Keeping Up With The Accounts

We have 12 bank accounts. How does this happen? Quicken used to be a simple program to use, but not anymore.

In the beginning, there was just Momma. I had one checking account and one savings account. When my three young ladies started receiving child support, I opened a savings account for each of them, those accounts each receive 10% of whatever support is received.

Enter Wes, and his checking and savings account. When we combined households, we didn't combine accounts. Not for any other reason than we have automatic payments coming out of each and going into each account that would be a pain to consolidate. Not to mention that the tax debt liens do not impact my accounts the way they do his.

Last year, I got an annual bonus from my employer. I used that to start my first ING Direct savings account.

At the beginning of this year, Wes and I went into business, necessitating opening two new business checking accounts. *Note: If you intend to receive wire transfers, you should have one account for only wire transfers, and one account for all the rest of the transactions.

Once we started living on the money that I'd been stashing into our ING Direct account, I thought it would be a good idea to move $1000 (standard emergency savings, read more about it at: Being Frugal, Paid Twice, or Get Rich Slowly) into a separate ING Direct account, so that I wouldn't calculate it when determining available funds.

Then, once Wes and I started receiving payments for the consulting, I opened an ING Direct Business Savings account so that we can earn interest on the taxes we must pay quarterly.

I think that the next project will be to simplify these darned accounts. But how?

Keeping Records

There are some very good documents written about how long you should keep your financial records. Bank Rate has a very good list, and Kim Lankford at Kiplinger's Ask Kim column wrote a pretty detailed article as well.

I've read all the articles. I've nodded along at the good advice. Then I've boxed up every bank statement, cancelled check, utility bill, and retail receipt from every year and put them in plastic totes under the house. Each year, during the first quarter, I gather all of my tax items, pull last year's records out, start new files for this year, and move everything under the house.

With a total of 2 ex-wives, 1 ex-husband, and a whole group of "yours, mine, and ours" children, I am petrified to get rid of any records. I have pre-k report cards, tissues in baggies with unidentified baby teeth, string and ribbon art works, and every single birthday/valentine's/holiday card and personal letter ever received.

I have one box that is full to the top with cancelled checks and bank statements from Wes and his ex-wife 11 years ago. I admit that I keep these because those bank statements have child support records and until the children are all 18, we never know when something is going to pop up.

I live by the premise that records are only useless until about 5 days after you throw them out. Then they're desperately needed. I'm never so relaxed as when all my filing is done. And... MY FILING IS DONE! I finished it about 30 minutes ago.