what to do when you have so many accounts?

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Topic Author
dred pirate
Posts: 667
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:46 am

what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by dred pirate »

So - looking through my accounting software - and I quickly realize I have a ton of accounts and wondering if this is abnormal- and if after retirement (which is still 15 years away for me) if people simplify? I keep a document in our safe that has a list of the accounts and passwords and some other info such as life insurance, etc so my wife (who trusts me with the finances - but we make joint decisions) can access everything in case of my demise.

List of our accounts:
Checking and savings for me
Checking and savings for wife
joint checking and savings (we did this because we were both professionals and sort of liked the idea of a little independence when it comes to spending on ourselves and giving gifts to each other - we are completely open with what we have in these accounts and have nothing to hide)

her accounts
compushare account for her (COF stock from her father when she was a minor - slowly selling it off and transferring to 3 fund portfolio in taxable account below
vanguard taxable account
vanguard Roth IRA
Vanguard rollover IRA
Workplace 403b (fidelity)

My accounts
Workplace 403b (transamerica)
Workplace 457b (transamerica)
Workplace Roth 457b (transamerica) technically not a separate account I guess, but I treat as one due to Roth vs Traditional
Optum HSA
Vanguard Roth IRA
Vanguard taxable
treasury direct ibond account
schwab trading account - likely will sell them off and move to vanguard taxable - this was my attempt at trading - I don't recommend it)

daughter (these obviously will go away when she becomes an adult/graduates college)
529
savings
vanguard taxable


Changes I could make?
Like stated earlier, probably will sell off and close the schwab account.
Could combine the vanguard taxable accounts. I started hers as it was "her stock" . We treat them like joint accounts, and are each others beneficiary. I know if we sell off one, we would have to pay capital gains taxes on the profit - which for mine isn't much as the account is small (likely only 1500 profit in it right now). Can you do a joint taxable account with Vanguard?
I know we could combine the checking and savings of each other to have a joint account - that might be something to do when we do reach retirement - but as of now, we sort of like it - we probably spend more since we know the other person isn't going to scruitinze it. I probably would have a heart attack when I see what she spends on selfcare stuff- haha.

any other advice? FWIW I use moneydance on my apple to keep track of everything


Cheers,
DP
MarkBarb
Posts: 908
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:59 am

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by MarkBarb »

Some of it is simply unavoidable, but you do have a fair amount of duplication. IRAs, 4xx accounts, HSAs, are a necessary hassle for tax purposes. Having at least 8 accounts for checking and savings is an own goal.

Do you really need 3 checking accounts? Why do you need separate savings accounts? And having separate accounts, why do you need joint accounts on top of that? And why savings accounts at all? Why not combine those with your taxable accounts at Vanguard? If you like it the way you have it, that's great. If you find it too complicated, that's where you need to look for consolidation.

For my wife and I, we have separate credit cards, which gives us spending privacy when we want it. Everything gets paid from the same checking account. Where we live, it's all community property anyway. Our list is one checking, one savings/brokerage, 2 Roths, 4 IRAs (one is a rollover and one is inherited), 2 HSAs, 2 529 plans, and 2 Treasury Direct accounts. In theory, we could combine the checking and savings/brokerage, but I like having them separate and don't mind the complexity.
pizzy
Posts: 4339
Joined: Tue Jun 02, 2020 6:59 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by pizzy »

Ever heard of a joint account? Jk

Consolidate all the non-retirement accounts.

1 checking
1 savings (maybe)
1 taxable investment

That’s a good start.
Vanguard/Fidelity | 76% US Stock | 16% Int'l Stock | 8% Cash
Topic Author
dred pirate
Posts: 667
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:46 am

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by dred pirate »

1. Can you do a joint taxable investment account with Vanguard?
why 3 checking - like I mentioned - we are both fairly independent and were older(ish) and set in our ways when we got married- yes - it is technically all community, but just something that works for both of us - in a previous life we did everything joint we each always questioned each other (sign of a bigger problem that eventually led to divorce) - but we basically each contribute the majority of our check each month to the joint, then our own accounts are our "fun money" for lack of better term.

