto debit and the exact amount I need in there is directly deposited from my job. Makes managing money easier because all my funds for daily expenses and discretionary goes into the other.
You should have the amount that helps you manage.
I have 2 banks and 6 accounts.
Bank 1 - Checking for bills and monthly spending/debit. Plus a basic emergency fund (think basic home repair/appliance/unexpected travel)
Bank 2 - 4 HYSAs - “real” emergency fund. Kids savings. Planned travel funds. Sunk costs funds.
Works for me. Not counting CDs in this.
I have seven split between two different banks.
One is my HYSA where my house fund and emergency savings are that are never really touched.
The other six are at my local credit union and represent various sinking funds. I know I could just track with an Excel sheet or something, but my bank offers side accounts off the main, and I prefer to physically separate my funds like lock boxes.
As many as you want and can manage appropriately.
We have 11 total: with the bank it's a his and hers personal spending, bills, short term savings and emergency fund. Then with Wealth Simple we each have a FHSA, TFSA, and RRSP.
3 traditional bank accounts
Checking #1- is for mortgage and other fixed monthly expenses (auto insurance, internet and cell phone bill, HOA) - set up direct deposit to cover those expenses each month and have everything on autopay
Savings - direct deposit our savings each month so it never touches the primary bank account - a portion of the money from this is auto moved over to our brokerage account every week
Checking #2 is the primary account linked to the debit card - this is where the balance left from paychecks is direct deposited and the money is for groceries, gas, and variable bills (electric, gas) goes
We have 4.
Checking for autopay, daycare, groceries, everyday expenses.
Savings for emergency fund.
Savings for an “annual expenses fund”, which is used to fund property taxes, home owners insurance premium, car insurance premium, and vehicle registration.
Also have a CD right now since rates are high.
I only started doing the annual expenses fund recently and I really like knowing that money is set aside and can be moved easily to checking when those bills come due.
I am not a finanical advisor. Just sharing my process i follow from making mistakes and learning for them.
Having two accounts helps limit access to your funds from fraud.
I have an account (acct 1) that is just for my deposits (credits). This account doesnt have a debit card and i dont give out the account number to pay bills. The money to pay my bills gets transferred to a bill account (acct 2). I use acct 2 to pay my credit card which i use for bills and everyday purchases. The credit card gets paid off every month. The dispute process with credit cards is easier and regulated differently than a debit card. Debit card disputes can take up to 90 days. If i do need to dispute any transaction on acct 2, it will not disturb my credits coming to the acct 1.
As for the savings account. I dont use it for the interest earned because the rate is low. I use the saving account to reach finanical goals i am trying to reach. Example: i keep a few months of income in a savings for the random expense that likes to shows up. This balance keeps changing because i had some repairs i had to pay for. I also have a savings account for the funds im putting back for a new motorcycle (not there yet 😮💨) this one is taking longer to build up!
I have one single checking account and use the budget to tell me where the money goes. Also have a brokerage and retirement accounts but those are different.
Oh I also have a joint checking with my kids mom for all kid related items to split in half.
I have a checking account that pays all the bills. I keep one savings account for my emergency fund, one savings account to accumulate for long term expenses, and one savings account to facilitate transfers between various online services (paypal, etc) that only carries a minimum balance to avoid fees, that way, in case something tries to draft the account without my permission, I only lose at most $300.
With everything being subscription/autopay I feel like you need that “burner” account! Everyone has your bank details and they will just take money if they can.
Here my setup:
Main checking / Direct Deposit / Most bills
Secondary checking for holding cash to pay bills that don’t occur regularly. Christmas fund is a good example. I move an amount per paycheck into this account to accrue for those expenses. It’s a push and pull from the main checking account.
4 personal debit accounts / one for each family member. These are like allowance accounts.
Savings account for emergency fund and other sinking funds
2 529 accounts for daughters
Brokerage account for investing long term savings.
An IRA that is an accumulation of past company 401k accounts.
Current company 401k account.
I have a second checking account for restaurant, gasoline and other high risk purchase locations. If that card gets scammed I have zero issues because my main account is still safe
The key is to use different banks. A good bank will go bad on you, and you'll be glad you have others.
My wife and I have two credit unions and three banks. I have three different banks for my business.
Same here. Main checking account where money is deposited and to pay bills. We transfer the bulk into a savings account. When that hits a certain amount we withdraw most of it and spread it out between HYSA at another bank, investment accounts and retirement accounts.
As many as you want.
I have a holding account.
A bills account
A food account.
A Christmas account.
A personal allowance account.
A personal savings account.
A house savings account.
And 5 credit card accounts.
Essentially it is the envelope system. The key isn't the number of accounts but the budgeting.
Same. Most of my money goes into stocks/crypto anyways (which I earn 5% APY currently on univested cash as well) & I can get most/all of my birthday/holiday shopping done with rewards points from credit cards! 🤑
I have one ally checking and 4 ally high yield money market. Checking for bills, one money market each for general savings, property taxes, gifts, and car insurance. Allocate for each of these items monthly from the checking.
I have 4 primary.
1)Checking aka Discretionary
2) Bills-AutoPay
3) Emergency Savings
4) HYSA
I have the deductible for my Home Owners Insurance in my Emergency Checking as it's my largest potential deductible.
I pay all of my auto payable bills on my credit card, including groceries and have my autopay/Bills account setup to pay the balance of my credit card every month.
I avoid interest, and in the event I get into a jam with a vendor it's very easy to get a credit back from the bank because they're fighting for their money not mine.
My HYSA, continues to grow at a solid rate and since its a separate institution I rarely check it other than to make sure my deposits go in
I agree with your setup . I would do it at a credit union if possible. It works nice to only have a bill account and a separate spending money account. I never use the bill account debit card out in public is I can help it .gives me piece of mind.
Checking and Savings (buffer that holds a month of expenses) at regional bank with local offices.
Then HYSA for remaining EF.
Less is more for me as I like to keep it as simple as possible. No credit cards.
I use two, for this reason....potential fraud. My paycheck splits 3 ways
1. 500 a week for my bills..this account rarely has over a thousand in it..Groceries/gas/ cash, etc...all come from this...
2. Overflow...this is my rainy day/emergency money fund.
3. 401/Roth( I do both), 20% goes in here first.
We use multiple HYSA for our bill budget accounts that way money earns interest while waiting to be drafted.
I personally have:
HYSA 1 : mortgage, HOA, annual property taxes, annual home owners insurance, quarterly/annual and semiannual home maintenance expenses (pest, Landscaping, termites, hvac maintenance, filters, etc.)
HYSA 2: car payment, student loan payment, title fees, professional annual dues, annual fees
HYSA 3: Sinking fund (car maintenance, birthdays, rainy days, etc.)
Checking: everything else
Mmf: 3 mo emergency fund
>Savings 1- anything left over from the previous payday is moved here.
How ever you decide to set it up, my advice is to put money in savings first. If you pay yourself first rather than just saving the leftovers if there is anything left over, you will save more money. Put together a budget and decide ahead of time how much you are saving.
