An Accounting Of The Accounts

July 13, 2022

Going through the initial phases of Project Money has highlighted something that I had a semi-awareness of, but don’t know if I had grasped the extent until now – I am a collector of accounts. As part of this journey, having to list out all the various accounts at financial institutions that we have accumulated over the years was a helpful first step in identifying where our money is going and where the inefficiencies lie.

I am by far the worst offender between the two of us – I don’t think I have ever closed an account (outside of paying off a couple small vehicle loans over the years) – and I currently have around 15 accounts at 7 institutions. Robin has been more efficiently organized at around 11 accounts at 4 institutions. And while some of these accounts were set up with a specific purpose (i.e., home renovations, kids college tuition, etc.), others have continued to linger on after outliving their initial purpose.

After our last meeting with our financial coach, we were able to identify a few of these accounts that could either be consolidated (if there were multiple accounts not needed at a single institution) or closed altogether. This should allow for a clearer picture of where we sit and allow us greater leverage on the funds, we have available (with a larger slice of the pie in fewer accounts – rather than smaller slices spread all over the place).

So, in the upcoming days and weeks, I am optimistic we can say goodbye to some accounts that I have at a bank where the closest branch is a ~2-hour drive, a store credit card that is typically not used and consolidating a few of our accounts to match our family’s current needs.

One simple thing you can do is taking advantage of your , as it keep you abreast of your credit score but also serve as a helpful reminder of what active accounts you have (and may even help remind you of a store card you seldom use, as it did in our case).