Let’s lower your financial stress by about ten notches by helping you know what bank accounts to have for saving and spending. In fact, I’ve become quite the bank account hoarder because the benefits have been so fantastic!
Let’s just clear something up real quick since you’re here.
Having more money isn’t going to make you any happier.
In fact, it won’t even lower your stress one bit. BUT! If you are doing smart things with the money you DO have (even if it’s just five bucks) then that’s a totally different story.
how many bank accounts can you have?
If you bank at a regular bank, they often limit the amount of (free) checking and savings accounts to one or two. But if you bank at a credit union, you can often have over 20 savings accounts attached to your initial checking and savings account. Isn’t that AWESOME?? It’s like an electronic envelope system for the 21st century and it’s totally life-changing!
Definitely look into what local credit unions are available in your area, but make sure to check out their websites. You’ll be doing most of your banking from your phone or computer and it’s too much of a headache when the website or app isn’t simple and easy to navigate.
Here are the seven bank accounts to have if you are serious about shaping up financially.
bank accounts to have for financial stability
1. Checking Account #1 – “Daily Life”
This account is used for expenses that occur during regular, everyday life, hence the overly creative nickname, “Daily Life.”
Your daily expenses probably differ from mine, so only you and your spouse know what you should budget for, but here are a few ideas: groceries, gas, public transportation fees, family activities, last-minute pizza run, library fines, etc. Need a clue on how much to budget for this account? Start here.
2. Checking Account #2 - "Bills"
Put all the cash you’ll need for bills into this account every month. Mortgage, rent, car payments, internet bills, cell phone bill, etc.
By stashing it in a totally different account, you lower the risk of spending it on other things, and by not spending it on other things, you lower the risk of paying your bills late and racking up fees. Not that awesome at budgeting for bills? Start here.
3. Savings Account #1 - "Emergency Fund"
I would be absolutely shocked if this one came as a surprise to you. I am positive you’ve heard that you need an emergency fund before. QUIT DILLY DALLYING!
Life happens, so take preventative measures and make a goal of $1,000 dollars. Once you’ve reached that, work on stashing away 3-6 months worth of expenses. That way, if you or your spouse loses a job, or there is a death in the family or some other tragedy or emergency, you won’t have the added stress of coming up with the money on the spot.
4. Savings Account #2 - "Ten Percent"
This will be your secret weapon. Once you get paid, take ten percent of your paycheck and stick it into this account. This is a hands-off, totally no-touch account – for now. What you decide to do with this money is up to you, but, but I totally encourage investing it. Roth IRA and quality mutual funds are good options, but hey if you want to save it for the apocalypse, that’s cool too. You’ll be 10 percent x all your paychecks better off than everyone else.
The beauty of this account is that it provides unimaginable peace of mind and forces you to live below your means. We live in very prosperous times, and yet we spend our money like it’s our last day to live. Start and use a ten percent account and instantly become a more refined individual.
5. Savings Account #3 - "Medical"
Medical bills sink too many families. Create a savings account and work hard to have enough money in your medical account to cover your family deductible at all times.
Our family deductible is $8,000, and the chances of us having to fork that all out at once are slim to none. BUT! IF SOMETHING HAPPENED and you were definitely going to hit your deductible, then boom. You’ve got it saved up and won’t have to figure out where to pull a sudden $8,000 from.
And if you are lucky enough to have an HSA through your insurance, awesome! It’s still a good idea to have your deductible stashed away somewhere because of a little something called “out of pocket max” that goes above and beyond the deductible.
6. Savings Account #4 - "Christmas"
Oh please give your beautiful little heart a break and stop going into debt for Christmas. Here’s a little secret: Christmas is on December 25th every year. Woo! Now it will stop sneaking up on you and you can save for it and stop debt-bingeing.
7. Savings Account #5 - "Vacation"
Life is worth celebrating and sometimes we. just. need. a. break. from the daily grind. Put a percentage of each paycheck into your vacation account or put your bonus in there when you score big.
We prefer to plan our vacations around awesome deals we find. It’s just so much cheaper that way. We once found round trip tickets to Ireland for $179 apiece. Because we had money in our vacation account, we hit Ireland on a whim for our five year anniversary – and did the whole trip under $2,000.
If you’re interested, here are the best tips and practices for saving money fast for travel.
Also, we use these companies to score our deals. I pay for Pomelo’s subscription and I’m not mad about it one bit.
- Pomelo Travel – Flight deals (we scored our Ireland tickets from these guys)
- Scott’s Cheap Flights – Flight deals
- Priceline– We just absolutely love their “Express Deals” for hotels.
There you have it! Seven bank accounts to have for saving extra, avoiding stress, arguing with your spouse, and all the other garbage that comes with bad finances.
Now, take a minute and contemplate what you are really living your life for because managing what you do have well will help make it happen. And adding these accounts to your life and using them well, will too. That is a beautiful truth!
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