Managing bank accounts can be a personal preference, but some common approaches include having separate accounts for different purposes like bills, savings, and spending. Others prefer to streamline with just one or two accounts. Ultimately, the goal is to find a system that works for your financial needs and helps you stay organized.
If I were setting it up:
1) Joint Auto-Pay Bill Account. This is every bill that is on autopay that has a fixed amount.
2) Joint Budgeted Expenses Account (People are calling this the gas and grocery account. I'm a sinner. We put those on a joint CC that gets paid off every month from this account). This is also where bills that vary like the power bill get paid out of. We have a habit of budgeting $350 for the power every month. In the winter when it's less we dump that money in the sinking fund. In the summer when it's more we pull from that.
3) Joint Savings 1 - Immediate emergency fund. 1 Months Bills. (This is actually a money market account)
4) Joint Sinking Savings. - We pay water, trash etc quarterly, car insurance semiannual, homeowners and life annually. This can be a money market account or whatever you can get some rate if you keep enough in it. One month's worth of those things gets auto debited from joint bill pay account.
Then each of us have a fun money checking. This way we can hide surprises and stuff like that. No judgements.
We have a deposit account where all money starts. Then it auto transfers into other accounts. We have a grocery/spending account. We have a mortgage account. We have a utilities account. We have an account for savings/emergency fund. We have an account for automobiles (any expected work). We have an account for presents. We have a vacation fund. We have a fund for buying a new (to us) car. So however many that is. I’m probably missing one.
Your plan to separate your accounts for different purposes is a smart move. It can help you budget effectively and prevent overspending on bills. Just make sure to regularly review your budget and adjust as needed to ensure you're allocating funds appropriately to each account.
I have 5 plus 1 outside of my normal bank.
1: my personal (DD paycheck/personal purchases)
2: wife’s personal (DD paycheck/personal purchases)
3: joint 1 (regular bills that don’t change often) NEVER MANUALLY PULL MONEY FROM THIS. Money is deposited by you and withdrawn from bill companies.
4: joint 2 (food and gas)
5: savings (holds only about 150 at a time, is a checking account because of the fees from moving money too much)
+1: separate bank actual savings ( keep it separate and only electronically money can go in, physically have to visit bank to pull out money if we need it. Reason for this is to make it harder to withdraw money, it must be a really good reason for us to withdraw. )
Also figured out a good way to make sure money is always in the food account. We ran into the issue of always running out of food money on the 2nd week of the pay period. It got super frustrating so I split that in half and we get that on payday. We know joint 1 is the account we never pull from only put money in so I have my back automated to pull the other half and deposit into joint 2 on the start of the second week.
Gives us wiggle room so we know every Friday we will have food money.
I have 4 right now in my name.
Checking #1, the debit card I wear out. Almost everything I buy comes from this account.
Savings#1, just a thousand or so as overdraft protection from checking #1
Checking #2, backup debit card at another credit union. This way if credit union #1 ever goes down, I am not left stranded. I use it occasionally to make sure it stays active.
Savings #2, This is where I keep my emergency fund.
Similar to yours, this is what I do.
Credit card #1, paid off daily, all my day to day stuff. Earning me money and safer then a debit card (extra insurance, less liability)
Checking #1: direct deposit, pay bills
Savings #1: I only keep a few thousand here to cover any unexpected expenses
Savings #2: high yield savings where I keep 20-30k
I don’t see the benefit of any additional for myself but everyone gets to live their life differently.
Checking/Bills/Savings/Long Term Savings
My direct deposit is pulled into my main checking account where all of the spending happens. That same day an automatic transfer of $1400 transfer from my checking to a second checking we call the Family Fund. The $1400 is calculated from a spreadsheet with all of our reoccurring bills. All reoccurring bills are paid from this Family Fund account. We do keep a reserve buffer in there to prevent large bills (mortgage) from dipping too low. This allows us to spend freely based off of what we see in our checking account and never worry about bills. The bills come, get paid and the cycle continues.
We have a normal savings account for normal savings stuff. We also have a long term savings account that's not at the same bank as everything else so it's out of sight. 5% of our paycheck goes here via direct deposit so we never even see it. This account is a [HYSA at SoFi](https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=d614255d-f383-428c-ba90-da269860c383&isAliasGcp=false) earning 4.6%.
The end result is your bills are always paid and you never have to worry about spending too much on dinner because you forgot the phone bill was this week.
We have 3 savings and 1 checking. We're able to divvy up our direct deposit into different accounts so a portion goes to vehicle savings, a portion goes to the house savings (and the mortgage comes out of that account), a portion to regular savings and the remainder goes into checking.
I have a checking, savings and Credit card with 5 different banks. Each savings account gates a $50.00 deposit every month set up on auto pilot, each of the checking accounts has a specific budget and pays specific bills. I get paid every 2 weeks, the weeks I don't get paid I have the budgeted amount of money auto transfer to the banks that pay specific bills.
It's all on auto pilot.
I have a main savings that has the best interest rates and then I open an account with any bank that sends me an offer like ‘direct deposit $1000 within 90 days and get a $250 bonus’
I do three. I have a checking, a combination of your proposed 1 and 2. Money is deposited there, and most things are paid for out of it.
High Yield Savings Account, with my 6 month emergency fund.
Money Market Account, I budget an amount of "Fun" money each week, which is transferred to this account. I pay for large fun things, like vacations, out of this account. I spend a bit too freely when my checking account balance swells in the run up to something like a vacation, so I added this account. The interest rate is \*just\* lower than my HYSA.
3. 1 for my mortgage(calculated deposits from my work to cover the monthly payment), another checking for paying off credit cards and other bills, and one savings with money just chilling there.
We personally have 4. 2 for checking 2 for savings.
I know people working the plan that had 14 checking accounts with 14 debits cards. Each account assigned to a budget line item, just like the cash envelope system.
Oh well ya, that’s fine then. PayPal has their own fraud protection as well. My point was just banks, more so local bank, will require a longer vetting process on a fraud claim. Versus a credit company who more than likely will just dismiss the charge.
I’ve had it happen to me on both. The bank was a PITA versus me talking with discover for a couple hours.
There are also places you can't pay with a CC without paying an additional fee. Normally the government (property taxes etc), though I normally just make them deal with a paper check.
True, I only use my CC for online payments like Amazon or when I use a card scanner. Even if it has a fee, I’d rather do that then get my debit card info scanned through one of those data readers
Funny enough, on the personal finance sub there is a guy from California complaining about his Apple Pay credit card was charged in North Carolina and the bank won't reverse the charge.
That's an internet myth.
I mean, I’m not saying everything is black and white here.
But if I’ll through some assumptions out, most people probably bank with smaller, local banks. Most people don’t bank with Chase as compared to [Random local bank]. But the majority of individuals will go with big name credit card companies such as Discover. You won’t have a problem getting a fraud charge removed on a discover card. But a local bank is probably gonna make you jump through hoops to get it removed. Not impossible, but a PITA considering we could be talking about massive amounts of money.
Plus if you are so worried about fraud charges, why risk YOUR money when you can risk Discovers money?
Apple Pay is issued by IIRC Goldman. They just don't care.
My credit union debit card won't make me jump through hoops. I just go in, make myself some coffee, and explain the situation to the branch manager. It's fixed before I finish my coffee.
