A few months ago, I wrote this piece on the concept of
seven separate bank accounts to manage your family's finances.
I gave it a shot and have been using this system since then and
I want to update you to let you know how its going.
I highly recommend having multiple accounts, however 7
seemed to be too much for us. Our most difficult part was
distinguishing Dad's money from Mom's money, especially
when we went places together. It was a lot easier when he
was deployed. So this is what we have come up with:
1. Fun Money Account
2. Car Savings Account
3. Emergency Money Account
4. Expected Expenses Account
5. Family Account
I have gotten into the habit of depositing $20 each paycheck to
accounts 1-4. Seriously, $80 is not much and we don't miss it
yet our 4 savings accounts are growing.
With our Family Account we do a lot of communicating to make
sure we are spending within our limits. After our bills are paid each
month, we then calculate our budgeted gas, groceries, and Andrew's
weekly haircuts (gotta love the military!). Whatever left over is our
allotted spending money for the rest of that paycheck.
I still highly recommend mint.com for free online money management.
I use it daily.
I have 2 of our accounts with Ally which is an online high-yield savings account
and I'm REALLY pleased with them. Especially since it takes 3 days to transfer
money between accounts which makes it harder to touch!
I also recently signed up (for free) with Captial One 360 for our Fun Money
account. They offer personal and refer-a-friend bonuses which is just a little
extra money for our savings!
Sign up for free here: https://r.capitalone360.com/H7NHbbiQwm
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