For Budgets And Spending Plans To Be Implemented Properly, You Will Need Both Checking And Savings Accounts. The Checking and Savings accounts are the engines that will drive the train to financial security. They both have their specific roles to help you become debt-free and on the road to financial freedom. In this blog I will discuss banking, checking, and savings accounts and how to use each.
I recommend that you have multiple checking and savings accounts assign to specific duties and goals. I have found keeping accounts separate and set up this way helps me to better track my financial goals. Hence, I am also able to keep everything on track when accounts are clearly defined. I think it is less confusing for me regarding how and where to use funds. In other words a type of purpose-driven budgeting. We will discuss this in more detail below.
If you need help creating a budget or a spending plan please read, Setting Up a Budget for Beginners and Create a Spending Plan. I believe these two blog posts will help you get started with taking control of your finances.
The Checking and Savings account are the engine that will drive the train to financial security.
– Sabrina Anthony
The Bank
Find a bank that best fits your financial needs that has little or no fees to maintain. That will allow you to set up multiple accounts and will allow you to set up automatic transfers that you can monitor on your desktop as well as any mobile device. Henceforth, you have the option to bank with an online bank or a traditional bank where you can still have human contact.
Whichever one you choose please review how the fees and costs to maintain the account will fit in with your budget. If you already have a bank that you trust and meets your needs make sure they offer these options and are super flexible.
The Checking Accounts
Do not miss the “s” behind the word Account. Yes, you need more than one account. For singles, I suggest you have the main spending account where you deposit your paycheck and a second account where you pay your bills from. Do not mix up the two. From your spending account, you will transfer your bill money to your second checking account and disburse money to your savings account. I would set this up as an automatic transfer based on your payroll cycle.
This is by far the number one priority when setting up your budget. If the money is coming out of the account automatically you will have a much better handle on your finances. I believe you cannot miss money that is immediately withdrawn to pay bills and to save. The biggest advantage is that you will always be on time with your payments, including paying yourself. In addition, this could lead to building credit and creditworthiness.
The Savings Accounts
Again, you are going to need multiple accounts. One to fund your emergency fund that should be 3 to 6 months of your living expenses. You will also need fun accounts to save for vacation, holidays, birthdays, and that something special for me. You can set up separate accounts for each or just have one big fun account. I would first start with the emergency fund. Please begin saving with whatever amount fits into your budget. Add up all your monthly expenses and multiple by 3, 4, 5, 6, or even 9 to 12 if you can swing it and begin saving. I like to have separate accounts for my fun. For instance, our vacation fund was a Christmas fund when the kids were small. It eventually morphed into the Vacation fund as we did not need as much savings for Christmas as they grew up.
Finally, we also have an emergency fund for the house. This is to cover unexpected expenses for the house such as a whole house water filter system or a new driveway, or any other unexpected repairs. This account is in addition to our personal emergency funds.
Once you reach $1,000 of an emergency fund and if you do not already bank with high-interest savings accounts that offer higher APY (Annual Percentage Yield) than traditional savings accounts. Please note these rates are subject to change per Bankrate. I suggest you open an account and transfer your emergency savings to a high-yield savings account.
Using The Accounts
Your personal accounts should be used for all your personal expenses. The Household Account or Bill account should be used to pay all expenses associated with the household. As a family, it is up to you to determine what items are to be paid out of the joint account versus the individual accounts. This account will be used for those bills only and personal bills will be covered by the individual accounts and the two shall not entwine. To my single peeps, do not be tempted to tap into your bill account because it has an available balance. That balance is for paying future bills. Spend the funds in your personal account wisely. Again, the two shall not entwine.
Finally, I believe savings transfers should come from your personal accounts and feed into your various personal savings accounts. For the household savings account, since it is a joint expense for us, we deposit it into the household checking account and then transfer it to the Household emergency fund. Therefore, I set this account up to be jointly funded from the household checking/bill checking account.
In conclusion, please read my blog Budget: Love and Selflessness for a listing of the types of joint and single expenses and where to allocate them. You are now all set with Checking and Savings Accounts for your budgets.
Let’s budget, spend and live!
Sabrina
Blogger
Wonderful advice! I use multiple savings accounts, but had not thought of the checking accounts being set up separately. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you. It allows your money to be yours to spend. You never have to worry about spending the bill money.
Great information! I’m sure some younger people would benefit from your post!
I started out sharing with my kids, then their friends, now I want to share with as many people as possible. We all need to be financially secure. Thanks for your support.
I like this concept of having multiple accounts for different categories. What organizational method do you use to track all your accounts? We currently use Excel spreadsheet in conjunction with Mint.com.
