How many accounts do you have?

B0bbyEwing

I am torn between drastically dialling back the accounts I manage & simplifying things (but will then take some kind of hit on the interest) and continuing it as it is - getting the interest, but it being 1) a bit of a ballache and 2) quite complex.

Made me wonder how many accounts other folk manage & for those who have quite a few, do you get the same thoughts I'm having or are you quite happy running so many?

My setup will be different to everyone else's here. I've just tallied up & came to 60 accounts. That doesn't include my SIPP, my LISA, my S&S ISA or my 2 credit cards.

Some of them are for various non-money perks (e.g. Lloyds cinema tickets), others just run £1 in them & are used to hit criteria for perks (e.g. Halifax rewards), others are open because you have to have X to be able to have & (e.g. First Direct & their 1st account, everyday savers - avoiding monthly charges), to get Barclay's 5% I've also got their current account & blue rewards account.

So there's various for various reasons but the total is 60

It requires some leg work at the start & end of each month. I have in the past when updating my spreadsheet gone wrong somewhere to the tune of more than should be possible (e.g. saved £5k yet we only had £3.5k income that month) but then it's straightened out the following month & I've been unable to track what went on.

And that's probably the main part of me thinking about this - the getting it wrong some months when tallying. Ok it's straightened out the next month but I don't like the fact it went wrong in the first place. 

But I know what I'll be thinking if I strip it right back & make it super simple ...... I'll be thinking at the interest I'm passing up. 
So can't win.

Anyone actually made the move to simplify & prefer/regret it?

Prism

Just three. Starling current and joint accounts. Marcus saving. Currently have no fixed savers.

dealyboy

I have a few, but the important thing is to have 2 or 3 current accounts with different banking groups ... you know it makes sense. 

poppystar

Too many really! Keeping a good record as go along but at the moment thwarted by Halifax who won’t allow me to close 2 accounts I no longer want, so best made plans to rationalise a bit not happening.  I’ve yet to have to check HMRC figures and test my records, I’m hoping that will be easy. 

Saver73

I had 28 accounts at the peak of my rate chasing! Now I have 6 accounts - one regular saver, two one year fixes, an easy access, a flex ISA and a current account. 

When the regular saver matures I'll put into a new one year fix at the same time as combining the two current one year fixes all into one account, then start a new regular saver.

No regrets since I simplified and reduced the number of accounts and I'm still receiving good amounts of interest on my savings though a bit too close to the PSA for my liking!

Sleekit

poppystar said:

at the moment thwarted by Halifax who won’t allow me to close 2 accounts I no longer want

I've never heard of this before, although perhaps it's common and I've just been ignorant of it.

Why are they not letting you close an account, and how?

Saver73

poppystar said:

Too many really! Keeping a good record as go along but at the moment thwarted by Halifax who won’t allow me to close 2 accounts I no longer want, so best made plans to rationalise a bit not happening.  I’ve yet to have to check HMRC figures and test my records, I’m hoping that will be easy. 

@poppystar I was able to close Halifax accounts online via the website. I think it was under account services. There is also a form on their website you can print off, complete and post to them if you can't close online. I've done both recently.

Kim_13

Used Regularly: 

Halifax Current Account
Chase (though very little in their savers currently due to better rates being available elsewhere)

Also have current accounts with NatWest and Nationwide (Regular Saver prerequisites, one of those being older than my Halifax account) and Metro (future switcher.)

Regular Savers Maxed Every Month: 

Saffron @ 9% Fixed
Skipton @ 7.5% Fixed

Regular Savers funded every month and maxed if funds allow: Nationwide (have switched any Premium Bond prizes to pay into their current account to fund this) and Monmouthshire Exclusive @ 8%.

Regular Savers maintained at min. Monthly Contribution: Nationwide Start to Save, Tipton, Stafford Railway and Hinckley.

Any additional funds will go into either the Monmouthshire Issue 2 at 7% to be transferred into the 8% in due course, or the Yorkshire Loyalty RS.

