We have our simple budget, and we understand that what matters most is our income minus our actual survival needs. But where do we put our income? Where can our savings go? And, what if we are planning a dream vacation or a house renovation? Do we need a different savings account for those, too?
Well, since I believe the simplest budget is the best budget, I say no! Now hear me out, because I know that many, MANY, financial experts might disagree with me on this topic.
My husband and I have two accounts. We have one joint bank account and one joint savings account. All our income is directly deposited into our joint checking account. I am a HUGE fan of automatic deposits and automatic drafts to pay all the bills once you are financially stable and up to date on everything.
What we don’t have is automatic savings. And this comes back to the fact that my husband makes a commissioned based income which can bring extreme variability check to check – thousands of dollars difference, often. To account for this, I implement intentional savings into my budget to be immediately transferred once I determine what we have left after survival is taken into account. I sign into my banking app and make my designated transfers into the savings account each pay period in order to boss my money around to the fullest extent.
So how do I know what amount of money is my emergency fund and what is my “save for a new bathroom” and “Disney” fund? I write it down in my budget tracking book!
I recently ordered this book on Amazon to use this year, and I love it! There is a designated page for me to write out how I want to divide the money in my savings account. I also love that it has a debt tracker and regular bill tracker by month in the back (I’m gonna need a new electric company if my bill doesn’t decrease soon, and this page will be the tell!)
So to answer the question, you really only need two accounts. Let’s face it, if it starts raining and it doesn’t stop, the Disney fund will pour into the rainy day fund regardless if it’s original purpose. So why bother opening 5, 6, 7 different accounts? It’s just one more thing making the idea of budgeting and bossing my money around seem so much harder than it has to be!
Happy budgeting!
