EH - Keeping on track. (AKA focus Woman! FOCUS!)

EssexHebridean

I can take no credit...it was all in the weekly email....and then Mooo reminded me about it! :rotfl:

starnac

Do you know I don't think I get the weekly email anymore?? Will have to check and rectify

starnac

Can I ask a question about your budgeting skills please?

You talk about your 'holiday' pots and your 'car' pots for example. Do you physically have separate accounts with your banks? Or are they just one account that you keep a note of how much belongs to what?

Does that make sense? Sorry I'm rambling

EssexHebridean

Ours are separate savings accounts that piggy-back off our current accounts. So - we each have a personal current account for personal spends, then the Joint Account for the general householdy stuff and expenditure. Off the back of my personal account I have an ordinary savings account, a slightly higher rate savings account (currently so thin and poor it's shivering), a savings accounts for presents (MrEH's birthday and Christmas, notably) and my "fun" savings account. The Joint account has standard savings, Holiday, Car, Christmas, Household and a couple of other accounts. the "e-savings" accounts that we use allow us to set up regular monthly transfers for various things from the current accounts, or we can just transfer lumps of money in and out as and when. We're quite fortunate that our bank (actually a building society) has a great range of products that really suit what we want to do with them. (Or perhaps we've come up with a way of working around them? Who knows! )

I know other people do it with one account and notes of what belongs where - that would be a proper recipe for confusion for me though - my poor little brain would combust! :eek:

mooomin

Agreed EH - I couldn't have one account for it all, it would just be a disaster!

My pots are for birthdays/Christmas, car expenses (insurance, MOT, repairs) and Edinburgh Festival spends.

I've also got one for anything I banked from my Sealed Pot this year, my ISA and a general savings account which this year will pay for decorating costs and any other adhoc requirements. I suppose that's my emergency fund.

The benefit of having pots is that you can set them up in a way that works for you. I like having my festival fund because then I don't feel like I'm stealing money from a "real" savings account to go out and have fun during festival time

Greying_Pilgrim

Aw to battery failure and no perky puffins EH :(

There is a flikr stream on Yahoo, and there was a puffin pic on there the other day - my first thought was whether it was one of yours! It was of the head of a puffin, peeping over a rock amidst thrift - super photo and obviously taken on good equipment, as the detail was so fine and close-up, you could see the feather 'lines' etc. Still, wrong island anyway, it was a Shetland puffin I think.

Almost minded to have a 'whip round' to send you back to get some shots....... :rotfl:

Hope you have a great weekend

Greying

starnac

Thank you EH and moomin I have always tried to just put whatever money I can away and then use it for whatever comes round first, then build it back up again if you see what I mean. But it is not working and I get myself in a muddle. I think I need a good look at my accounts. I may do that next week as I have already started going through my budgets and re jigging them.

*waves to Greying*

cazmanian_minx

I only have the one savings account, but I use YNAB to keep track of how much is in each virtual pot. So far it's worked well

starnac

cazmanian_minx wrote: »

I only have the one savings account, but I use YNAB to keep track of how much is in each virtual pot. So far it's worked well

Sorry caz what's YNAB?

mooomin

starnac wrote: »

Sorry caz what's YNAB?

I *think* it's software called You Need A Budget which you can buy online for about $40 or so. I am waiting to try it when Steam next have a sale