I have the Santander Limited Edition Saver which receives any loose change.

So funding to some extent a minimum 8 Regular Savers a month currently, and most likely 9 or 10.

Just Sitting There: 2 Fixed Rate ISAs and the now closed issue HEBS Branch Saver.

I recently transferred out of Wealthify after receiving the cashback and used the funds to secure the Skipton Tracker ISA and the Coventry Four Access ISA. I’ll likely subscribe to one of these in the next FY and transfer to a fix if and when an attractive option becomes available.

So ~13 accounts used monthly, I think. Plan to start another S&S ISA when a suitable cashback deal comes along, or once cash savings rates are no longer as attractive as they are currently.

I thought my ‘system’ was quite simple but that is quite a lot of active accounts - looking forward to the last S2S draw and Hinckley maturity (will keep min balance to retain membership.) As you can see I haven’t opened every possible current account, so I suppose I am striking a balance between getting the best offers and simplicity.

subjecttocontract

I've just added them up and there are 53.
* I'm trying to put some of my cash isas together.
* I'm closing the regular savers paying less than 5.5%.
* Many accounts have a low balance.....they are only needed for regular saver accounts.
Now interest rates have stopped rising every week they are easier to manage.

B0bbyEwing

poppystar said:

Too many really! Keeping a good record as go along but at the moment thwarted by Halifax who won’t allow me to close 2 accounts I no longer want, so best made plans to rationalise a bit not happening.  I’ve yet to have to check HMRC figures and test my records, I’m hoping that will be easy. 

I recently used the apps for Bank of Scotland & Lloyds to close a combination of current accounts & savings accounts and it was (mostly) easy. While not Halifax, they're all the same lot anyway.

Lloyds were the awkward ones. Closing current accounts throughout was fine but they said the savings account was a joint account & had to be closed in branch in person.

So I said I think you'll find it's not a joint account at all. It's most certainly a sole account in my name only so what's the reason this can't be closed via this app like the current accounts??
Their response - your account has now been closed.

See my thread on Halifax's CS being all over the place. You'll get there, you just need to stick at it & tell them they're wrong when they're wrong.



Having a quick look at my accounts and I think I could chop it down by 40 to 20. Regular savers annoy me but I do them for what they offer. 

I think tomorrow I'm going to map out on paper what I can't give up & what I'm willing to let go & see where it leaves me.

What also bothers me about continuing as I am is if I get hit by a bus tomorrow then even with written instructions, I could forgive anyone for looking at what I've mapped out & going what the hell is this. So it needs to be easy for someone else to work out should I find myself dead tomorrow kind of thing.

Bridlington1

At last count I had just over 100 savings accounts, 14 current accounts and 4 credit cards along with 6 investment accounts left over from free investments I've had and cheap DD generation. I've opened a few more savings accounts since then though.

All accounts are listed in a spreadsheet on one sheet with balances and interest rates. The majority of these accounts are sat there with a minimal balance so when updating my spreadsheet each month it's mainly a copy and paste job as I only need to update a couple of EA account and credit card balances each month plus the regular saver balances. Most of the RS balances are increased by the same amount each month so don't have to be manually checked and can just be calculated there and then unless interest is due to be paid.

I list my collection of regular savers on another sheet with max/min pay ins, maturity dates etc used mainly so I know which regular savers I've paid into and for deciding which accounts to empty to feed other regular savers. The sheet includes a new list created and updated each month for the following month's potential regular saver contributions. A third sheet lists the payees of each of my accounts including nominated accounts for savings accounts. Both of these sheets are updated as and when any details are changed.

I have absolutely no intention of cutting back on my accounts, quite the reverse in fact, I've opened another 3 savings accounts in the last 3 days. I actually rather enjoy having this many accounts (yes I am probably quite mad). I sometimes do a spot of fine-tuning of the accounts here and there, e.g. converting the Cambridge Your Saver to a First Account in order to reduce the balance from £100 to to £1 for maintaining membership for "loyalty" purposes etc but that's about it really so far as reducing account numbers are concerned.