How many financial accounts should you have both personally and for your business? These days it is so easy to open up accounts, but if there is no strategy for having a lot of accounts, then it can create unnecessary chaos and even increase your accounting and tax preparation costs. Let’s look at the pros and cons:
Multiple investment accounts: You may have a traditional brokerage account with one firm, your IRA’s somewhere else, and your old 401k’s still at your employer. The problem with this approach is that it may be hard to coordinate your asset allocation and investment strategies if you are not looking at them as a whole. This is especially true if you have a financial advisor because he or she most likely does not have visibility to your other accounts and cannot advise you properly.
Multiple bank and credit card accounts for your business: There are strategies that can be implemented whereas you transfer money between bank accounts as sort of a shelter as a way of budgeting for your expenses. This strategy is outlined in a book called “Profit First,” which is a very good read, and if you are able to implement this strategy then that is excellent. Aside from the business owners that use this strategy, anecdotally, there seems to be a very high correlation between poor financial performance and multiple bank and credit card accounts.
Multiple bank and credit card accounts personally: The most common issue is when husbands and wives have separate bank accounts. Aside from this being a smart move if there are legal issues, addictions, or tax issues, it makes sense to have one joint checking account for a married couple. Money issues are at the forefront of arguments so why not coordinate your finances as one unit so that you make better decisions jointly and without conflict?
You should always strive to simplify your finances, but as Albert Einstein said, “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.”