How many current accounts should I have? I am not the owner of a company . Is there a reason to have more than one bank account? has a checking account to your credit score? For example, how long have you there? Thanks.
Best Answer: I have 1.
I used to have two, but one was for a money market account, and it was the best/easiest way to get money out of the account. I closed it because the return went into the pooper.
So, back to 1. And I really only use it for paying my guitar teacher and the occasional miscellaneous item that isn't covered by cash, credit card, or automatic bill pay.
Reply:We have 5 (all are no-fee accounts)…
Hers x1
Mine x2
Joint x2
All, with the exception of the 2 joint accts, were opened years before we were together. We keep these open for the many years of established relationship and for back-up purposes.
Banks are:
WAMU
BOA
Wells
I know Wells, BOA and Citibank pull hards nowadays for checking/savings accounts. The WAMU person I spoke with today swore that they do not pull hards and that they only use tele-check…YMMV Hope this helps.
Reply: I have two with the same bank since they would only issue 1 debit card for an account. I've always used my debit card when I travel and with two accounts, if the atm eats the card, I have a backup.
Many people and some banks recommend two at the same bank. I know BoA offered the second one free – typcially one has over draft, the other is used for debit card or online purchases and does not have OD. They're linked so you can easily move money to the second account when you need it.
Reply: usaa pulled no hard and did not run chex when i opened mine
Key bank runs a chex report. I opened the account and added DH after he moved up here – they had to call in to chex to check on him but the only hard was on me… so, if a bank pulls hards on both for a joint account (I'd expect they would) the way around it may be have one person open it and add the other.
Reply:I have two with the same bank since they would only issue 1 debit card for an account. I've always used my debit card when I travel and with two accounts, if the atm eats the card, I have a backup.
Reply:Has anyone opened a checking account recently where they didn't get a hard INQ? I'm looking for banks or credit unions like that.
Reply:I have 3 checking accounts. My local credit union for monthly bills, another local bank for disposable income, and BofA for a small side business I run. My company lets you direct deposit into multiple accounts, so I have a portion deposited to my brokerage account, enough to pay my recurring monthly bills plus a little extra in my bill paying account, and everything else to my disposable income account. I'm really bad about overspending, so this helps me save and also makes sure I always have enough to pay my bills. Basically if I can't pay for something out of my disposable income account, I don't get to buy it.
Reply:i have a few myself…
commerce for my biz account.
commerce for my personal (might close since i switched to usaa…now i primarily use it to deposit checks and ach it to usaa).
i keep a small checking/savings account at the cu's to maintain a relationship.
currently:
penfed
patelco
nasa
Reply:
How many checking accounts should I have? I don't own a business.. Is their a reason to have more than 1 checking account? does a checking account affect your credit score? for example how long you've had it? Thanks.
I have two checking accounts. A personal account and a farm account. I don't think checking accounts affect your score…..unless you over-draft and never pay it……….then it will show up on you credit report.
happy new year
Plaudit
Correct – but if you open a new one, the bank may be able to see how many you have. Apparently too many throws a red flag as it could be used for kiting. I don't know how many is too many though…
(I currently have 4 – will close 1 in the next 6 months, as soon as our life ins starts debiting the new account).
NOT ANY LONGER…
CHECK 21 PRETTY MUCH TOOK CARE OF THAT
Back in the olden' days you could write one check to cover another check shortage on another account
Or write a check for $50 or $100 over at the grocery store and deposit that cash in the bank and the check may not get to your bank for another 3 or 4 days
Reply:My main everyday checking is with Commerce Bank bc they have no fees and they're open 7 days a week and have long hours
I also checking with Citi, linked to my e-savings, for emergencies
Reply:I have two.
Trying to downsize to one. I have one from CharterOne when I was 17 and a Chase I just opened because they sent me a $125 bonus coupon. When I'm at school Chase is just about on every corner and CharterOne, I have to go to a Wal-Mart in a different county. Trying to get everything moved to Chase eventually because it is also back home.
I also have two online savings accounts. I'd like to just use my HSBC though next year. Not sure how I got about closing ING.
Reply:I have 4 checking accts, had 5, but closed one when I opened another.
Have: USAA, BOA, local CU and local bank
Closed: Wachovia
Reply:usaa pulled no hard and did not run chex when i opened mine
Reply:[/quote]
You didn't need that many accounts for the business… unless it was a really big business.
[/quote]
Pretty decent sized.
I was investing in apartment buildings, and also was involved in managing apartment rentals for others, so by law I had to hold those funds separately.
As to the repair escrows, when I would finance the purchase and renovation of a new property I had to use construction loans, and the lenders generally required that you set up a separate escrow for the repair funds for each property, and provide them with a monthly accounting. For ex., if you bought a property for $20k that needed $30k in repairs, you would borrow $50k and the $30k excess went into an R&R escrow that you drew down to pay for the renovations. Lenders generally won't let you comingle these funds either.
