The Three Purse system - Help please?

Galtizz

Lillibet, I haven't got around to online banking yet so apologies if this question seems really obvious.

Do your pots have a different bank account each or are they something you can do online within the one current account or do you use a spreadsheet and not use the bank for the pots at all?

I have 3 accounts and 1 purse. 1 short term savings account for holidays, MOT and car tax etc., 1 long term savings account for disasters i.e if the roof falls in, 1 current account for DD's etc. and 1 purse for petrol, going out (as often as the olympic flame) and grocery's I would like to be able to have more pots, so that I have a more acurate budget but I thought the bank might get fed up with me keep opening loads of accounts

Mrs_Thrift

I haven't got round to sorting out online banking, yet, or even a proper savings account - I know, I know, I'm very, very naughty!.....But, I do use a spreadsheet with several pots so I always know how much money is in the bank, what's coming out and when, and I can see the yearly money that I need to keep aside (MOT, insurance, Christmas, etc.) building up for the next time it comes out. I've only been doing it properly for the last couple of months, but I so love being able to see everything at a glance - I've become a bit of an anorak about it, LOL!

moggins

So far we have one current account, one websaver account, he will pay £150 at the beginning of the month onto his credit card (this covers general expenditure and his petrol) The thinking behind this was that he can't spend over that and any that he didn't spend would go towards getting the balance down on his cc, then he will get £40 cash to cover any small expenditures during the month, the trouble with this month was the loony paid the whole £190 off his cc so he didn't leave himself with any actual cash for parking and such.

Then I get £100 spending money and £200 grocery money, all the bills come out by monthly dd, hopefully now he's learned his lesson and is keeping some cash on him it shouldn't be so difficult.

This month has definitely been a learning curve for us, it's shown where we need to add more money and how much we can save, we've even redecorated our bedroom and bought a couple of small pieces of furniture that we needed, paid for dental treatment and new tyres and we still have money left a week before payday. I think MSE is a miracle!

jazzyjustlaw

I have a current account, an ISA, a long term savings account, an account for education and an account for this and that and an account for ME ME ME ME ME. I have two purses. I am worn out trying to work out where my money goes but I feel I could do with more accounts!!

mink35

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

I have a current account, an ISA, a long term savings account, an account for education and an account for this and that and an account for ME ME ME ME ME. I have two purses. I am worn out trying to work out where my money goes but I feel I could do with more accounts!!

Blimey! This post made me grin and then I worked out how many accounts we have as a family :eek:

One current account (wages go in + transfer to other current account)
One current account (DDs go out)
One savings account (Family allowance goes in - children's expenses)
One savings account (Normal savings - easy access etc)
Two ISAs (Long-term savings)

12 yr old daughter - one savings account
17 yr old son - one savings account and one current account

OMG I'm getting addicted, lol!

jazzyjustlaw

mink35 wrote:

Blimey! This post made me grin and then I worked out how many accounts we have as a family :eek:

One current account (wages go in + transfer to other current account)
One current account (DDs go out)
One savings account (Family allowance goes in - children's expenses)
One savings account (Normal savings - easy access etc)
Two ISAs (Long-term savings)

12 yr old daughter - one savings account
17 yr old son - one savings account and one current account

OMG I'm getting addicted, lol!

Funny thing is I had all bar one before I looked on MSE.

mink35

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

Funny thing is I had all bar one before I looked on MSE.

I had them all jazzy. We had problems a couple of years into our mortgage when the mortgage rates shot up at the end of the 80s. I started budgeting better then or we would have lost the house. Hubby had one current account for his wages and I had one for mine. We combined them both but left one open for the DDs - we found this better because we could see instantly what was happening.

Savings accounts didn't happen 'til later and ISAs only a couple of years ago.

I have definitely got more streamlined since MSE tho! It does help!

jazzyjustlaw

mink35 wrote:

I had them all jazzy. We had problems a couple of years into our mortgage when the mortgage rates shot up at the end of the 80s. I started budgeting better then or we would have lost the house. Hubby had one current account for his wages and I had one for mine. We combined them both but left one open for the DDs - we found this better because we could see instantly what was happening.

Savings accounts didn't happen 'til later and ISAs only a couple of years ago.

I have definitely got more streamlined since MSE tho! It does help!

So have you any budgeting tips to share Mink?

mink35

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

So have you any budgeting tips to share Mink?

None any different to what's already on here.

When we first starting having problems I did meal plans for the whole week. We ate well but small portions of the expensive ingredients - usually meat. My local butcher at the time did cooked chicken wings for about 25p a pound. I'd buy a couple of pound and spend ages picking the chicken off to have in a curry!

Typical meals for a week then would be roast dinner using small chops, egg n chips, jacket potato with beans, gammon (ends only) and chips, sausage n mash, chicken curry n rice, stir fry, beans on toast etc.

The best budgeting way is definitely the 'three purse' system. Unfortunately in my case then it usually meant about 7 purses! One for groceries, one for rent, one for my bus fares, one for hubby's petrol, baby expenses, utility bills and incidentals!

My best tip from my point of view would probably be the separate account for direct debits. We know then that the main current account will never get stung for the £25 (or whatever it is now) if a DD gets refused. We have one amount going out on payday to cover all the DDs in the other account.

Lillibet_2

Galtizz

All my pots are under just 2 accounts, a current account for monthly expenses & a short term savings account for quarterley, annual & ad-hoc expenses, & are divided up by different names, they earn interest collectively on the grand totals in each account. I have looked at switiching bank accounts to get a better deal but never found one which offers as comprehensive pot system as Barclays. I don't need to bother with spreadsheets as Barclays online banking displays everything for me. I do keep a running total of grocery & personal spending in my diary though. I also have long term savings & ISA's with other companies.

HTH

PS : No connection with Barclays other than a customer, their interest rate is poor & I think their customer service is rubbish so I am not necessarily recommending them! They just happen to suit me.