So many of the posts that I write are actually written more for me rather than you as the reader. I find that writing is a great way for me to get my thoughts out and also to process through some decisions that I know I should be making. One such issue that I’ve struggled with for many years is having my money in too many places.

Why I think it’s a problem

There are 3 main reasons that I believe me having my money in so many places is an issue. The first is that it’s becoming a time management issue and just a peace of mind issue. I’m learning now as a parent of 2 kids that time is so precious and that for me to keep my mental sanity, truly less is more. Even though I don’t spend a ton of time checking or managing other accounts, it still feels like just another thing that I need to check and it does take some time that I could be spending on other more pressing matters, especially as many of these accounts are essentially duplicates, like 2 savings accounts or 2 brokerage accounts. Also, that’s a lot of passwords for me to remember and keep up with!

The second reason is that I feel like money in too many places leaves more room for error. It will come as no surprise but I watch my money like a hawk, essentially tracking every penny of our income and savings. Spreading myself too thin worries me that something my go amiss and that I might miss it. It could be an accounting error, it could be a hack or it could be little fees that start popping up. As much as I worry about our finances, it just doesn’t seem wise to be spread so thin!

Finally, the last reason I worry, and perhaps this is a bit farfetched, but I do worry what would happen in the event of my untimely demise. I’ve got my system of checking and managing everything down pretty good, but would Mrs. Money feel the same way? We do have a repository and she knows how she could sit down and figure it out, but still that’s a lot of extra work for her. Or what if we both passed away and left that to our executor of the will for our kids’ sake? I’m more and more starting to believe that less is more!

How I got into this mess

I find that I’m a bit of a sucker for signup bonuses, and also that periodically I get bored and like to try new things. Being somewhat obsessed with personal finances, it’s probably no surprise that I try new things and get signup bonuses in the financial realm. I’ve also had new financial experiences that required me to open a new account (i.e. participating in my employer stock purchase program or opening a savings account with my insurance company to save on monthly premiums).

In theory I should have closed my old stock brokerage account when I started using a brokerage account through my main bank. I should have also closed that secondary high yield savings account after using another one more often. Do I really need 3 places where I trade my cryptocurrencies? And I’ve been more than transparent about how I think I’ve got a credit card problem – having too many!

I guess it’s partially that I’m lazy (although I hate to admit it), and also that change is hard. I talk myself out of it by telling myself that it doesn’t really hurt to keep the accounts open, it’s not costing me any fees and perhaps it’s simply fine to keep, maybe there’s a reason I’m forgetting that I’ve kept it open this long.

What I plan to do about it

I honestly worry that ‘nothing’ is going to be my more likely course of action. It just looks and feels like a lot of work to close out accounts, and it’s easier to keep them open instead. I will say that hopefully by the end of 2021 that I will close the one straggler high yield savings account that I have. It’s with Capital One who historically had paid a little less interest compared to my American Express savings accounts and so I keep more money in my Amex Savings accounts but for whatever reason I still have a Capital One account. I also expect that my Lending Club investment account will be closing soon. Lending Club essentially shut their business down at the end of last year of peer-to-peer lending and is moving more towards being a traditional bank instead. I have a few straggler loans that are slowly but surely winding down and I imagine that account will close by the end of the year.

Perhaps by taking a few small steps here and there of closing a few accounts it’ll be a good start towards my goal of less is more!