Ok so a bit of a lousy title, but I hope you get the drift. I wanted to share with you my method of keeping on top of my finances without stressing or feeling guilty about buying things.

First let me say I am by no means amazing with money. In fact I am still in a shed load of debt! But the difference now is that I am on top of my finances and no longer feel guilty about spending as long as it remains in budget.

So how does this system work? Well I got the concept from an American lady who does a fantastic YouTube video explaining her system. But I realised that she had accounts for things that weren’t relevant for me, such as, for health care, which we don’t pay for over here. Therefore I adapted her method and have been so pleased with the results!

1. The main account

This is where all my money starts. Any personal bills come from here and then I send money to all my other accounts to use/save

2. The household account

This is where any household bills come from. For some this may be a joint account if you share these bills with a spouse but the idea is that only household expenses come from here. If it isn’t house related then don’t use this account

3. Savings account

This was always a hard one for me. I’ve never been a great saver as I would start with good intentions but then decide to transfer money out constantly. I realised this was because I was being unrealistic with my savings. I wanted to save so much but it was beyond the means of possibility.

This was when I turned to Plum. So a fairly new concept for saving but one that for me works. This runs through messenger on my phone, analyses my bank account and deducts what it believes is a safe amount for me to save. Now this may only be £5 some months but these small amounts soon add up. I didn’t notice the money leaving my account and couldn’t physically see the money going anywhere so pretty much forgot about it. Therefore I soon had savings into triple figures for the first time ever without even realising it!

For anyone who struggles with saving this is definitely an option I would suggest!

4. Fun money account

So the last account is probably my favourite but also the most relevant. After sitting down and working out the budget for all the above accounts I was able to see what was left nd decided to put a portion of this here. Now when I go shopping this is the account that gets used and when the money is gone it’s gone. I don’t stress about if I have enough money for all the essential stuff because that is already catered for in the other accounts. All I have to decide is do I buy lots of little things or wait for the one big thing I want.

Setting up this method

There are so many different bank accounts out there these days with varying benefits etc. If you are going to try this, use these benefits to your advantage. For example, find an account that gives you financial bonuses for regular large wage deposits for your main account. Or find one that rewards household bill payments. I have a prepaid MasterCard for my fun money account which also helps build my credit score.

There are so many ways you can make this system work for you as well as reduce your financial stresses. I really hope this has encouraged you to try something different! Please let me know your thoughts below.