Do you have a secret 'escape fund'?

RobYourBuilder · 07-02-2015 12:49PM #1

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 · 07-02-2015 12:52PM

I do yeah.

07-02-2015 12:53PM

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 · 07-02-2015 12:54PM

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

Mesrine65 · 07-02-2015 12:54PM

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 · 07-02-2015 12:56PM

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

bee06 · 07-02-2015 12:56PM

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 · 07-02-2015 12:56PM

I have a separate account for emergencies...

It's nearly always empty

osarusan · 07-02-2015 01:09PM

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 · 07-02-2015 01:12PM

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 · 07-02-2015 01:14PM

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 · 07-02-2015 01:18PM

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. · 07-02-2015 01:23PM

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

Muahahahaha.

donegaLroad · 07-02-2015 01:42PM

veiled revenue thread!

Potential Underachiever · 07-02-2015 01:47PM

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

Tearin It Up · 07-02-2015 01:56PM

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

Tokyo · 07-02-2015 01:59PM

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 · 07-02-2015 02:00PM

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

Tugboats · 07-02-2015 02:01PM

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 · 07-02-2015 02:08PM

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 · 07-02-2015 02:21PM

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 · 07-02-2015 02:37PM

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 · 07-02-2015 03:01PM

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 · 07-02-2015 03:03PM

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

ireland.man · 07-02-2015 03:08PM

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

Jawgap · 07-02-2015 03:25PM

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 · 07-02-2015 04:06PM

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 · 07-02-2015 04:10PM

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

MistyCheese · 07-02-2015 04:25PM

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

shruikan2553 · 07-02-2015 04:35PM

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 · 07-02-2015 04:42PM

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

Do you have a secret 'escape fund'?

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