Where do you hide your running away fund

[Somuchsugarinoneday]

If you have one?

I’m soon going to be working more hours and earning almost double what Dp does. I’m not planning to run away, but I do want to save that money and Dp is hopeless with money and it all gets frittered away somehow.
I want/need to save the money for an important reason-medical tests and help for my ill Dd and then possibly a trip to Disneyland in a year or so. I plan to work very hard for as long as this opportunity presents itself and to save as much as possible.
I’m thinking cash in a larger envelope, but where? My thoughts are in a high up picture frame in Dd’s bedroom, but i’m not sure 🤔

Where do you hide yours, if you even do?

Premium bonds with NS&I if you don't already have the maximum (£50k). If you have less than £50k any winnings are paid into the NS&I account to buy more bonds. All winnings tax free, all transactions are done online.

It is alarming you feel it has to be this secret- but you can absolutely set up accounts online with no paper statements.

i don’t have a ‘running away’ fund but do aim to save a few months’ salary in case anything goes wrong with my job. My husband I’m sure knows this- I’ve complained about dipping into it when we’ve had to fund repairs so it’s not ‘secret’ but I also didn’t inform him it existed ir tell him how much is in it, it’s my money to manage how I please the same as him.

I would go to a different bank and open an account that is convenient to be paid in. You should be able to check that it is set up so that your account has no paperwork sent anywhere other than via email.

However if your DP looks at your phone he might see a banking app or a notification so is it worth telling him you want your own account or it’s an account for your child? You should move money out of there to a higher rate savings account. There are ISAs and premium bonds and lots of different account options.

If you hide cash in the house and he finds it then it sounds like you are screwed. He isn’t sounding like a great guy if he won’t say for medical tests for your child.

Everyone should have a running away fund. Mil told me this when we got married and I remember saying it to my friends when we started having difficulties. They looked visibly relieved and said ‘so you have savings then’ and I said ‘no, we never had problems’. I think they all learned from me!

I agree, premium bonds are very old fashioned and not a good way to get a return on your money.

?? I know how to open a bank account obviously, I just don’t want him knowing. I could hide the cash temporarily yes

I do internet banking, but they send letters occasionally too

• Open an online bank account, such as Monzo, Tide or Starling. (No "branch" involved.)
• Pay in cash via the Post Office.
• No paper communications, only electronic.

Sorted.

I'm rather concerned at your financial naivety...storing cash... unaware what "paperless" means..... but you're going to do your own taxes?

"What about letters/statements to the house via post?" All banks and building societies these days encourage customers to have online /paperless statements.

Look at a stocks & shares isa on a free to use platform- Trade121 or ii.

Also I would tell him you are saving up for this and just set up a direct debit for the tests and a holiday to an account in your name that he knows about and let him know how much is in there and then have a secret account too.

Otherwise how is he going to think you got the money to pay for everything? That will make it harder to save in the future as it encourages him to spend what he likes as you will pick up the shortfall and it tells him you are hiding stuff from him.

im definitely not saying don’t have your own secret account but keep that for a last resort like splitting up

A better return than hiding them behind a photo!

I would open your own current account with a different bank and then continue to transfer into the joint account the same amount you do now.

Keep the rest in your own current account and have it set up for online statements.

For all those saying open a savings account - yes in general circumstances but if she wants to keep it hidden long term (in case they split up and get divorced), that money will be taken into account for a settlement as finances are all shared in the eyes of the law without a pre Nup, so the only other thing you can do is keep it in cash (but bear in mind it will be difficult to actually pay it into your bank in a big lump sum). Alternatively you could open and account in your daughters name and put it in there - but obviously depending on why she is ill and if you are receipt of benefits, you may not be able to do this either as they may need her income seperate.

Problem is, the building societies send out letters. Often telling you about interest rate changes and the like. I opened a cash ISA in April last year, and requested no 'snail mail' or letters and I have had 5 or 6 forms of written contact from them.

Fortunately, my DH knows about this ISA (I aquired £23K last year, and put £18K in an personal ISA) and so it's not a problem or an issue. But what if I had been in an abusive marriage - and this was my escape money? Or not in an abusive marriage but a dead one, and I was trying to get my ducks in a row, and had hidden the £23K... DH would have found out because of this!

So, I think people need to be careful when opening any accounts of their own, as there is a risk their partner will find out.

@Somuchsugarinoneday I don't have a running away fund - but if I did I would likely keep cash too, so there is less of a risk of DH finding out. Not sure where I would hide it. Maybe in the attic!I dunno. Maybe I am a bit daft/naive, possibly, but I would be worried about contact from someone if I opened ANY kind of account of my own.

It does sound like you need to take steps to leave, as from what you're saying, the marriage seems seriously on the rock

.

If anyone is really in trouble they could set up a subscription to something like Naked Wines where you put money in each month but can withdraw it all at any point. It’s not a bank and you could buy some wine as a cover to explain why you had a log in for it. It doesn’t have an app but you do need to set up a direct debit which if you only have a joint account would be an issue.

Not on UC

They're not married. DD is his, not OP's.

Have you actually read the thread?

And never, never open an account in a child's name that you want to use for yourself.

In my bank account which is my name only. Open an online only account with digital statements and he won't know. My granny kept hers in envelopes stuffed down the sides of the sofa. Obviously grandad wasn't big on rearranging the sofa cushions. Edited because you have a joint account your wages get paid into. You could open a new current account, Lloyds are offering £150 for new current accounts I think. Just say you are doing it for free money and pay the same from the new account into the joint account.

Open a cash ISA with Trading 212 for example. No statements to house, all on their app.

However where are your wages paid? If into the joint bank account and you pay into an ISA the transaction will show on any statements so you may want to make sure your wages are paid into an account only you can access and then you pay your share of bills/expenses into the joint account.

@Somuchsugarinoneday
If post ever did arrive and he asked, just say the account has is where you put aside the money for your tax bill.

I’ve got premium bonds and 2 savings accounts and my own bank account. It’s not a running away fund but they are my accounts. DH and I have a joint account for bills.

And me. I’ve never had a running away fund in my life. 🙄

Good thinking!