Do you have a secret 'escape fund'?

RobYourBuilder

Nearly one in 10 people in a serious relationship is hiding a secret "escape fund" from their partner - and men are more likely to have one than women - research from a Government-backed body suggests.

Some 9% of adults from across the UK who are either married or have been with their partner for at least a year admitted to having a hidden fund with the specific purpose of allowing them to leave the relationship if they choose to, the Money Advice Service (MAS) found. The average escape fund holds £7,500.

People living in the West Midlands and London were the most likely to say they are sitting on a secret fund, with 16% and 15% of people in a couple in these regions respectively saying they have one. By contrast, just 3% of couples in Northern Ireland have an escape fund, and in the South West this proportion is 4%. In Scotland and Wales, 5% and 6% of couples were found to have an escape fund respectively.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/11393074/Do-you-have-a-secret-escape-fund.html

I've two accounts open and with money in them from my time abroad. I wouldn't consider them my 'running away money' but more of a break in case of emergency money.

Do you keep a bank account seperate from your partner? Would you be offended if you found out that they had money stashed away that they kept secret from you?

Pat Mustard

I do yeah.

I have emergency money yeah, I think most people should if they're in a position to
I think joint back accounts can be frozen for a number of reasons including death of your partner and it can take a while to sort out so having a separate one can be helpful there also

eviltwin

I have my own bank account but its not a running away fund.

Mesrine65

I have an A/C in Lanzarote that's topped up on a monthly basis for apartment community fees/utility bills etc.

It's also my holiday spending money/retirement fund top-up nest egg.

Roger_007

My OH told me she set up an escape fund for me?
I think she trying to tell me something!

bee06

We both have our own bank accounts that we had from before we got together as well as credit union accounts. But we both know what savings the other has and I defintely wouldnt consider my savings as a "running away" fund or see the need for one.

boobar

I have a separate account for emergencies...

It's nearly always empty

osarusan

Not at all uncommon in Japan, where men usually hand over their salary to their wives, who do their womanly thing and take care of all bills and other expenses.

The men are so unaware of their outgoings that some women have squirrelled away as much as 20 or 30 grand in case of divorce.

No such thing as joint accounts here.

Tugboats

Amateurs on here with their escape fund in a bank account.

http://www.newyorker.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/breaking-bad-granite-state-2.jpg

anncoates

I think escape fund is just a dramatic way of referring to a separate savings and/ or current account which a lot of people have.

Tugboats

What happens if there's a divorce? It's easy to track bank accounts. You could lose some of that money or have to pay more in child support for a kid you probably don't even care about.

Cash is king

Sir Osis of Liver.

Yes,I have a winning lotto ticket from 1998 secreted in a special place.

Muahahahaha.

donegaLroad

veiled revenue thread!

Potential Underachiever

I have a TK Red Lemonade bottle full of coins, ready for the proverbial rainy day.

Tearin It Up

I've got a running away fund. Run away to see Garth Brooks. Sometime this year.

Tokyo

yep - worked in some interesting places overseas, so have a second password (dual citizenship) and a couple of grand in cash set aside at all times if an emergency comes up that I need to get home, or if something goes south in the country I'm in and I need to leave immediately. Sounds a bit more Jason Bourne than it actually is.

The_Valeyard

Would you have to have an emergency slide or parachute too?

Tugboats

mike_ie wrote: »

yep - worked in some interesting places overseas, so have a second password (dual citizenship) and a couple of grand in cash set aside at all times if an emergency comes up that I need to get home, or if something goes south in the country I'm in and I need to leave immediately. Sounds a bit more Jason Bourne than it actually is.

All sounds a bit mad for some lad working on a farm in Australia

Tokyo

Tugboats wrote: »

All sounds a bit mad for some lad working on a farm in Australia

Not as nuts as it sounds - worked in countries where instant access to your money (or your passport at times) wasn't guaranteed. With a seriously ill family member back in Ireland, it was prudent to have an exit plan. Which is why I said it sounded more exciting than it actually was.

Oink

mike_ie wrote: »

Not as nuts as it sounds - worked in countries where instant access to your money (or your passport at times) wasn't guaranteed. With a seriously ill family member back in Ireland, it was prudent to have an exit plan. Which is why I said it sounded more exciting than it actually was.

Sounds like one of those places where I'd have my passport taped on my chest 24/7, with a few hundred dollar bills inside...


I don't have an escape plan. I've sent my horse away. I shall stand here or be buried here.

JaseBelleVie

I always thought it would be so cool to have like a Mission: Impossible "kit" ready to go; new passports, new identities, loads of cash money, a gun. :P

Or as Cecil Terwilliger said: "$15 million and a gun? Checkmate!"

corner of hells

Is an escape fund the same as a drinking fund , my bro. in law had one until my sister found it inter attic.
She didn't tell him , just let him search round the attic for a weekend and asked him every so often "was everything ok ?".

Needless to say he confessed , grovelled and said he'd never do anything like that again.

Tarzana2

Even if married I'd keep my current account separate.

ireland.man

I would never hide my finances from my wife and family, or my other wife and family.

Jawgap

I keep a 'jump' bag ready for work! It has about a grand in various currencies in it - throw in a few extra passports and a 9mm pistol and it would look incredibly suspicious!!