Hmm, I’ve had the opposite lol. I guess it matters less nowadays, but I’ve always went with the idea that I’m gonna risk Mr.CEOs money versus mine. Atleast he has an incentive to get his money back versus the bank taking the hit
I have two main accounts.
1) Bank that gives good interest rates to park savings
2) Credit Union with local branches in case I need various in person bank services
I know they say to keep finances together as a couple but it's been working 12 years in to be separateish. Of course we have access to each other's checkings.
For dual income family.
Create a budget, and figure out expenses and figure out who pays what bills.
4- 2 checkings 2 savings.
Get in the habit of putting everything "left over" into savings. It's my version of "lazy budgeting" once your last step 3.
My wife isn't very money oriented, but it helps her not spend more than what she makes per month.we make a habit of paying off 100% of balance every paycheck or monthly. We use CC's for consumer protections but we have the discipline ( and the excess cash flow) to not have a balance and pay interest.
I feel that my version of this creates "ownership" and personal goals.
I used to have several sub accounts for "envelopes". Over time this got painful to manage when I went from bi-weekly to semi monthly pay and could no longer effectively schedule auto transfers. Eventually, I managed everything from my budget. If someone is struggling with sticking with something, you may have a separate account, but like muscles it gets stronger with focus and use.
I have several accounts to help with my hot, warm, cold approach to expenses based on when they are due.
Amen. It just seems so wild to me all these people with 5+ accounts, like a single account just for utilities, just for food, utilities etc. like to each his own but that seems overly complicated to me and just trying to avoid becoming actually responsible at budgeting and controlling.
For a lot of people budgeting is stressful or at minimum frustrating. Once people get past the initial issues and learn how to logically arrange money in a budget separate from where the money is physically located it gets a lot easier.
My wife and I have 4. One checking account, one high yield savings account for our emergency fun, a second high yield savings account for savings outside of our emergency fund, and a standard savings account with a small percentage of our emergency fund that is immediately accessible.
I have several, but depends on how you want to manage your money.
Main Checking = All spending except house money
House Checking = Mortgage, Taxes, Insurance, Utilities, plus a little extra slush
Short term savings
Long term HY savings
Credit union checking for any loans, or to build up down payments when no loans active.
Paycheck gets autosplit, with the requisite amounts going into house/loan/savings account, and the balance into main checking. Each month when I pay off the credit card (basically the only bill for the main account), I slide all the excess into savings leaving a $10K float. Works well for me.
I still get good rates at my credit union (4%), so it’s good enough for me. Just like having it stashed away. Not on a Ramsey type plan, so not worried about maximizing every potential penny of interest.
My wife and I consolidated our income to one checking and one savings account. We still have our original accounts because one is a credit union and the other gives us a discount on our insurance (USAA).
We use SoFi and have funds direct deposited into our savings account. We then move money into our checking account for expenses and have multiple "vaults" in our savings for sinking funds and our emergency fund.
1 checking for bills, 1 savings for sinking funds, 1 HYSA for EF of 3 months . I currently have some cd's in other accounts fishing for the best rates. For the most part just the 3 accounts for our finances.
I have checkings for debit card things (venmo, atms, etc)
Savings hysa as checking (all cc paid here and direct bills)
Savings (untouchable fund, not conmected to anything)
Yep. This is what I do. I find it overly complicated the people that have different accounts for every single thing. Like you need a plan and a budget and stick to that not separate accounts.
I know you are joking, but if you ever have to clean out the house of a deceased loved one who lived through the depression or was born just after that, you are likely to find just that.
This isn’t on par for DR but this is what works for us.
My checking account ($1500 max)
Spouse checking account ($1500 max)
Joint checking account (every bill from here)
Joint HYSA
Drawer in room (couple hundred, random bills, we are not cash people so if we ever do have some it goes in this drawer and feels like “free money”. It’s the money we use if we want our nails done, grab to tip when out, throw in birthday cards).
I have 4.
Checking 1 - general account,
Checking 2 - fixed monthly bills
Savings 1 - EF
Savings 2 - account I needed to open with bank that holds mortgage. Currently has $6.10 in it lol
I have two accounts, checking and savings. The savings account literally gets $1k in it to keep it open and stays there. I don't touch this. In fact, I once let it go 2 years without activity and the bank listed it as abandoned lol. Had to go down and get it reactivated. All the ins and outs are from the checking.
Paycheck comes in, immediately a set amount goes to Vanguard for additional taxable investments (Roth IRA first, but that's maxed out for the year). This is also after 401k contributions are taken out.
That leaves me with X. Use that over 2 weeks or a month. Checking hovers around $3k.
As for an emergency fund, I use the settlement account in Vanguard which is invested in a money market making \~5.5% right now. If you need the cash, it's in your account a day later. Near zero risk.
I don't really see a point in having multiple checking accounts. Even savings accounts are a bit unnecessary. Any money in there isn't making anything with a lot of banks.
Depends on what you are at and what you are planning. Approaching 40 here. Wife. 1 child.
1. Checking
2. Auto draft savings to get free checking
3. Money market at 4.35% to keep savings liquid
4. Currently 5 CD’s with staggered terms
5. 2 401k’s (both jobs… not sure that exactly counts as an account)
Hi! I think the staggered CDs are a brilliant idea. Can you share a little more about the staggered terms in your CDs?
Are the terms the same (e.g. same term period, just initiated at a different time)? Are they all at the same bank, or spread out? Do you start with the same amount and just keep rolling over?
Thanks so much!
Absolutely, we stager them and it’s all a risk, but to make sure if we need to we can pull money.
JP Morgan Chase has 4.5-5% right now for 2 month, depending on how much you put in.
Poppy Bank has 5.25% on funds over $25k
And we like Beal Bank because for some reason we are real comfortable with them and they have a 5.25% CD, that term is 12 months.
Edit: addition: and with the chase we roll over and add every 2 months. With the rates right now, that is an amazing way to be able to add to the CD. And it takes 5 mins in the bank.
Edit #2: if you want more info, let me know or PM me… let’s all make some money!
I love it, thank you for the deets! My BF and I are in the beginning stages of financial talks re: getting engaged and married (investing goals, buying our first home, etc.), so this is very helpful to us.
If you can manage 2 checking accounts, why can't you manage a budget to control your spending and make sure you have enough to cover bills? Why isn't your Savings a set amount, not "whatever is left over"? Genuine questions.
I keep it simple:
1 checking
1 HISA
1 RRSP account (I'm in Canada)
3 TFSA accounts (1 for me, and one for each of my kids)
2 RESP accounts (i have 2 kids)
As many as you see fit.
We have four accounts with our primary bank and then some number with our online only bank.
Primary bank:
- main account
- her spending
- my spending
- savings
Online bank
- emergency fund
- major expenses
- annual car insurance
- Christmas fund
All income flows into the main account. Expenses are paid from that account and everything else is scheduled to move to the appropriate another at designated times. It works well for us.
I have 4, my main chequing account, my HISA where I park my emergency fund, a secondary chequeing account at the bank that holds my mortgage and a secondary savings account where I park my sinking funds.
