Help organising bank accounts/payment of bills

girlinabox

Hi there,

Hoping to get a little advice in relation to banking and paying bills.  My OH and I are due to start renting a property next month and are trying to figure out the best way of organising the finances and payment of bills.  We don't necessarily want to set up a joint account, but perhaps an account solely for the payment of bills if such a thing exists?

I currently hold a bank account with a linked savings account and credit card, so not sure whether I can use the switching service that is currently being offered as not sure what will happen to those savings and credit card linked accounts.  What we were wondering is whether it's possible to set up a new account in one of our names where we both send over a lump sum every month - and this is the account that rent and bills come out of - leaving our own existing accounts with what is left.

Would we be daft not take advantage of one of these switching offers? Any suggestions please?  We need to set up payment for our rent soon so need to make a decision.

Thank you in advance!

colsten

You can apply for any number of accounts you like, and usually get them approved if you have a decent credit file and are on the Electoral Register. You can use those accounts for whatever [legal] purpose you deem fit.

You don't have to switch your existing current account, but you can if you want to. Unless your savings account and/or your credit card pre-req a current account with the same bank/BS, those will be unaffected by a switch. There is no good reason why you would link a switch to moving house. 

You can pay your rent from any account you like, and you can change which account you use to pay your rent at a later stage. 

If you consider a joint account, make sure you understand the pros and cons before you commit https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/joint-accounts

tacpot12

My partner and I have a joint budget where we agree what costs we are going to share, and we split these shared costs so that I pay all of some of them and she pays all of the rest. This also helps if we need to provide proof of address as we both have utility bill in our own name. We can never split them exactly equally so I pay her a small amount each month to reflect the difference.

We also have a spreadsheet that we use to capture any ad-hoc spending that needs to be split. At the end of each month, either I will pay her or she will pay me depending on who spent the most. We then clear down the spreadsheet ready for the next month. This avoids us having to have a joint account and works well for us.  

Dobbibill

Opting for an account purely for bills and leaving your spending money in your own accounts sounds like a sensible idea. You can take advantage of the switching service and various rewards that go with it if you want to. 
All the best with your new budget, planning and house move. 

colsten

Dobbibill said:

Opting for an account purely for bills and leaving your spending money in your own accounts sounds like a sensible idea. You can take advantage of the switching service and various rewards that go with it if you want to. 

If you switch for a bonus, your old account gets closed.

KxMx

I live with Mum and she has a basic savings account that I send my "keep" money to ready for when the gas/electric bills come in. She adds to it herself occasionally.
The account is only used for bill payments, she transfers the correct amount to personal account then pays the bills.

When I move out I plan on doing similar although I do already have 3 accounts to run (personal current, treat/bigger expense current, long term savings).
That is something I definitely need to think about.

Jami74

We have joint account (didn't know any better 30 years ago) but a single account would work as well. I feel if it was a single account my partner would view it as paying me keep rather than being jointly responsible for our bills. It is used for set amount monthly direct debits and standing orders (rent, council tax, water, electricity, tv licence and broadband). We both put in a set amount each month, child benefit (and previously WTC) also goes in. The ingoings total slightly more than the outgoings due to rounding up which covers for occasional needs like a new vacuum cleaner or microwave and we now have a month in hand (it's taken some time) for just in case ingoings are delayed for any reason. It also has a £1000 overdraft facility (not been used in years), to ensure that should some disaster happen the rent would at least get paid.

Food and variable spends are dealt with elsewhere (mostly by me as I earn more). It keeps it simple that the joint account has a fixed amount coming out and I can see months ahead if we need to increase what we put in. If food and variable spends were the same each month then I'd put them through the joint account too but keeping them separate protects the rent and bills money. 

As for switching, in the past I've opened a second current account with my main bank and then switched that, keeping my main current account and associated savings accounts in tact.