I am glad you like this concept. It has worked for me for years. I use Excel spreadsheet as well. However, I created my own spreadsheet called a Spending Plan that tracks all of my accounts. I also use it to reconcile my checking and Savings Goals. Thanks for your support.
Love these helpful tips
Thanks – glad you found them useful.
I have never done any budgeting this way, but your ideas and concepts make a whole lot of sense. Thank you for this insight.
It has kept me sane all these years and my marriage intact. Thanks for your support.
Great tips and advice! Financial security is so important! Thank you for sharing your insight!
Thank you. Yes, it is. I strive for it everyday.
We have a few different accounts set up for specific things and it works well! This is great advice.
It has worked great for me also for the past 20 years or so. Thanks for the support.
I only use one checking and one savings account, but I am very good with a spreadsheet and delegating what funds are for what purpose. I definitely believe in living with a budget.
If this works for you and you budgeting with a purpose, I would say you are good. Thanks!
This is good advice when living on a budget.
When I had my first job, we were paid weekly. There was a bank very close to the lab, where I’d opened an account for depositing my paycheck. (This was in the 70’s, so it couldn’t be an online bank, which I use now.) I was shocked and stunned to see that most of my co-workers would just take their checks and cash them every week!
I guess I was lucky to have had parents that instilled money sense as I was growing up. So, what I think of as common sense in some of my personal finance articles, is an amazing revelation to others.
Thanks for putting this out there.
Thanks for sharing. I had a very similar experience. I have been depositing and saving since my first job too. I am hoping to instill money sense to as many people as I can so that we can all be financially secure. Thanks again for your support.
I think organization and tracking is key! And planning 🙂 Thanks for the tips!
You are very welcome. Glad you liked the tips. Thanks for your support.
I definitely learn some things from this article. I only have one savings account, so its good to have that knowledge. Thanks for sharing,
-The Blogging Zoomer
I am so glad that my blog was of help to you. Good luck with your financial goals and thanks for your support.
As a retired banker, I can tell you this is an awesome plan!
Support coming from a retired banker – you have made my day. Thanks for your support.
Very interesting article. Some great advice to keep things straight.
Glad you found the blog of interest. Thanks for your support.
great suggestions! we use several accounts as well. definitely helps with budgeting and keeping it all organized.
Like minds – works great for me and my family. Good Luck and thanks for your support.
Awesome advice! I only have on account of each but should definitely consider opening a couple more.
I would to keep you on target for all your financial goals. Good luck and thanks for your support.
I definitely agree that everyone should have a checking and saving account. I check the balance on both of my accounts so often though I don’t feel the need to have more. I’ll have to look into it at my bank!
If this is working for you, I would not change a thing. Wishing you all the best and thanks for your support.
I’m pretty sure I’m behind the curve – I only have one checking account and no savings accounts (the kids each have one, but I don’t). Thanks for the helpful tips!
Great Job with the Kids savings. It is never too late for you to get started on your own. You got this. Thanks for sharing and your support.
Excellent advice!! I’ve been thinking we need to open accounts specific to things we need to save or do. I love it!
I do too. Keeps my entire family on track.
I have my emergency fund in a regular savings account so I can easily transfer money to it from my checking account after each paycheck. However, it’s with a different bank, so it’s slightly harder to get to than my checking. (Making sure we only use it for emergencies LOL!) We started with the $1,000, but have a fully funded one now. But I hadn’t thought about putting it into a high interest savings account… it’s just in a credit union account at the moment.
It is the best way to have your money work for you as well. My fully funded emergency fund yields about $50 a month. That is about an extra $600 per year for me.
Awesome advice for budgeting and just being organized!
I agree. Thanks for the support.
This is great advice for if you’re organized and good with time management. I know plenty of people who tried implementing this type of strategy and would forget to transfer funds and never paid themselves, just spent more and messed up their accounts royally with overdraft fees and so forth. I honestly don’t understand how some people can be so bad with the basics of money.
The trick is to set up auto drafts and auto payments so that the whole system runs on autopilot. Also, set up notifications so that you can be alerted when transactions are happening. It is all in setting up the process correctly and letting it run. Once it set up it becomes just managing. Easy Peasy. Thanks for sharing.
Good advice!
This is a really great plan! Thanks for sharing!
Hi Kendra, thanks for your support.
This is great advice! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Cindy, I am so glad you found the advice helpful.
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Great tips for young adults!!
Thank you. I agree.
Good information.
Thank you so much!
What a great advice! We have multiple savings and checking account. The savings account we don’t touch as this is for our retirement. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Jane, Thanks and good luck with your retirement.
Such sound advice! My hubby and I have four bank accounts. And I’m thinking of opening a savings account just for travel.
Hi Cindy, that is a great idea. Save for that much deserved vacation. Good Luck and thanks for your support.
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