Savings 'Pots'

[nevermarryamitford]

Sorry if this is obvious but I'm just starting out figuring out how to structure my finances and it's not coming naturally..

When people refer to having lots of pots for savings i.e. one for bicycle repairs, one for replacing carpets, one for holidays, one for gardening etc do they mean having an actual separate account for each of these random things?

I ask this because I feel like opening loads of accounts comes with a lot of admin? I struggle with passwords and dongles just for my current and savings accounts so having all that for a savings account for 'bicycle repairs' and 'carpet fund' freaks me out a bit.

Our joint account is our house pot so from that comes anything we want for the house, repairs and decorating. We pay £50 a month each into it.

I have two accounts and one savings account and a Lisa. My wages go into one account and I use this for my own personal spending money. My second account is where all my debits come from. On payday I transfer the total of my debits to the debits account, my share of the bills to my DH (all house bills and food shopping comes out of DH account) and the money left is mine. I also transfer money into my LISA each month and into my savings.

We pay £75 each a month into our holiday/days out fund which is in DH's second account and his first account is where the household bills come out of and what he uses for personal spends.

I also have a pot that I put all my loose change in and when I empty my purse weekly that I save up. This is usually my spending money for a fair I attend yearly.

It's easy to control as my accounts and savings are with one bank so when I log on, I can see all three accounts. My LISA is with a different one but it's simple to log on.

I also keep my passwords written down and these are locked in our safe.

My savings accounts are all online with the same bank. Practically zero admin to open (just apply online) and I can see them all in one place. Also means i can move money round really easily.
I have two current accounts... one joint account that all our bills etc come from, and one that I use for the children's activities etc. Then I have 3 'savings' accounts... one for Christmas/birthdays, one for holidays/trips away and one that I use for my own 'luxuries'. We have a joint long term savings acct too.

I've got current and isa andsavings online. Only difference is isa has limit on tax free but never save enough to make use.

I have direct debit out per month into saving one of £50 then use that for whatever, plus savings one that try put £25 week in towards quartly bills so there's always balance so if 4 come together I've got some to cover it.

You could theory do it with one saving account if you say put £20 week towards Xmas, £50 towards
Holiday and keep track
Of totals etc

Good thing about online savings is faff to log on and move money into current account so you have to really want to do it!

Mine isn't a faff... I log on to my online banking on my phone with just my fingerprint! Takes 3 seconds max.

I opened mine online in less than a minute. HSBC are slightly annoying as you can't name them yourself but I moaned at them and they did it manually for me. Nationwide allow you to name them easily.

I find it very very useful as it prevents me from borrowing from different pots. I still do it but it's harder to fool myself that I am not!

If you want a low tech easy method and you can trust yourself with cash you can simply use envelopes labelled with what you're saving for and add money each week or month.

Similarly here. A current account with saving accounts linked to it. When you log on, you can see all of them and transfer the money between them easily.

Having said that, the interest is low so we only use it for short-term stuff (holidays, annual insurance, Christmas etc) + an emergency pot (yet to be used).

Any medium to long term savings are in SIPPs, LISAs and ISAs. But again, we use one online platform for all of those.

So all in all that's a grand total of 2 places to log into :)

I use Clear check book to keep track of my money, and have virtual pots set up on that as different accounts, all within one real savings account.

Brittbugs80 This is reassuring thanks, it doesn't sound too onerous having all accounts under one bank.

Ecureuil Really interesting thanks, sounds like one bank and lots of account options is the way to go.

FreeButtonBee Interesting re Nationwide and HSBC and naming accounts, I think I would find this useful.

SandyDenny this is true, not sure I can trust myself with cash though!

JoJoSM2 I need to think about medium and long term savings too and it doesn't sound like you're overwhelmed with logins which is great ; )

With lloyds you can name your accounts so I have them named things like car repairs, house insurance, Christmas gifts. Can check them all and move money on an app on my phone. It's great

AtiaoftheJulii I''ll check out Clear check book, haven't heard of it, thanks for the tip

AlbusPercival handy to know that Lloyds offer hat facility, will definitely check it out thanks

We have lots of accounts with nationwide. Transfer via my phone but have monthly standing orders to each account.

TheDrsDocMartens another happy Nationwide customer! Def need to check them out.

We have one savings account. And a spreadsheet where I allocate different amounts so we know what relates to different savings.

MirandaWest I'm leaning in this direction as my friend has set me up a spreadsheet. Thanks for your thoughts.

Goodbudget if you like the envelope system

I find YNAB very good.

Another vote for you need a budget. It's revolutionised my spending and makes it easy to have one account.

I am with nationwide I opened accounts in all my dc name and then renamed them
Christmas etc.
Their actual accounts are with the Halifax.