Every few months, my wife will have me transfer money into our main ‘household’ checking account. It’s the account that groceries, utilities, and everyday expenses get paid out of, so it’s always running dry.
I have a few accounts to pull $$$ from, including our one big money market savings account. Our smaller accounts have gotten so small over our first five years of retirement that it is probably time to ‘sweep them up’ and retire them as well.
One was my original MegaCorp Savings & Loan account. It’s hard to wax nostalgic about a checking account, but I opened this one in 1989 when I got my first job at MegaCorp. It’s been consolidated twice with other S&Ls into a generic ‘City-County Savings & Loan’ and I’m not even set up on their online portal right now. That one should close.
We have another small account that has been the source of our electronic car insurance payments for decades. That’s the only use of the account. Rather than ‘sweep’ the money into a different account and rearrange the electronic payments, we’ve just let it be all these years.
In addition to these two, we have a handful of other savings, brokerage, and miscellaneous accounts that could be consolidated and closed. It just takes some time to make sure they aren’t electronically linked to anything important and transfer out the money.
Still, it’s going to be 84-degrees and sunny today. A nice day to take a little day trip out of the city for a hike or explore a small town. So why put chores before having some fun? 🙃
How organized are you in ‘sweeping up’ loose accounts?
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MrFireStation 
Chief, it’s a beautiful day for goofing off! Banking can wait for rainy days. We’re down to three banks, each with checking/savings. Each has a separate purpose. I like to keep “walls” between purposes, so that one doesn’t “steal” from another through inattentiveness. Life long habit; no need to change now. It works.
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We ended up with more than one bank when the FDIC rules were lower and you could actually have uninsured money in the bank if you had too much. My wife worked at the bank and got concerned about it when we sold a house and had a bunch of cash temporarily. We have 4 banks now, but multiple (useless) accounts at a few of them.
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Just make sure inactive accounts don’t remain inactive for too long. Escheatment laws vary by state; I’ve had a couple of unused accounts end up in the state coffers. It’s much easier to close your own account than to try and reclaim lost funds from the state.
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Hasn’t been a problem so far, but we keep our eyes out for charges. We actually have one “totally free checking” account with $207 in it. Hasn’t been used in 20 years I’d guess. Still shows up as an active account at our bank!
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I like my life to be as simple as possible. First when I retired, and then when my husband retired, we consolidated our accounts into as few as possible (401K, Roth, taxable, HSA, checking, savings). It took a few years to close all the time accounts, since we used laddered CDs for our emergency fund money. We ended up with 12 total. Not counting credit cards which are kept paid off. It still feels like a lot! Every one we closed was one that we no longer have to think about, review, or maintain. A win in my book. Think of it like decluttering; it makes you feel free now, and will help anyone stuck with the work when you can’t do it anymore.
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Agree – ‘decluttering’ your accounts ends up being a gift for someone else down the line. I need to get going on it the next rainy day!
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