Consolidating bank accounts?

brassmonkey001

Hi there.
I have something like half a dozen bank accounts. The fact that I can't say for certain exactly how many should tell you that I have too many.
I used to do all my banking with HSBC then I switched to Aliiance & Leicester now Santander to enjoy their sign up offer and good interest rate. I also opened an IF account as a joint account as they had a good deal at the time, and later a Halifax account for the same reason. Also a Nationwide account because they were the one to use for spending abroad.
I also have a couple of savings accounts which have next to nothing in them and a couple of credit cards which are in use.

My problem is with all these different accounts doing different things there are a number of direct debits and standing orders going on and it seems to me that my money seems to spend most of it's time in limbo between accounts rather than earning any interest. Also, if for any reason a payment fails or is delayed then it has a knock on effect and I get hit with charges.

So, my question is this: Should I just close all these accounts and move everything into one account, and if so, which one?

Nine_Lives

Certainly not into one account.

Halifax: £1000 cycled will get you £5/month. You can have 2 accounts. IIRC one might have to be a joint? That's £10/month - £120 per year
Santander: 5% on £2500. £100 needs cycling through this.
Can put away £25-£300 per month? Look at first direct 8% regular saver
Max out your ISA - look at the top ISA list (link can be found at top of any MSE page).

Have a main account (mine is the halifax which my wages are paid into). All my DDs come out of this so i can manage them easier.

brassmonkey001

Hi K_P83, thanks for the reply.
Unfortunately it's all this cycling money through different accounts which has caused the problems for me. I don't earn enough to give me a comfortable margin for error and if a payment gets missed it all collapses like a house of cards. I've paid out £100s in unpaid item fees, late payment charges etc. etc. over the last couple of years which has far outweighed anything I made from Stoozing etc.
I don't have enough to maintain £2.5K in Santander or to put anything into savings or an ISA, and as far as I can see you need to pay Halifax £15 per month to get £5 back?
So I'm looking to simplify to get everything back under control.

hillendale

I can see you need to pay Halifax £15 per month to get £5 back?
that's the ultimate reward account

You can open a standard 'reward current account' which carries no monthly fee and will reward you with £5.00pm each month provided you deposit a minimum of a £1000 in this account ( can go in and straight out again doesn't need to remain in the account ) I transfer mine each month using the faster payment on line option only takes a minute each month.

Nine_Lives

As hillendale said. It costs you nothing.

* How much money do you have to your name?
* What is your monthly income (net)?
* What are your bills in the month? (broadband, rent, car etc (i mean a combined figure - mine is approx £300) i don't mean things like booze on a weekend).

I have over 10 accounts. Do you think i manage them all in my head? The pen, paper & notebook were wonderful inventions.