The Three Purse system - Help please?

jazzyjustlaw

Lillibet wrote:

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.

How does this "comprehensive pot system" work?

jazzyjustlaw

Ms_Thrift wrote:

Thanks mink, but I already divide my money up using a spreadsheet and then use either cash or debit card, but I always know how much has come out of each virtual pot. I was just intrigued as to wether people did use 3 actual purses - just being nosey really, I suppose!

I use two purses myself and little suzy smith for me me me and a fake louis vuitton for groceries and home etc. Works really well and makes my friends chuckle. I used to have three but it was ridiculous

Lillibet_2

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

How does this "comprehensive pot system" work?

It displays all the pots on the same page so that you can see all your balances at a glance, it allows you to trasfer money between pots instead of having to send it via a nominated current account, so makes robbing Peter to pay Paul much less admin intensive, also seperates transactions into each pot so it's easy to see how much you have paid in/withdrawn in any time period.

skintchick

I am very low-tech. I have a piece of paper in my diary with money available at the top, then in brackets what that is for each pot, then I write down what I spend and take it from the running total, so I can always see what I've got left.

ms_london

I have one current account, where my wages are paid into & all of my DD's come out of (most of them come out on the 1st of the month, apart from one - so I know exactly where I stand!!)..

Up until recently I had an ISA (which ive just emptied to settle my loan), and also 3 ING accounts (Piggy Bank) (Lloyds Loan) and (Travel Fund), it means any "savings" I have can be divided into these, and anything left in my current account is mine.

To keep track of my current account I just write my available balance in my diary (this is my available balance, rather than the balance before DD's have been taken out, if this makes sense), and then every time I withdraw cash or use my debit card, I write this in my diary too which equals a new "available to spend" total.... Each time a debit card transaction clears from my account I tick it in my diary, so I know exactly what is still to come out.

I try and stick to £50 a week, but sometimes I overspend, and then just have less to spend the next week, but usually I limit myself to this amount...

I love my spreadsheets though (I also have spreadsheets of my ISA & 3 ING accounts) which saves me logging on to see my balances all the time, I can just open my spreadsheet. And I also have a main one with my monthly outgoings, my salary & what I have left to spend.. A geek? Yes :0)

Curry_Queen

You sound as bad as me ms_london

I have spreadsheets set up for everything, as well as having everything detailed and budgeted in MS Money, yet I still log on to check accounts most days to make sure I have missed or forgotten anything :rotfl: