How many bank accounts do you have?

yellow hen

I'm in the process of changing banks at the minute. This involves changing my current account, my husbands current account and our joint account (which is really only used for the mortgage).

My question is are joint accounts necessary? If so, why?

GerardKeating

yellow hen wrote: »

I'm in the process of changing banks at the minute. This involves changing my current account, my husbands current account and our joint account (which is really only used for the mortgage).

My question is are joint accounts necessary? If so, why?

Depends on your circumstances.

For example if one of you is self employed, a Company Director,Sole Trader, or guarantor to loans, separate accounts might be handy if things "went bad".

If your new bank has any form of account maintenance charges, then a single joint account might be best, and not separate accounts. If you need to maintain a minimum balance and/or turnover for free banking, then separate accounts makes this harder.

If you plan to travel to America (this year) or others places with no Chip&Pin, separate accounts is one way to avoid the low maximum daily withdraw limits. I have 2 separate account and wife has one, AIB will limit us to €250 euro a day for ATM withdraws, but in an emergency, we could use all three cards to get 3 times that in one day.

Separate accounts is also handy if one account is compromised/hacked, you can use the other while the bank sort it it hopefully. I was driving once, got a phone call from my Bank, the local supermarket had some tills compromised with skimmers on the card reader, and they want to cancel my laser card instantly, so I said to the wife, we use your card while we wait for them to send me a new one, then her phone rang.... So I said, no problem, I still have the MBNA card, then my phone rang again, MBNA calling <g>. Lucky I had one card that was never used in that Supermarket.

Toots

I've got 4 and I'm just the average customer, although I am staff at one of the banks so I'm not charged quarterly fees on my account. I think if I weren't staff I'd not have as many, probably just one current account and the deposit account.

One is my main current account which has all my bills, mortgage, loan and visa debit on it.

The other one I use just for my chequebook, when I write a cheque I transfer the money into that account straight away, that way the money's already gone out of my account and I don't have to worry about the cheque being presented when I'm broke

The third is another current account which I use if I'm trying to put money away for a specific purpose - at the minute it's for my son's playschool.

The fourth is just a standard demand deposit account, I don't think it's even earning any interest, but I keep it because I can access it with online banking. I get the children's allowance paid into it, and I'm currently on long term sick leave, so my illness benefit is paid in there as well, then I transfer it to my current account in one lump on what would be my payday when I was in work.

All my accounts are held jointly with my husband, they've been that way since we moved in together when we were 20. The main reason was that at that stage we were living hand to mouth so it would have been too much hassle for us to be moving money around from our sole current accounts into a bills account, so we just made everything joint.

yellow hen

Toots wrote: »

All my accounts are held jointly with my husband, they've been that way since we moved in together when we were 20. The main reason was that at that stage we were living hand to mouth so it would have been too much hassle for us to be moving money around from our sole current accounts into a bills account, so we just made everything joint.

Thanks for the replies. I am thinking of just setting my account up as a joint account now. I suppose my reluctance is that if our marriage ever broke down (which I sincerely hope not), am I compromising myself by not having money in my own name?

Charcoal express

I have two accounts, only have a card for one. I like the fact that I have to transfer money in online so I only have 100 or so at my disposal, most of the time when I see something I want to buy if it costs more than I have by the time I transfer money I realise I don't need it

SBarrett

There's nothing wrong with what you have. My wife and I have our own current accounts. We pay money into a joint account for the mortgage and household bills. Whatever's left in our current accounts we can spend as we wish.