Looking for account with the following features:

ttelloow

My situation:
I am a PhD student living in London and consequently have stretch the little money I have a long way. I am not a fool though my current financial situation is, however, the result of not being mindful of my longer term financial needs- at all times. I am compulsive and inclined to make impulsive withdrawals.. e.g. at a club to buy a round of drinks (£30 down the drain) etc..
What i don't need:
I don't need to be told that i should 'get some self control', and always keep my finances in the back of my mind. I simply don't wish to think about money - it depresses me. Times have changed - we have never been able to access our assets so easily and so instantly. Advertising, shop design even bank accounts, debit and credit cards etc.. are all designed to encourage reckless spontaneous purchases. I am busy and work hard, I have no time or inclination to discipline myself further.
What i need:
I need a service which makes spending over a certain limit - LESS CONVENIENT. I am looking for an account with the following features:
An account with:
Debit / ATM card
- To be able to set the minimum balance
1- So if i set the min balance to £50 neither the ATM or a Debit
transaction will allow me withdraw money if it knocks me below
my minimum balance.
2- I want this min balance to be interactive - to allow me to set it
to increase by say £10 per week - so i can be confident that no
impulsive purchase will prevent me from saving up £100 in ten
weeks.
3- Most importantly - i want to set a time delay (1-day to 1-week)
on my bank account which means that i can only change
settings 1 & 2 in advance - not instantly.

Point 3 is the crucial factor - i still have complete control over my money, but by placing a time delay on the settings i can only change things when i am thinking long term.

Basically i am accepting that there is an irresponsible and spontaneous side to my personality but there is also a responsible and long term thinking side to me as well (it is this more responsible side of my personality that an account such as this will empower).


If anyone knows of a banking service such as this- please, please tell me. I realise it is not in the banks interest for me to be responsible and not pay surcharges - but i'm even willing to pay a small fee for an account of this nature.

Thanks for reading this

ttelloow

Tixy

I don't know of any account offering this and suspect it is not available. However you might get on better posting here, where I would guess regulars might be more familiar with different accounts on the market-
Budgeting & Bank Accounts

JES_F1

Not ever heard of an account that would provide all these things but you could ask the bank if they can put something in place.

Don't mean to sound harsh but sounds like you want someone else to do it all for you rather than taking responsibility. (I've been there, done that, got the t-shirt, hence now paying huge debts off through a Debt Management Plan. I could have got an Olympic gold medal in spending money ...)

Good luck anyway!

Marisco

Hi ttelloo, sounds like what you want is someone to do it all for you;) Have a word with your bank, they might have some suggestions on the type of account for you. Have you tried just taking a certain amount of cash out with you and leaving all cards at home? That way you won't be able to impulse buy and restrict you to the amount you have in your pocket.:)
I've just copied this from the duplicate thread;)

talana

there is also a responsible and long term thinking side to me as well

but...

I simply don't wish to think about money

Hmmm, it sounds like you want to pay lip service to being responsible and thinking long-term, but without doing anything about it. Or rather you want someone else (the bank) to be responsible on your behalf.
A reality check may be in order.

I have no time or inclination to discipline myself further

You need the inclination for sure, but how much time are you thinking it takes to budget and save every month? If your mindset is there it takes no time at all.

josephine82

I think what you probably need isn't a magic bank account, but a good budget, and implement some ways to stop yourself over spending. Yeah, it might take an hour or so of planning and thinking, but its worth it in the long run.

Svenena

How about if you were to get a basic bank account with a debit card, which didn't allow you to go overdrawn, and then a second account, with NO debit card. You would then move the money you didn't want to spend into the second account in advance (via online banking, for example) and wouldn't be able to access that when you were out, or go below zero on the first one. For extra security, if you think internet banking would make the money in the non-card account still too accessible, the second account could be one which you have to give notice on before removing money.

Sound like this would work? Seems to meet your needs, and wouldn't be too complicated.

ttelloow

josephine82 wrote: »

I think what you probably need isn't a magic bank account, but a good budget, and implement some ways to stop yourself over spending. Yeah, it might take an hour or so of planning and thinking, but its worth it in the long run.

"Magic bank account" - i could program a system which has all of the features described in a day. If a service like this is not available then there is a reason.

It may give you a warm glow of superiority to be moralistic about issues such as this - as we all know to judge is fun. But what i suggested was a very practical solution which would help not just me but a lot of other people.

josephine82

There was no judgement, or feeling of superiority by my post.
My suggestion of planning a realistic budget is the general advice given to everyone on here. To be able to live within your means and not be in debt (the idea of this forum) you need to know what you can and can't spend, and a budget helps you do that.

A bank account such as you describe doesn't exist, I'm afraid!

happycamel_2

Hi ttelloow, as you say, it's not in a bank's interest to provide such a service.

Also, you've come on here asking for help so I think accusing us of "judging people for fun" is a bit unnecessary. There's lots of non-judgemental help on here for people that are struggling but are taking responsibility for themselves. Please read the notice about Trolls at the top of the forum.

Thirdly, Svenena's advice is excellent. Set up a current account with no overdraft and an associated e-saver. Move as much as you can afford to spend from the esaver to the current account each week/day/however long your self control lasts. When the money runs out that's it unless you log in and transfer some more. You could even set up a standing order from the esaver to the current account to move a fixed amount.

There are ways of running your accounts to help you manage them responsibly but legally its your money and you can spend it as and when you want and if you borrow money off others then legally you have to pay it back.

jockinleeds

I dont think there's any judging going on? From the OP it seems as though any weaknesses are well known and whether they are faced into is a matter for that individual. Advice will take many forms including the 'face the facts' type which is sometimes required but not always welcome but it is advice. And some will bite if a carrot is dangled.
I know of no bank account that would allow the required personalisation for money management.
I have an alternative dual system - its called a wife!/debt management plan.
My fallback is that if we cannot afford it, we cant do it. There is no £30 to go 'down the drain' as it is all accounted for in a budget which is facing up to and paying my debts. I only wish I had the luxury of spare cash and/or hindsight.