Like most married couples, John and I have a lot of savings goals. Once upon a time, we had one checking account and one savings account. However, I did not like having all of our savings in one pot. It was hard for me to keep everything separate and accounted for – especially when an emergency would arise. To keep us on track to reach our financial goals, John and I decided to open multiple savings accounts.
We immediately fell in love with having multiple accounts. In fact, we can’t seem to stop opening them! So how many savings accounts do we currently have? At this time, we have 8 savings accounts, and believe it or not, we are going to be opening a new account this month.
What are we saving for? Over the years, our goals have shifted. We’ve renamed some of these accounts multiple times. Below, I have listed our current accounts and how we intend to use the money in each category.
ACCOUNT # 1 – This is our go-to savings account. We use this account for home improvement projects, homeschool expenses, car repairs, etc. Basically, we plunder this account on a regular basis.
ACCOUNT # 2 – This is our home and auto account. We use this account to pay our home owner’s insurance, property taxes, and car insurance. We opened this account after paying off our mortgage, to insure we always have the money we need to cover these hefty expenses.
ACCOUNT # 3 – This is our emergency fund. The money in this account is being set aside for a scenario where we have a loss of income. Hopefully we’ll never have to use it, but it gives me peace of mind to know it is there.
ACCOUNT # 4 – This account is a vacation fund for our family. We decided to open this account last year, and I am so excited to have money on hand for a vacation this coming summer.
ACCOUNT # 5, # 6, # 7, # 8, and (soon to be # 9) – We opened an account for each of our children to help pay for college. We hope to save about $15,000 for each child. Its not much, but every little bit helps.
Having multiple accounts makes saving easy. Watching the totals climb in each category is highly motivating. Honestly, if we threw all of our money into one account, I am not sure we would be where we are today. If you are struggling to keep yourself on track, I highly recommend separating your accounts and setting specific goals for your money.