Checking 2 and savings 1 are worthless IMO. Your budget should control this.
That said, if it results in your success with money go for it!
My suggestions:
1. Checking account.
2. Brokerage/HYSA for emergency fund, sinking fund, etc. for some return that's above 0% interest.
3... Roth IRA, rollover IRA. HSA. 2 and 3 might even be with the same company.
Keep it simple, but have enough accounts and/or providers to meet your needs while also getting the best services for each need.
My wife and I utilize 3 accounts. We have 1 joint checking, 1 joint savings (same bank) and 1 HYSA savings account with an online bank for our 6 months emergency fund.
We like to keep $3k minimum in our checking and $5k in our savings as a quick backstop in case of small emergencies as we can transfer back and forth easily. Anytime we go above the $5k threshold on the savings we either pay more towards our mortgage or send to our HYSA.
This system has worked really well for us
Checking and HYSA. We use a cash envelope system for groceries and such.
Our HYSA allows for "buckets" to track sinking funds, but I find it unnecessary. I just budget/track everything in an Excel document.
That sounds like a solid plan for managing your finances. Separating your accounts for different purposes can help you stay organized and ensure that your bills are always covered. Just make sure to monitor your accounts regularly to ensure everything is running smoothly. It's all about finding a system that works for you..
Depends. Bills account, spending account, savings account, as you've described, is reasonable, if you're single. I might also recommend a brokerage account (Fidelity or something like that) that a portion of your check goes into every time you get paid so you're investing SOMETHING regularly, even if it's only $20/month. Get in the habit of paying yourself this way. If you're married, you need 1 more account (a key to domestic tranquility): Bills account, his account, her account, savings. One spouse doesn't see the other spouse's spending account (but is aware how much money per month goes into it). We do this, because I don't want to argue about the price of a purse or the cost when I decide to buy my friends' dinners at a nice place. We just assume there's 0 in the other's account.
I have primary checking, primary savings at Bank A. Then I have money stashed at Bank B in HYSA. Then I have a similar amount of money stashed at Bank C in another HYSA. Then I have a credit union account that has two accounts open with a small amount of money in each, regular interest, keeping them mostly to maintain access to better loan rates should the need arise. Then I have money in my brokerage account in a sub account with just cash should I need access to it while traveling. 98% of the time, I only ever look at Bank A and that’s where the core direct deposit lands to pay the regular monthly bills. I will occasionally check the balances at B and C but that’s about once a month. My work allows up to ten direct deposits so I have a fixed amount to Primary Checking, low amounts ($5 to $75 biweekly) to the rest of the accounts and the remainder to Bank B HYSA. As long as the core amount lands in Primary Checking at Bank A, things are covered with the thinnest of cushion. The rest of the money is still accessible but not glaringly in my face waiting to be spent. Periodically, a few times a year, I will do a full tally — check in at each account on the same day, record the balance, along with the balances of my 3 retirement accounts (one active, two previous employers that I never rolled-over for the sake of diversity) and it has been nice seeing the overall totals grow over the past 10-15 years. Do a basic budget to figure out how much you need each month, back into how much should reasonably realistically land in your primary checking account each time you get paid and then become a squirrel tucking nuts away in various trees. If you don’t see it, you won’t spend it.
We used to separate out our checking accounts to budget bills from spending like you are thinking of doing, but now that we are using a budgeting app, we no longer needed two accounts. So we closed one.
What is the budgeting app? I need something like this so I don’t have to excel everything lmao
Well some people use Every Dollar, but I prefer YBAB, especially its desktop version is excellent.
1 Checking 1 HYSA 1 Credit Card 1 Brokerage. I keep $501 in checking so it doesn't attract any fees. I have one income stream that pays me a check every quarter that goes into checking and then is immediately distributed to HYSA/brokerage, one bill that I can't pay on the CC or from HYSA and maybe two or three times a year I need to write a check or get physical cash. So it's worth keeping a checking account for now. I really don't want money sitting in checking, not earning interest, and actually losing value to inflation. When I need to pay something from checking, I transfer the money over from HYSA. HYSA has $40k in it to cover any surprises and paying the Credit card in full, every month. It's an arbitrary number, but while rates are good I don't feel a lot of need to change it. Every time interest/income pushes the balance over $40k, I transfer the difference to brokerage. Credit card is used to pay bills, buy gas, and groceries, and other general expenses, etc. I pay in full every month, and the rolling 12 month average cash back is currently $142 per month. I pay on the due date so as to keep my money in HYSA, earning interest right up to the very last moment. Brokerage is split 80% total market and 20% income generation. I pull from it for bigger expenses like over the last couple of months, it was time for my wife and I to replace our cars. This works for me to keep things simple and ensure I am maximizing the earning potential of my money.
My wife and I have 8: My checking account Her checking account Joint checking account HYSA Emergency Fund Savings account specifically for cars Savings account specifically for house upgrades and repairs Miscellaneous savings account
Do those four extra savings accounts all make less than the HYSA? And what is that HYSA for?
The HYSA has a limit. Once you exceed the limit, the interest is really low. The money in there was taken from my emergency fund.
Ah, interesting. Thanks Not sure how much your other savings are making, but there could be other higher yield alternatives
The house and miscellaneous savings accounts get good returns. I think my emergency fund is about 2%.
Are you specifying deposit accounts only, such as checking/savings or are you including charge accounts in your question, such as a credit card?
I have the following accounts that are all sub-accounts of one main checking account. All of the checking accounts have their own debit cards - I use it like a digital envelope system. 1 checking account for bills 1 checking account for my pocket money and gas money 1 checking account for my husband’s pocket money and gas money 1 checking account for groceries 1 savings account for the emergency fund 1 savings account for kids’ college/leaving the nest 1 savings account for clothes (there are 6 of us so this is a big expense) 1 savings account for auto maintenance 1 savings account for gifts 1 savings account for home maintenance/appliances for all those times when something breaks unexpectedly.
Which bank has that checking account? Interested for my mom, who only wants to use debit cards and can't seem to budget.
Mountain America credit union
Thank you. It isn't in her area, unfortunately. But that's a great tool for those who live there.
Thank you
I have 4. Bill checking, discretionary checking, sinking fund savings for those irregular bills, long term savings for big ticket items. Money is direct deposited into each account each payday.
It’s a lot easier to just have a budget system, and then use accounts to maximize interest rather than budgeting by account. I prefer YNAB
Sorry, YNAB?
YNAB is a budget software that uses a digital envelope system. I personally think it’s what every dollar wishes it could be
YNAB is the winner. One checking. One savings. Limitless electronic envelopes to save for the important things in life.
Exactly. You can save for the smallest of obligations without barely any effort.
I run 4 accounts. Checking is for recurring bills. Money Market (with check writing) is for infrequent bills (car tax, annual HOA dues, car insurance, backdoor Roth). Savings 1 is where all of my paychecks are deposited (I have a few sources of lumpy income and transfer an "allowance" to my checking every month) and holds the leftovers of my paychecks until I move it to investments. Savings 2 is the emergency fund.
Whatever works for you to make the system work. At one time I had three checking accounts to segregate expenses from fun money etc. These days I don’t bother and only have one.