The separate payroll account was a necessity, in my experience. When it comes to employment in construction, you run into some very shady characters. The easiest way to prevent a forged check or other bank fraud is to set up a separate payroll account that always carries exactly a $0.00 balance and no overdraft protection. Each payday, we would cut the checks and add up the total, and then do an instant transfer of that exact amount into the account. If anyone ever tried to screw with anything, you are thus automatically protected, or at least your losses are greatly limited. Banks supposedly promise 100% protection, but I don't trust much that they say.
The tax deposit account was also a necessity. You have to pay in witholding etc. quarterly, and since you are deducting it from other peoples' paychecks you have to hold the funds aside. I'm not sure you legally can just deposit these funds into your personal checking or whatnot. In any event, it is easier to budget and leaves less room for disaster.
The operating account was necessary for obvious reasons, you have to pay your vendors and the rent and interest payments, and have to cut checks for all that.
I guess I could have cut one of the personal accounts out, but I just chose not to. The rest were absolutely necessary, though.
Reply:
How many checking accounts should I have? I don't own a business.. Is their a reason to have more than 1 checking account? does a checking account affect your credit score? for example how long you've had it? Thanks.
I have two checking accounts. A personal account and a farm account. I don't think checking accounts affect your score…..unless you over-draft and never pay it……….then it will show up on you credit report.
happy new year
Plaudit
Correct – but if you open a new one, the bank may be able to see how many you have. Apparently too many throws a red flag as it could be used for kiting. I don't know how many is too many though…
(I currently have 4 – will close 1 in the next 6 months, as soon as our life ins starts debiting the new account).
Reply:SURE AM NOT GONNA' OPEN ANY NEW ONES ANY TIME SOON
THE STUPID BANKS THINK THAT THEY NEED A HARD TO SEE YOUR ID
I HAVE IT IN MY WALLET
JUST ASK I WILL PULL IT OUT TO PREVENT A STINKIN' HARD
Reply:
How many checking accounts should I have? I don't own a business.. Is their a reason to have more than 1 checking account? does a checking account affect your credit score? for example how long you've had it? Thanks.
I have two checking accounts. A personal account and a farm account. I don't think checking accounts affect your score…..unless you over-draft and never pay it……….then it will show up on you credit report.
happy new year
Plaudit
I have five now (Navy Federal, two local banks, Citibank, and USAA). Won't close any unless they start to charge monthly fees, as opening a checking account costs a hard just about everywhere now.
Reply:ALL THE BILLS ARE PAID OUT OF OUR "JOINT" ACCOUNT
NOT TOO MANY CHECKS ARE WRITTEN
EVERYTHING POSSIBLE IS PUT ON TO CREDIT CARDS
ALL CREDIT CARD BILLS ARE PAID ON-LINE
(with the exception of PYRAMID VISA)
Reply:I have a total of three:
Citi-Used for monthly bills (3 years)
BOA-I call it my "back-up" account (2 weeks)
Peoples Credit Union-This was the only financial institution that would touch me after I was entered into Chexsystems (5 years)
I guess I have so many because I remember what it was like to not have a single account for 5 long years!
Reply: How many checking accounts should I have? I don't own a business.. Is their a reason to have more than 1 checking account? does a checking account affect your credit score? for example how long you've had it? Thanks.
I have two checking accounts. A personal account and a farm account. I don't think checking accounts affect your score…..unless you over-draft and never pay it……….then it will show up on you credit report.
happy new year
Plaudit
Reply: When I had a business I had the following checking accounts:
-Operating
-Payroll
-Tax Deposits
-Escrow
-Property-specific R&R escrows (usually several at any one time, one for each separate renovation project, at lenders' request)
-Personal checking at BOA since my biz. accounts were there and I got it free, and was easy to transfer.
-Joint checking with the ex, for household stuff
-Personal checking at JaxNavy (now VyStar) because they were actually my fav, and I had loans with them on auto deduct.
Went back to school, and now I just have one. It's all I need. I am much much happier.
You didn't need that many accounts for the business… unless it was a really big business.
Reply:I have 4 but downsizing to 2 in the new year.
Reply:When I had a business I had the following checking accounts:
-Operating
-Payroll
-Tax Deposits
-Escrow
-Property-specific R&R escrows (usually several at any one time, one for each separate renovation project, at lenders' request)
-Personal checking at BOA since my biz. accounts were there and I got it free, and was easy to transfer.
-Joint checking with the ex, for household stuff
-Personal checking at JaxNavy (now VyStar) because they were actually my fav, and I had loans with them on auto deduct.
Went back to school, and now I just have one. It's all I need. I am much much happier.
Reply: How many checking accounts should I have? I don't own a business.. Is their a reason to have more than 1 checking account? does a checking account affect your credit score? for example how long you've had it? Thanks.
TWO
HERS
OURS
2 DIFFERENT BANKS
Reply:We have three checking accounts at three different banks.
One is for my expense account for work which I pay AMEX out of after getting reimbursed. Of the other two, one is used for tax deductible items we wish to easily track such as medical, property taxes and donations. The third is for everyday bills.
Our reason for this is that we once had our bank get purchased by another nd the new guys were impossible to deal with. They saved money by not having support staff. We learned our lesson and now have good long term good relations with the three banks. If one gets bought we can just move those accounts to another with better service.
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