Why savings? that is our emergency fund, (actually they are money market accounts) - I guess I could put the money market/emergency fund into vanguard taxable account- that would eliminate a couple of the accounts. The ibond treasury direct also serves as a emergency fund, but I literally just opened it last month - so I can't access the money yet if needed - but down the road between vanguard money market and treasury direct, I could eliminate the joint and my savings, and likely the wifes as well

thanks
DP
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AnnetteLouisan
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Location: New York, NY

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by AnnetteLouisan »

My mom once told me to put all the papers (relating to retirement accounts, insurance etc) on a shelf and think about it some other time. Not entirely a bad idea.
HomeStretch
Posts: 11415
Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:06 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by HomeStretch »

Simplifying accounts where possible is a good goal.
dred pirate wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:23 pm … Checking and savings for me
Checking and savings for wife
joint checking and savings …
Would one individual checking account for each of you (rather than two each) work? See my comment below about using I-Bonds (or the joint savings or perhaps a Vanguard Taxable account money market fund) for your emergency funds.
… compushare account for her (COF stock from her father when she was a minor - slowly selling it off and transferring to 3 fund portfolio in taxable account below
vanguard taxable account …
Your spouse could transfer the Computershare(?) shares to the Vanguard Taxable account.
… [Her] Vanguard rollover IRA
[Her] Workplace 403b (fidelity) …
If your spouse’s 403b plan accepts transfers in and has good low-cost fund choices, she can do a rollover of the Vanguard IRA to the Fidelity 403b.
… [His] Optum HSA …
It’s worthwhile to add another account in the year spouse turns age 55 if you have a HSA-eligible HDHP that covers your spouse. Your spouse is eligible make a catch-up contribution annually in her own HSA.
… [His] Vanguard taxable…
… [His] schwab trading account…
Agree with combining His two Taxable accounts. Another option, if you and spouse are open to a joint taxable account, is to combine the two His/Her Taxable accounts + Her Computershare account into one joint Vanguard taxable account.
… [His] treasury direct ibond account…
Consider a TD account for your spouse to purchase I-Bonds too. Each of you can purchase up to $10k annually. I-Bonds are good for emergency fund holdings as they are safe and liquid after one year.
Last edited by HomeStretch on Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:52 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Topic Author
dred pirate
Posts: 667
Joined: Tue Nov 27, 2018 10:46 am

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by dred pirate »

HomeStretch wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:47 pm Simplifying accounts where possible is a good goal.
dred pirate wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:23 pm … Checking and savings for me
Checking and savings for wife
joint checking and savings …
Would one individual account for each of you (rather than two each) work?
… compushare account for her (COF stock from her father when she was a minor - slowly selling it off and transferring to 3 fund portfolio in taxable account below
vanguard taxable account …
Your spouse could transfer the Computershare(?) shares to the Vanguard Taxable account.
… [Her] Vanguard rollover IRA
[Her] Workplace 403b (fidelity) …
If your spouse’s 403b plan accepts transfers in and has good low-cost fund choices, she can do a rollover of the Vanguard IRA to the Fidelity 403b.
… [His] Optum HSA …
It’s worthwhile to add another account in the year spouse turns age 55 if you have a HSA-eligible HDHP that covers your spouse. Your spouse is eligible make a catch-up contribution annually in her own HSA.
… [His] Vanguard taxable…
… [His] schwab trading account…
Agree with combining His two Taxable accounts. Another option, if you and spouse are open to a joint taxable account, is to combine the two His/Her Taxable accounts + Her Computershare account into one joint Vanguard taxable account.
… [His] treasury direct ibond account…
Consider a TD account for your spouse to purchase I-Bonds too.
Each of you can purchase up to $10k annually.
1. ya - going to close the savings accounts and use a vanguard taxable account as a our emergency fund / replacement for savings
2. Not sure if we can transfer the shares to vanguard? anyone know if this is possible without significant fees?
3. Her 403b will NOT allow rollover IRA transfer - already tried this.
4. She doesn't have a HDHP so can't do HSA for her
5. Can you combine the two taxable accounts, or will it trigger a taxable event (sell and close one vanguard account and then buy back into another)? And can you simply add a name to an existing one, or does it require liquidating both accounts and setting up a new one? (I will contact them to see - but figured I would ask here first)
livesoft
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Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by livesoft »

Pretty normal to have many accounts. Maybe you can look forward to having some inherited IRAs, too?