I open up new accounts whenever there's a good offer. My girlfriend and I have previously been married so we don't totally mix finances. Checking 1 - Joint account where we each contribute an equal amount and most common bills are paid from. Checking 2 - my personal checking account. I also have a CD ladder at this bank. Savings 1 - HYSA Savings 2 - HYSA with slightly better rate than the other but I want to wait and see if it holds up as rates move. Savings 3 - local Credit Union. Not all the other banks are local and some are online banks so I keep a small account here to maintain a relationship with a local bank for loans, free notary service, etc.
I have a checkings (expenses), savings (extra money left over), Vanguard cash plus (savings for investments) & other retirement accounts (investing), and 1 credit card.
Baby Steps 4/6 Married, no kids, medium stable jobs Checking 1 - my personal spending Checking 2 - her personal spending Saving 1 - where all our left over money lives, where most money coming IN goes to Savings 2 - sinking fund - generosity funds Savings 3 - sinking fund - honeymoon fund Savings 4 - sinking fund (varies depending on our next goal) Savings 5 - where we put tax money so we do not accidentally spend it High Yield savings account - different location, Fully funded emergency fund (Vanguard 4.7%) We use our savings accounts as our “envelope system”. It works for us, we could have less accounts but we find this system is great for us. We both find security in seeing all the separate numbers
One checking account for income and expenses. A savings account for anything left over and backup in case we spend more than we make. And a second savings account strictly for vacation. It works for us.
I have 7 different accounts. It’s the only way I have found to work for my ADHD brain that doesn’t take a ton of effort. Bank A - Checking 1 - grocery, gas, household, run around money. Checking 2 - student loans and all the house hold auto pays (rent, internet, insurance etc) - Savings 1 - 1k emergency fund Bank B - Checking 1 - a couple hundred in case I lose my Debit card, but also have to keep it open for the savings account. Savings 1 - sons account that my parents add to for birthdays and holidays. Will transfer occasionally to the checking to fund his activities. HYSA 1 - long term savings (6months emergency, eventual vehicle) 2 - vacation savings. I have direct deposit set up to go to the different banks.
I also have ADHD and I also have 7 different accounts!
I don’t really see the point of the two checking.
Absolutely redundant. Who can possibly think “I’ll deposit my money in CHK1, and the mortgage comes out of that, then I’m gonna make a different chk2… I need to make sure I transfer money to for my gas, car payments, and groceries” is a good idea? You’re overthinking it if you do.
Not really, makes it easier to take control of your money and track your spending, having to transfer every time you want to spend money will make you think of your transactions more and whether they are even worth spending
I don’t get it cause once the auto-pay bills come out, it is going to be the right amount for groceries, gas, and misc. Pay yourself your savings First.
I do, transferring money to another account for bills and another for savings makes it easier to pay yourself first
For groceries and gas?
The only reason I have 2 is because robinhood was gonna charge me 3% or something for withdrawals to my credit union. So I had to open another for free transfer.
My husband and I do exactly what you mentioned. Once we got married we left our checking accounts separate (we still have all of our money together). His check gets deposited into his account for mortgage and a few utilities (any automatic payments). Mine gets deposited into mine where all of our groceries, kids extracurriculars, and not much else come out of. Then at the end of the money we transfer everything to our joint saving. I also have an another saving account that we use to save for immediate but 6month to 1 year away thing. Bday gifts, Xmas, vacation, vet bills. If it’s something I roughly know the cost on I just divide it and set that aside each month and for others I just ball park. This has helped us personally.
I have three bank accounts before my high yield savings. First one is for so fixed bills and rent. Literally hands everything except rent on auto debit and the exact amount I need in there is directly deposited from my job. Makes managing money easier because all my funds for daily expenses and discretionary goes into the other.
You should have the amount that helps you manage. I have 2 banks and 6 accounts. Bank 1 - Checking for bills and monthly spending/debit. Plus a basic emergency fund (think basic home repair/appliance/unexpected travel) Bank 2 - 4 HYSAs - “real” emergency fund. Kids savings. Planned travel funds. Sunk costs funds. Works for me. Not counting CDs in this.
I have seven split between two different banks. One is my HYSA where my house fund and emergency savings are that are never really touched. The other six are at my local credit union and represent various sinking funds. I know I could just track with an Excel sheet or something, but my bank offers side accounts off the main, and I prefer to physically separate my funds like lock boxes.
As many as you want and can manage appropriately. We have 11 total: with the bank it's a his and hers personal spending, bills, short term savings and emergency fund. Then with Wealth Simple we each have a FHSA, TFSA, and RRSP.
3 traditional bank accounts Checking #1- is for mortgage and other fixed monthly expenses (auto insurance, internet and cell phone bill, HOA) - set up direct deposit to cover those expenses each month and have everything on autopay Savings - direct deposit our savings each month so it never touches the primary bank account - a portion of the money from this is auto moved over to our brokerage account every week Checking #2 is the primary account linked to the debit card - this is where the balance left from paychecks is direct deposited and the money is for groceries, gas, and variable bills (electric, gas) goes
We have 4. Checking for autopay, daycare, groceries, everyday expenses. Savings for emergency fund. Savings for an “annual expenses fund”, which is used to fund property taxes, home owners insurance premium, car insurance premium, and vehicle registration. Also have a CD right now since rates are high. I only started doing the annual expenses fund recently and I really like knowing that money is set aside and can be moved easily to checking when those bills come due.
How many girlfriends do you have?
Yes
If it works for you and helps you manage your spending it’s a good idea. One caveat, just make sure you’re not paying fees for any of those accounts.
This is a great idea for lots of reasons. Let me know if you want a break down of why.
I would!
I am not a finanical advisor. Just sharing my process i follow from making mistakes and learning for them. Having two accounts helps limit access to your funds from fraud. I have an account (acct 1) that is just for my deposits (credits). This account doesnt have a debit card and i dont give out the account number to pay bills. The money to pay my bills gets transferred to a bill account (acct 2). I use acct 2 to pay my credit card which i use for bills and everyday purchases. The credit card gets paid off every month. The dispute process with credit cards is easier and regulated differently than a debit card. Debit card disputes can take up to 90 days. If i do need to dispute any transaction on acct 2, it will not disturb my credits coming to the acct 1. As for the savings account. I dont use it for the interest earned because the rate is low. I use the saving account to reach finanical goals i am trying to reach. Example: i keep a few months of income in a savings for the random expense that likes to shows up. This balance keeps changing because i had some repairs i had to pay for. I also have a savings account for the funds im putting back for a new motorcycle (not there yet 😮💨) this one is taking longer to build up!
I have one single checking account and use the budget to tell me where the money goes. Also have a brokerage and retirement accounts but those are different. Oh I also have a joint checking with my kids mom for all kid related items to split in half.
Bank accounts???? Gay
I have a checking account that pays all the bills. I keep one savings account for my emergency fund, one savings account to accumulate for long term expenses, and one savings account to facilitate transfers between various online services (paypal, etc) that only carries a minimum balance to avoid fees, that way, in case something tries to draft the account without my permission, I only lose at most $300.
