Can I have two current accounts, one for bills and one for spending?

[ShitWithMoney]

Hi Everyone

Name change for this. Name states the obvious.

I've read some threads on here about couples having a joint account to put all the money needed to pay the bills, then keeping a personal account for their own spending.

This is what I need, only it's just me, and I need two current accounts really. The one I have where the bills are paid from, and one where I can transfer my spending money to.

I am in dire need of separating the two. Do any of you know how I could do this? Or if not, are there any ways to separate the money?

Yes. Just open another one.
Or newer online banks have "pots".

Just open a new one. I'd recommend Monzo as it is easy to set up online and has a good app

Yes. I have six so I can ring-fence big spends / on-line spending.

You can have 100 accounts if you want. Just go on the banks website and open one

I might be behind the times, do I not need to be putting a certain amount into an account to open it?

Apologies if I sound stupid - with money, I am a bit.

If you need to stay with your bank, eg because you have an overdraft with them, then ask them for another account for bills. They will sort that out for you.

If you don't need to stay with your bank then try a bank like Monzo where you can have lots of little pots for money. Someone I know has loads, for holidays, next Christmas, repairs, clothes for the children, etc, as well as one for bills and one for everyday spends.

This is kind of what I want to do:

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2021/jun/16/want-to-stick-to-your-budget-open-six-bank-accounts

Yes.

I have three - a joint acc shared with DP for the household and mortgage, a personal account for my personal spending, and a separate personal account I use for work (I'm self-employed) to keep tracking income and expenses easier.

You just need to watch the terms and conditions to make sure you meet the minimum transaction requirements for the account.

Have as many accounts as you like with as many banks as you like. Just open another current account. You can just do it online with your current bank and it’ll go live almost instantly, or within a couple days if they need to verify anything by post.

You can do what you want with your money! Personally I use chase for daily spending due to their cashback. I transfer money into it each month from my main bank account.

open another current account with another bank.
it helps to have docs from different organisations if ID is needed.
also easier for you to not get mixed up, as to which is strictly for bills.

so when you go out to buy groceries etc, ie necessities, you can use the debit card from the non-bills bank.
have your salary paid into the bills one, calculate how much you need to cover bills each month, with some added on to cover variables.
then transfer some into other account for daily expenses.
i don't think you should think of it as spending money.
rather think of it as running costs.
when i was working i aimed to save all my money, except for absolute necessary bills and expenses.
hence i now have some to live on when i cannot work.
the current cultural norm leads to people wasting money.
don't fall for it.
good luck.

I have three. One that my wages go in and that is where all my bills come out. I move a 'groceries' budget to a second account each month and the same for 'pocket money'

I'm with Lloyds and have online banking. As I get paid every 4 weeks but bills go out on set days every month, I transfer all my bill money from my main account into another current account. All my direct debits go from that account. I just opened up the separate account via the online banking.

I also have a third current account that I put a few pounds away for Christmas or for trips/holidays. Takes a few minutes to do and it's so easy to keep an eye on money as I can see all my accounts next to each other in the same app.

Thank you everyone, I didn't realise it was so easy.

The last time I opened a current account I had to guarantee putting x amount into it like my salary. So I thought I'd have to do that.

I do have four accounts with my bank, a current account, a savings account, and two accounts that were Bonds that expired. But all but the current account I have to manually transfer money out of them, I don't think I can have DDs.

I've seen Monzo advertised.

Wow, really overwhelmed with your replies. I've got myself in a real mess, so this is so so helpful!

Starling is another good online one with 'pots' .
Very easy to set up online and very easy to use and move money around between all the pots. Also you get interest in your balance.

I think what I'm going to do is sit down and work out just how many accounts I need and whether or not it's better to have them at different banks.

I really want to start 2024 with a different set up, so I don't get confused with everything in one place like I do now.

I've genuinely lost count of how many current accounts I have open!

They're super easy to open. There are some bank accounts (e.g. Halifax reward/santander 123 etc) which will give you additional rewards if you guarantee to pay in your salary and a pay out a certain number of direct debits. But all banks will offered a bog standard current account (sometimes called "everyday current account") which will just do what it says on the tin.

It'll probably be easiest for you to just open a second bank account with whoever your first bank account is with. That way you'll be able to access it using your same online banking/mobile app login details and transfers between the two wil be super easy. Alternatively, as a PP said you could look at Monzo which allows you to set up various different "pots" of money.

You absolutely can. I'd recommend looking at the Santander123 accounts - they pay cashback on household bills. I have the free account and earn approx £8/month through that. DH and I transfer in £1k/month each which covers the usual household bills, insurances, the dog, car costs (except diesel), mobile phones and an amount towards household savings so we can pay for things like car repairs, boiler replacement etc without panicking too much.

We do the joint current account and personal ones thing, but even then I have a personal current account with Starling as we have the joint one there. Its so easy to use, and I really like the spaces thing as I pop money in there for dentist, opticians etc etc so I can set a target for the opticians to have enough by the time I need new glasses without forgetting about it. But def no minimum income needed on that.
I also put money on a Revolut account for holiday money as then its completely separated from everything else

Chase is great as it pays 1% interest on a current account, and also currently paying up to £15/month on cash back. I also use the round up function which mounts up really quickly, so,say, if you spend £9.50 on something it automatically rounds up to the nearest pound, puts it in a savings pot and pays 5% interest. It's amazing how quickly the 'spare change' builds up.

https://www.chase.co.uk/gb/en/

Yup. We do this. Main account for spending and bills, second account for food shopping. Easily done and very handy.

I have two current accounts and three savings accounts.

I would recommend having two accounts with different banks because if one bank’s systems go down or are taken down for maintenance, then you still have the other account you can access.

Do bear in mind that the more accounts you apply for in a short time te more you will undergo credit checks esp if you’re e.g. applying for overdrafts, and in the short term that can affect your credit rating, so do your research first before applying for new accounts especially if you’re planning to have several.

I just counted and we have 6 joint accounts and then I have 3 more. Might be overkill but everything goes into them at the start of the month.

I personally have one fun account which is for make up, clothes, my nights out with friends, random online shopping and once that's gone I can't have any more fun til pay day.

I'd recommend having a few with the same bank to make life easier, You can see all your accounts in one place and move money between them easily.

I have one which everything gets paid into.

One for household bills.
One for groceries.
One for car/petrol
One for family activities
The above are all joint accounts and we each have our own accounts for personal spending money.

I have 4 with Bank of Scotland, one for the kids money, one for all bills which is joint with my husband, one for our monthly spends on groceries and petrol, one savings.

I then have 2 with Starling, one for each of us to have our own cash, one for joint family spends. It's a good way to budget. You don't need to put any money in starling to open an account.