Simplify Your Life: Bank Accounts

Our lives are complicated.  Fortunately there are aspects which we are able to control.  In a mini-series called Simplify Your Life I will briefly discuss methods you can use in order to simplify your daily life.

Today’s topic will discuss how to streamline your bank accounts.  I will discuss some methods to organize your accounts and get you started with online banking.

BANK ACCOUNTS: Who Owns WHO?

As we grow older, our finances become even more complicated.  Throughout our lives we have opened numerous accounts for a variety of reasons.  We have multiple checking accounts and numerous savings accounts.  Our accounts are scattered between multiple financial establishments.  Where do we begin to sort through this mess and streamline our accounts?

The first step is to review your bank accounts and determine if you can consolidate or eliminate any of these accounts.  A person should be able to suffice with a single checking account.  If you are in a relationship with mixed expenses it makes sense to also have a joint checking account in addition to a personal checking account. The only exception for having more checking accounts would be for business accounts which should be kept separate from personal accounts.

While looking over your bank statements be sure to check how many savings accounts you have active. You should have at least two; one for short term savings for things like vacations, new furniture, down-payment for a house, etc. & another for your Emergency Fund. If you have trouble building your Emergency Fund, try using an online bank account such as ING Direct.  By using such a service you must conduct a bank transfer in order to access your money.  This transfer takes a couple of days and may help keep you from impulsive spending.  It isn’t a foolproof method, but it has helped me.

While tidying up your accounts, check into online banking.  The majority of brick and mortar banks offer free online account services where you can check your statements & activity online at your convenience instead of waiting for your monthly statements.  Signing up for e-statements reduces the amount of incoming mail each month.  Check with your bank for your options & to see if they offer any incentives for signing up for an online account.

If you are like me and prefer to itemize your accounts for a specific savings goal, ING Direct allows you to do this easily under a single account.  In addition to my Emergency Fund I also have my Vacation Fund & Opportunity Fund here.  There are no monthly statements in your mailbox as everything is on-line for your perusal at your leisure.

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Note: I do not receive compensation from the websites which I recommend.  My purpose is to help simplify the lives of my readers, not to benefit myself by earning commissions through product endorsements.