5 Practical Tips for Managing Multiple Banking Tools and Accounts

1) Assign a Specific Purpose for Each Account

To make the most out of having multiple banking accounts, it’s a good idea to assign a specific purpose for each of them. This ensures that you’re utilizing the right bank for the right purpose, as well as keeping your finances more organized. Moreover, this setup can help you set boundaries between your personal finances and business earnings, which entrepreneurs in particular sometimes forget to do.

Learn what each of your accounts specialize in to make better use of them. For example, if you have a digital bank account that offers high interest rates, then keep your emergency funds in it to take full advantage of the interests earned. That would also mean refraining from touching the funds in that account so that it can keep earning interest in the long run.

Similarly, a bank account that allows you to easily withdraw funds—perhaps because of ease of transfer through their app or the prominence of their ATMs in your area—can be your spending account for your monthly budget. It can also be your go-to account for online retail and be tied to your credit card for online shopping.

2) Utilize Finance Apps with Consolidated Dashboards

Nowadays, it’s entirely possible to have access to multiple financial products just by signing up for one account. For example, having a Maya account doesn’t only give you the opportunity to spend from an e-wallet; it also lets you sign up for various other products, such as a credit card or a time deposit account, all in one place. This interconnectivity allows you to seamlessly manage multiple financial tools in one platform.

The best thing about having multiple financial products under a single account is that it’s easier for you to manage them under a consolidated dashboard. You can check banking statements, manage your credit card, add funds to your savings account, and more all in just one app. Always check if your banking account has an app that lets you manage multiple financial products for better efficiency and clarity over your finances.

3) Log Your Accounts in Your Budget Tracker

Budget trackers are excellent tools for mapping out how much you’re earning and spending each month, thus allowing you to get a clear picture of where you allocate those funds as well. To make your budget tracking even more accurate and helpful to your financial planning, log your multiple accounts and mark them accordingly in the app.

For instance, if you’ve got multiple credit cards, don’t just lump them all under a single credit card category. Rather, name each credit card as a separate entity so that you can track in better detail which credit card has higher fees or which one you spend the most with.

Setting these distinctions will allow you to get a better idea of how each of your accounts is doing, and then adjust accordingly. If the balance of the e-wallet you frequently use to pay bills is running low, for example, then you should allocate a fund transfer to it to make sure you’ve got enough to cover the next billing period. Noting such details in your budget tracker also helps you avoid errors, such as assigning an entry to the wrong bank account, which could just cause confusion later on.

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4) Set Payment Reminders

One of the most tedious things about managing multiple financial tools is each one having different fees and payment deadlines associated with them. This could get overwhelming quickly and even lead to instances such as missing credit card due dates or failing to realize that one of your accounts isn’t meeting the minimum account balance—both of which can incur hefty penalty fees.

As such, don’t forget to set reminders for your outstanding payments or transfers for each account or credit card. This could be done by adding reminder alerts on your phone, a memo near your work desk, or whatever method it is that you know will catch your attention.

5) Review Your Account’s Fine Print Regularly

Details for various accounts and financial products can also evolve over time. This could be to your advantage, such as your credit card provider adding new types of rewards in their catalog. On the flip side, it could also be less favorable to you, such as your bank increasing their fees. Either way, being caught unaware would mean either missing out on opportunities or getting charged more without being aware of it.

It’s a must, then, to conduct a regular review of your account’s fine print. Check their official website’s news section for any updates so you won’t get blindsided by any changes. This allows you to adjust your financial management strategy to accommodate the new setup, for example by moving funds from one account to another.

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The experience of managing multiple banking accounts and other financial tools doesn’t have to be a stressful one, so long as you’re aware of what to prioritize. The next time you need to go over your accounts, make sure you keep the tips listed in this article in mind to make the task much easier and more efficient on your part.