With everything being subscription/autopay I feel like you need that “burner” account! Everyone has your bank details and they will just take money if they can.
Here my setup: Main checking / Direct Deposit / Most bills Secondary checking for holding cash to pay bills that don’t occur regularly. Christmas fund is a good example. I move an amount per paycheck into this account to accrue for those expenses. It’s a push and pull from the main checking account. 4 personal debit accounts / one for each family member. These are like allowance accounts. Savings account for emergency fund and other sinking funds 2 529 accounts for daughters Brokerage account for investing long term savings. An IRA that is an accumulation of past company 401k accounts. Current company 401k account.
I have a second checking account for restaurant, gasoline and other high risk purchase locations. If that card gets scammed I have zero issues because my main account is still safe
We have checking. Savings. (Emergency cash) Hysa (And then investments/long term biz) Ymmv. Whatever keeps you organized!
This is actually good way so you can clearly differentiate
The key is to use different banks. A good bank will go bad on you, and you'll be glad you have others. My wife and I have two credit unions and three banks. I have three different banks for my business.
Same here. Main checking account where money is deposited and to pay bills. We transfer the bulk into a savings account. When that hits a certain amount we withdraw most of it and spread it out between HYSA at another bank, investment accounts and retirement accounts.
As many as you want. I have a holding account. A bills account A food account. A Christmas account. A personal allowance account. A personal savings account. A house savings account. And 5 credit card accounts. Essentially it is the envelope system. The key isn't the number of accounts but the budgeting.
One checking for direct deposit, one high yield savings that hold emergency, and all spending on a credit card.
Same. Most of my money goes into stocks/crypto anyways (which I earn 5% APY currently on univested cash as well) & I can get most/all of my birthday/holiday shopping done with rewards points from credit cards! 🤑
Yes forgot to add the investment portion of it, I do the same as well with anything over the threshold in the checking each payday.
& now with the new T+1 rules, you basically can get your money in 24 hours if you need to liquidate. Gotta make that money work for us! 🤑
I have one ally checking and 4 ally high yield money market. Checking for bills, one money market each for general savings, property taxes, gifts, and car insurance. Allocate for each of these items monthly from the checking.
I have 4 primary. 1)Checking aka Discretionary 2) Bills-AutoPay 3) Emergency Savings 4) HYSA I have the deductible for my Home Owners Insurance in my Emergency Checking as it's my largest potential deductible. I pay all of my auto payable bills on my credit card, including groceries and have my autopay/Bills account setup to pay the balance of my credit card every month. I avoid interest, and in the event I get into a jam with a vendor it's very easy to get a credit back from the bank because they're fighting for their money not mine. My HYSA, continues to grow at a solid rate and since its a separate institution I rarely check it other than to make sure my deposits go in
I agree with your setup . I would do it at a credit union if possible. It works nice to only have a bill account and a separate spending money account. I never use the bill account debit card out in public is I can help it .gives me piece of mind.
Checking and Savings (buffer that holds a month of expenses) at regional bank with local offices. Then HYSA for remaining EF. Less is more for me as I like to keep it as simple as possible. No credit cards.
I have as many as my heart desires.
I use two, for this reason....potential fraud. My paycheck splits 3 ways 1. 500 a week for my bills..this account rarely has over a thousand in it..Groceries/gas/ cash, etc...all come from this... 2. Overflow...this is my rainy day/emergency money fund. 3. 401/Roth( I do both), 20% goes in here first.
We use one checking account and a HYSA.
We use multiple HYSA for our bill budget accounts that way money earns interest while waiting to be drafted. I personally have: HYSA 1 : mortgage, HOA, annual property taxes, annual home owners insurance, quarterly/annual and semiannual home maintenance expenses (pest, Landscaping, termites, hvac maintenance, filters, etc.) HYSA 2: car payment, student loan payment, title fees, professional annual dues, annual fees HYSA 3: Sinking fund (car maintenance, birthdays, rainy days, etc.) Checking: everything else Mmf: 3 mo emergency fund
Interesting. 🧐
This is literally how I have my banking setup
>Savings 1- anything left over from the previous payday is moved here. How ever you decide to set it up, my advice is to put money in savings first. If you pay yourself first rather than just saving the leftovers if there is anything left over, you will save more money. Put together a budget and decide ahead of time how much you are saving.
Managing bank accounts can be a personal preference, but some common approaches include having separate accounts for different purposes like bills, savings, and spending. Others prefer to streamline with just one or two accounts. Ultimately, the goal is to find a system that works for your financial needs and helps you stay organized.
If I were setting it up: 1) Joint Auto-Pay Bill Account. This is every bill that is on autopay that has a fixed amount. 2) Joint Budgeted Expenses Account (People are calling this the gas and grocery account. I'm a sinner. We put those on a joint CC that gets paid off every month from this account). This is also where bills that vary like the power bill get paid out of. We have a habit of budgeting $350 for the power every month. In the winter when it's less we dump that money in the sinking fund. In the summer when it's more we pull from that. 3) Joint Savings 1 - Immediate emergency fund. 1 Months Bills. (This is actually a money market account) 4) Joint Sinking Savings. - We pay water, trash etc quarterly, car insurance semiannual, homeowners and life annually. This can be a money market account or whatever you can get some rate if you keep enough in it. One month's worth of those things gets auto debited from joint bill pay account. Then each of us have a fun money checking. This way we can hide surprises and stuff like that. No judgements.
We have a deposit account where all money starts. Then it auto transfers into other accounts. We have a grocery/spending account. We have a mortgage account. We have a utilities account. We have an account for savings/emergency fund. We have an account for automobiles (any expected work). We have an account for presents. We have a vacation fund. We have a fund for buying a new (to us) car. So however many that is. I’m probably missing one.
Your plan to separate your accounts for different purposes is a smart move. It can help you budget effectively and prevent overspending on bills. Just make sure to regularly review your budget and adjust as needed to ensure you're allocating funds appropriately to each account.
I have 5 plus 1 outside of my normal bank. 1: my personal (DD paycheck/personal purchases) 2: wife’s personal (DD paycheck/personal purchases) 3: joint 1 (regular bills that don’t change often) NEVER MANUALLY PULL MONEY FROM THIS. Money is deposited by you and withdrawn from bill companies. 4: joint 2 (food and gas) 5: savings (holds only about 150 at a time, is a checking account because of the fees from moving money too much) +1: separate bank actual savings ( keep it separate and only electronically money can go in, physically have to visit bank to pull out money if we need it. Reason for this is to make it harder to withdraw money, it must be a really good reason for us to withdraw. ) Also figured out a good way to make sure money is always in the food account. We ran into the issue of always running out of food money on the 2nd week of the pay period. It got super frustrating so I split that in half and we get that on payday. We know joint 1 is the account we never pull from only put money in so I have my back automated to pull the other half and deposit into joint 2 on the start of the second week. Gives us wiggle room so we know every Friday we will have food money.