I don't have a fund as such, but from working abroad I still have a bank account in another jurisdiction that would serve that purpose admirably, if I had money to put in it

Electric Sheep

Every married person should have at least one bank account and credit card in their sole name. Not necessarily secret, but theirs alone.

Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. When a marriage is going through hard times, knowing that you CAN leave might help you stay because you know it is a choice. Without the feeling of being trapped, you can make better decisions.

Stinicker

I refuse to marry because I'd have too much to lose if I was with a money grabbing gold digger.

MistyCheese

Yep. I have €15,000 in a shoebox under the bed. ****, not so secret now I suppose.

shruikan2553

Wouldnt really need one. Just keep the money in my own account. Never liked the idea of having everything going into the 1 shared account.

Lucyfur

I had a secret account with running away money in it when I was with my ex. About 3 years into the relationship, I knew I'd need it so I saved and saved and got away from a very horrible person 4 years later.

My husband and I don't have a joint account but we've no secret money hidden. He's deadly and I don't need running away money cos I don't need to run away

Jawgap

Lucyfur wrote: »

I had a secret account with running away money in it when I was with my ex. About 3 years into the relationship, I knew I'd need it so I saved and saved and got away from a very horrible person 4 years later.

My husband and I don't have a joint account but we've no secret money hidden. He's deadly and I don't need running away money cos I don't need to run away

If you knew he had a stash, it wouldn't be secret

PLL

I have a credit union account back at home where my Dad still lives (I live a good few counties away now) my oh knows about it, I would feel a bit deceptive hiding that fact from him. Don't use the money in it though, in the back of my head if anything happened to us it would be my 'escape fund' so to speak, but also if there was an emergency and we needed it I would straight down there getting it out and using it.

I'll add what someone else mentioned about it being important to have a bit of money for yourself so you can leave if you want to and don't feel trapped. When I was first with my other half and we had a young baby I had absolutely no money to myself and when we would have a hard week it would really get to me that I felt maybe I didn't know whether I was happy or not because I didn't have a choice. When my savings from part time work accumulated in my CU it was so liberating. I now knew how great my relationship was and happy we were because I had the choice to leave if I wanted to. It made me realise I never do. So don't ever look at having money of your own as a bad thing. Feeling trapped isn't a healthy thing for anyone.

One eyed Jack

osarusan wrote: »

Not at all uncommon in Japan, where men usually hand over their salary to their wives, who do their womanly thing and take care of all bills and other expenses.

The men are so unaware of their outgoings that some women have squirrelled away as much as 20 or 30 grand in case of divorce.

No such thing as joint accounts here.

That's exactly the way my wife and I work our finances. I have no interest in them. I bring money in, my wife decides where it goes out. I think she has a couple of different accounts in a couple of different banks and the credit union too I guess, but apart from the odd time thinking "the bank charges must be outrageous", I really don't give it much thought.

Ficheall

bluewolf wrote: »

I have emergency money yeah, I think most people should if they're in a position to
I think joint back accounts can be frozen for a number of reasons including death of your partner and it can take a while to sort out so having a separate one can be helpful there also

You're planning to kill your partner? :-/
I'm now kind of glad I didn't send that Valentine's card based on the "now ye're lovin' " results...

the evasion_kid

I work cash in hand and keep my funds in a biscuit tin,I've always kept escape money close at hand to satisfy my nomadic tendencies

todders

No

on_my_oe

I have bank accounts in three countries, but OH knows about them... It's useful as we can take advantage of exchange rates and we are wary that some countries may go to s%^#, so it's useful to have funds elsewhere in case we need a (joint) escape.

I'm single, but I've two savings accounts. One is just regular savings, the other a contingency fund in case of emergency. My mum started a pension for me when I was 22 and put the minimum amount in until I was earning and took over last year, it's going to make a big difference at the other end of my working life. The difference between a pension started at 22 and at 27 when I finished my studies is disproportionately big.

I can't see myself with the kind of partner I feel I need to keep secrets from, maybe that's naive.

The Strawman Argument

When I'm house sharing, I don't even leave out the full package of toilet paper because I fully expect everyone to use more than the need when resources don't feel remotely scarce.

Applying what this example of my frugality shows about me on a much vaster scale, I'm pretty much guaranteed to hide about 50% of any future income me and a partner may have in undisclosed gold reserves away from everyone.

lazygal

I'm married and I've kept two accounts in my name only. There's no way I'd have everything in joint names. I've heard of women and men caught out badly because nothing was in their name alone. I think it's only wise to be able to fall back on some savings for an emergency.

Candie

Candie wrote: »

I'm single, but I've two savings accounts. One is just regular savings, the other a contingency fund in case of emergency. My mum started a pension for me when I was 22 and put the minimum amount in until I was earning and took over last year, it's going to make a big difference at the other end of my working life. The difference between a pension started at 22 and at 27 when I finished my studies is disproportionately big.

I can't see myself with the kind of partner I feel I need to keep secrets from, maybe that's naive.

Yeah I've a pension as well it seems a nuisance now but it'll be handy when I'm at that stage for sure

cloud493

Well I don't have a partner. But I do have an emergency fund in case something goes wrong.