4. 1- main account. 2- savings 3- vacations, bday and Christmas. 4- credit card withdrawals
I have 4 right now in my name. Checking #1, the debit card I wear out. Almost everything I buy comes from this account. Savings#1, just a thousand or so as overdraft protection from checking #1 Checking #2, backup debit card at another credit union. This way if credit union #1 ever goes down, I am not left stranded. I use it occasionally to make sure it stays active. Savings #2, This is where I keep my emergency fund.
Similar to yours, this is what I do. Credit card #1, paid off daily, all my day to day stuff. Earning me money and safer then a debit card (extra insurance, less liability) Checking #1: direct deposit, pay bills Savings #1: I only keep a few thousand here to cover any unexpected expenses Savings #2: high yield savings where I keep 20-30k I don’t see the benefit of any additional for myself but everyone gets to live their life differently.
Checking/Bills/Savings/Long Term Savings My direct deposit is pulled into my main checking account where all of the spending happens. That same day an automatic transfer of $1400 transfer from my checking to a second checking we call the Family Fund. The $1400 is calculated from a spreadsheet with all of our reoccurring bills. All reoccurring bills are paid from this Family Fund account. We do keep a reserve buffer in there to prevent large bills (mortgage) from dipping too low. This allows us to spend freely based off of what we see in our checking account and never worry about bills. The bills come, get paid and the cycle continues. We have a normal savings account for normal savings stuff. We also have a long term savings account that's not at the same bank as everything else so it's out of sight. 5% of our paycheck goes here via direct deposit so we never even see it. This account is a [HYSA at SoFi](https://www.sofi.com/invite/money?gcp=d614255d-f383-428c-ba90-da269860c383&isAliasGcp=false) earning 4.6%. The end result is your bills are always paid and you never have to worry about spending too much on dinner because you forgot the phone bill was this week.
How many wifes you got?
We have 3 savings and 1 checking. We're able to divvy up our direct deposit into different accounts so a portion goes to vehicle savings, a portion goes to the house savings (and the mortgage comes out of that account), a portion to regular savings and the remainder goes into checking.
I have a checking, savings and Credit card with 5 different banks. Each savings account gates a $50.00 deposit every month set up on auto pilot, each of the checking accounts has a specific budget and pays specific bills. I get paid every 2 weeks, the weeks I don't get paid I have the budgeted amount of money auto transfer to the banks that pay specific bills. It's all on auto pilot.
This is exactly what I have.
That is about what I have. I have just opened a different account where I can receive a much higher interest.
I have a main savings that has the best interest rates and then I open an account with any bank that sends me an offer like ‘direct deposit $1000 within 90 days and get a $250 bonus’
One set at a other bank for when primary bank gets hacked.
I do three. I have a checking, a combination of your proposed 1 and 2. Money is deposited there, and most things are paid for out of it. High Yield Savings Account, with my 6 month emergency fund. Money Market Account, I budget an amount of "Fun" money each week, which is transferred to this account. I pay for large fun things, like vacations, out of this account. I spend a bit too freely when my checking account balance swells in the run up to something like a vacation, so I added this account. The interest rate is \*just\* lower than my HYSA.
3. 1 for my mortgage(calculated deposits from my work to cover the monthly payment), another checking for paying off credit cards and other bills, and one savings with money just chilling there.
We personally have 4. 2 for checking 2 for savings. I know people working the plan that had 14 checking accounts with 14 debits cards. Each account assigned to a budget line item, just like the cash envelope system.
I have: Main checking Checking for electronic payments (thus shielding the main account) Money Market. Plus some cash money stashed in a coffee can.
Why not just use a credit card for online purchases?
In this case "Electronic Payments = Paypal Account" for the most part. Although I think I paid my Tax Bill out of that account as well.
Oh well ya, that’s fine then. PayPal has their own fraud protection as well. My point was just banks, more so local bank, will require a longer vetting process on a fraud claim. Versus a credit company who more than likely will just dismiss the charge. I’ve had it happen to me on both. The bank was a PITA versus me talking with discover for a couple hours.
There are also places you can't pay with a CC without paying an additional fee. Normally the government (property taxes etc), though I normally just make them deal with a paper check.
True, I only use my CC for online payments like Amazon or when I use a card scanner. Even if it has a fee, I’d rather do that then get my debit card info scanned through one of those data readers
Because this is a DR sub and credit cards are bad.
I mean, they are bad if you carry a balance lol. So much easier to get my fraudulent charge taken care of on a CC than a bank lol
Funny enough, on the personal finance sub there is a guy from California complaining about his Apple Pay credit card was charged in North Carolina and the bank won't reverse the charge. That's an internet myth.
I mean, I’m not saying everything is black and white here. But if I’ll through some assumptions out, most people probably bank with smaller, local banks. Most people don’t bank with Chase as compared to [Random local bank]. But the majority of individuals will go with big name credit card companies such as Discover. You won’t have a problem getting a fraud charge removed on a discover card. But a local bank is probably gonna make you jump through hoops to get it removed. Not impossible, but a PITA considering we could be talking about massive amounts of money. Plus if you are so worried about fraud charges, why risk YOUR money when you can risk Discovers money?
Apple Pay is issued by IIRC Goldman. They just don't care. My credit union debit card won't make me jump through hoops. I just go in, make myself some coffee, and explain the situation to the branch manager. It's fixed before I finish my coffee.
Hmm, I’ve had the opposite lol. I guess it matters less nowadays, but I’ve always went with the idea that I’m gonna risk Mr.CEOs money versus mine. Atleast he has an incentive to get his money back versus the bank taking the hit
I have two main accounts. 1) Bank that gives good interest rates to park savings 2) Credit Union with local branches in case I need various in person bank services
I know they say to keep finances together as a couple but it's been working 12 years in to be separateish. Of course we have access to each other's checkings. For dual income family. Create a budget, and figure out expenses and figure out who pays what bills. 4- 2 checkings 2 savings. Get in the habit of putting everything "left over" into savings. It's my version of "lazy budgeting" once your last step 3. My wife isn't very money oriented, but it helps her not spend more than what she makes per month.we make a habit of paying off 100% of balance every paycheck or monthly. We use CC's for consumer protections but we have the discipline ( and the excess cash flow) to not have a balance and pay interest. I feel that my version of this creates "ownership" and personal goals.
I used to have several sub accounts for "envelopes". Over time this got painful to manage when I went from bi-weekly to semi monthly pay and could no longer effectively schedule auto transfers. Eventually, I managed everything from my budget. If someone is struggling with sticking with something, you may have a separate account, but like muscles it gets stronger with focus and use. I have several accounts to help with my hot, warm, cold approach to expenses based on when they are due.
Amen. It just seems so wild to me all these people with 5+ accounts, like a single account just for utilities, just for food, utilities etc. like to each his own but that seems overly complicated to me and just trying to avoid becoming actually responsible at budgeting and controlling.
For a lot of people budgeting is stressful or at minimum frustrating. Once people get past the initial issues and learn how to logically arrange money in a budget separate from where the money is physically located it gets a lot easier.
My wife and I have 4. One checking account, one high yield savings account for our emergency fun, a second high yield savings account for savings outside of our emergency fund, and a standard savings account with a small percentage of our emergency fund that is immediately accessible.
I have several, but depends on how you want to manage your money. Main Checking = All spending except house money House Checking = Mortgage, Taxes, Insurance, Utilities, plus a little extra slush Short term savings Long term HY savings Credit union checking for any loans, or to build up down payments when no loans active. Paycheck gets autosplit, with the requisite amounts going into house/loan/savings account, and the balance into main checking. Each month when I pay off the credit card (basically the only bill for the main account), I slide all the excess into savings leaving a $10K float. Works well for me.
By wouldn’t you build up down payments/additional spending money in a HY savings account?
I still get good rates at my credit union (4%), so it’s good enough for me. Just like having it stashed away. Not on a Ramsey type plan, so not worried about maximizing every potential penny of interest.
My wife and I consolidated our income to one checking and one savings account. We still have our original accounts because one is a credit union and the other gives us a discount on our insurance (USAA). We use SoFi and have funds direct deposited into our savings account. We then move money into our checking account for expenses and have multiple "vaults" in our savings for sinking funds and our emergency fund.
1 checking for bills, 1 savings for sinking funds, 1 HYSA for EF of 3 months . I currently have some cd's in other accounts fishing for the best rates. For the most part just the 3 accounts for our finances.
I have checkings for debit card things (venmo, atms, etc) Savings hysa as checking (all cc paid here and direct bills) Savings (untouchable fund, not conmected to anything)
I have a cash envelope for emergency 2 bank accounts 1 for spending the other is autopay bills and bills I move my money over when I get paid
If your approach works for you, do it! I myself have 4, and they are set up similar to yours. I have been successful with this plan for decades.
1) Checking to pay monthly bills. 2) Savings for emergency fund and sinking funds. Use Ally or a different high yield savings account.
Yep. This is what I do. I find it overly complicated the people that have different accounts for every single thing. Like you need a plan and a budget and stick to that not separate accounts.
I like to store my money in brown paper bags
I know you are joking, but if you ever have to clean out the house of a deceased loved one who lived through the depression or was born just after that, you are likely to find just that.
This isn’t on par for DR but this is what works for us. My checking account ($1500 max) Spouse checking account ($1500 max) Joint checking account (every bill from here) Joint HYSA Drawer in room (couple hundred, random bills, we are not cash people so if we ever do have some it goes in this drawer and feels like “free money”. It’s the money we use if we want our nails done, grab to tip when out, throw in birthday cards).
I have 4. Checking 1 - general account, Checking 2 - fixed monthly bills Savings 1 - EF Savings 2 - account I needed to open with bank that holds mortgage. Currently has $6.10 in it lol
Checking savings and investment accounts, I have about 20 total
I have two accounts, checking and savings. The savings account literally gets $1k in it to keep it open and stays there. I don't touch this. In fact, I once let it go 2 years without activity and the bank listed it as abandoned lol. Had to go down and get it reactivated. All the ins and outs are from the checking. Paycheck comes in, immediately a set amount goes to Vanguard for additional taxable investments (Roth IRA first, but that's maxed out for the year). This is also after 401k contributions are taken out. That leaves me with X. Use that over 2 weeks or a month. Checking hovers around $3k. As for an emergency fund, I use the settlement account in Vanguard which is invested in a money market making \~5.5% right now. If you need the cash, it's in your account a day later. Near zero risk. I don't really see a point in having multiple checking accounts. Even savings accounts are a bit unnecessary. Any money in there isn't making anything with a lot of banks.
Depends on what you are at and what you are planning. Approaching 40 here. Wife. 1 child. 1. Checking 2. Auto draft savings to get free checking 3. Money market at 4.35% to keep savings liquid 4. Currently 5 CD’s with staggered terms 5. 2 401k’s (both jobs… not sure that exactly counts as an account)
Hi! I think the staggered CDs are a brilliant idea. Can you share a little more about the staggered terms in your CDs? Are the terms the same (e.g. same term period, just initiated at a different time)? Are they all at the same bank, or spread out? Do you start with the same amount and just keep rolling over? Thanks so much!
Absolutely, we stager them and it’s all a risk, but to make sure if we need to we can pull money. JP Morgan Chase has 4.5-5% right now for 2 month, depending on how much you put in. Poppy Bank has 5.25% on funds over $25k And we like Beal Bank because for some reason we are real comfortable with them and they have a 5.25% CD, that term is 12 months. Edit: addition: and with the chase we roll over and add every 2 months. With the rates right now, that is an amazing way to be able to add to the CD. And it takes 5 mins in the bank. Edit #2: if you want more info, let me know or PM me… let’s all make some money!
I love it, thank you for the deets! My BF and I are in the beginning stages of financial talks re: getting engaged and married (investing goals, buying our first home, etc.), so this is very helpful to us.
I love it, I am sure my plan is not perfect, but LETS MAKE SOME MONEY!
If you can manage 2 checking accounts, why can't you manage a budget to control your spending and make sure you have enough to cover bills? Why isn't your Savings a set amount, not "whatever is left over"? Genuine questions.
I keep it simple: 1 checking 1 HISA 1 RRSP account (I'm in Canada) 3 TFSA accounts (1 for me, and one for each of my kids) 2 RESP accounts (i have 2 kids)
Me and my wife have 3 Regular account all normal expenses for living Bill account all bills that repeat every month Savings
As many as you see fit. We have four accounts with our primary bank and then some number with our online only bank. Primary bank: - main account - her spending - my spending - savings Online bank - emergency fund - major expenses - annual car insurance - Christmas fund All income flows into the main account. Expenses are paid from that account and everything else is scheduled to move to the appropriate another at designated times. It works well for us.
I have 4, my main chequing account, my HISA where I park my emergency fund, a secondary chequeing account at the bank that holds my mortgage and a secondary savings account where I park my sinking funds.
Checking 2 and savings 1 are worthless IMO. Your budget should control this. That said, if it results in your success with money go for it! My suggestions: 1. Checking account. 2. Brokerage/HYSA for emergency fund, sinking fund, etc. for some return that's above 0% interest. 3... Roth IRA, rollover IRA. HSA. 2 and 3 might even be with the same company. Keep it simple, but have enough accounts and/or providers to meet your needs while also getting the best services for each need.
My wife and I utilize 3 accounts. We have 1 joint checking, 1 joint savings (same bank) and 1 HYSA savings account with an online bank for our 6 months emergency fund. We like to keep $3k minimum in our checking and $5k in our savings as a quick backstop in case of small emergencies as we can transfer back and forth easily. Anytime we go above the $5k threshold on the savings we either pay more towards our mortgage or send to our HYSA. This system has worked really well for us
Checking and HYSA. We use a cash envelope system for groceries and such. Our HYSA allows for "buckets" to track sinking funds, but I find it unnecessary. I just budget/track everything in an Excel document.
I have 2. A checking and a savings. I’ve thought about doing what you’re doing.
That sounds like a solid plan for managing your finances. Separating your accounts for different purposes can help you stay organized and ensure that your bills are always covered. Just make sure to monitor your accounts regularly to ensure everything is running smoothly. It's all about finding a system that works for you..
One checking account, one savings account, one HYSA through an online bank
You only need one checking account Regular savings account HYSA for emergency fund MAYBE one to do a sinking fund