Most of our accounts have one single fund in them and thus do not need to be "managed." Sure, they get included in an asset allocation analysis, but all rebalancing is done in a single tax-deferred account based on the total portfolio value. That is, most accounts are in "set-and-forget" mode. We have a Fidelity account that some shares were transferred "in-kind" into it more than a decade ago that has had literally no buys and sells ever. Dividends are automatically sent to our checking account. It is truly "set-and-forget."
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HomeStretch
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Joined: Thu Dec 27, 2018 2:06 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by HomeStretch »

2. If you meant “Computershare”, yes I have transferred Computershare accounts that held individual stocks to both Fidelity and Vanguard. Initiate the transfer at Vanguard. There is no fee for the transfer. However, Computershare will sell any fractional share, charge a transaction fee and send you a check for the balance. Once the shares are transferred to Vanguard, (1) verify the cost basis transferred properly and (2) set the holding so dividends don’t reinvest.

5. I have added a spouse to a Taxable account at Fidelity using an account registration change form. There is no tax consequence for transfers between spouses.

It’s a bit of work to simplify accounts but I personally found it to be worthwhile.
Jack FFR1846
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Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

As I approach retirement, I'd like to simplify and have started. I have opened a lot of accounts when they had bonus offers. Let me think for DW and me:

Credit union
me
savings (6.17% on the first $1000)
checking
money market
HELOC
her
savings
checking
Ally savings
Ally invest
eTrade work acct for ESPP and RSU
brokerage
fidelity
me
money management
tIRA
Roth
401k
her
tIRA
Roth
Schwab
me
brokerage
tIRA
her
brokerage
Roth
401k
Redneck Bank savings
I still have about 10 bank accounts where I've met the time for getting the bonus and have zero'd them out.

At this point, I'll likely close by withdrawing in retirement and zeroing the account.
I have not decided yet who I'll stick with if I do narrow to one. It'll be either Schwab or Fidelity. They're both quite good. I'm a big ETF buyer, so my investments are big "who cares?" because they move easily.
Bogle: Smart Beta is stupid
AlohaJoe
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Location: Saigon, Vietnam

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by AlohaJoe »

You don't need to change anything. Closing one or two accounts isn't going to materially affect anything. You'll still have a lot of accounts.

What problems has it caused you? None? Don't go looking for problems where there aren't any.

Just make sure your have documentation so when you die the person dealing with it knows about all of them.
Tal-
Posts: 544
Joined: Fri Apr 22, 2016 10:41 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Tal- »

A few thoughts:

1: Your list of accounts isn't absurd. There's probably some minor adjustments to be made, such as killing the Schwab account or some of the suggestions above - but this list is bound to remain long. So....
2: If you don't have one, consider a password tracker. For years, I went crazy trying to keep passwords. I heavily used Chrome's default password manager before learning just how insecure that is. So, a couple years ago, we purchased a password manager, and it's been a godsend. It's adds a couple clicks, but it takes away a lot of the stress of multiple accounts for us.
3: If you don't use one, I'd consider a program that links all of your accounts to provide a comprehensive picture of your finances. We use Mint and it does the job very well. It lets us go to a single place, and see how we're doing on big goals like net worth, small goals like monthly spending, and middle goals like investment allocation increases.
4: My read is that you like Vanguard. That's great. I'm a Fidelity guy myself, but I think most of the big shops let you have dozens of separate accounts visible and managed under a single sign on.
5: Don't let the tail wag the dog on checking and savings accounts. If separate accounts work for your marriage, that's great.
Debt is to personal finance as a knife is to cooking.
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Doom&Gloom
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Joined: Thu May 08, 2014 3:36 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Doom&Gloom »

AlohaJoe wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 6:18 pm You don't need to change anything. Closing one or two accounts isn't going to materially affect anything. You'll still have a lot of accounts.

What problems has it caused you? None? Don't go looking for problems where there aren't any.

Just make sure your have documentation so when you die the person dealing with it knows about all of them.
+1

If you find you have absolutely no use for one as you go, close it. Either you will have a purpose for them or you'll pare down their numbers. You don't need a goal to get to a 3-account status here.
synacksyn
Posts: 23
Joined: Fri Jan 14, 2022 12:26 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by synacksyn »

dred pirate wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:51 pm
HomeStretch wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:47 pm Simplifying accounts where possible is a good goal.
dred pirate wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:23 pm … Checking and savings for me
Checking and savings for wife
joint checking and savings …
Would one individual account for each of you (rather than two each) work?
… compushare account for her (COF stock from her father when she was a minor - slowly selling it off and transferring to 3 fund portfolio in taxable account below
vanguard taxable account …
Your spouse could transfer the Computershare(?) shares to the Vanguard Taxable account.
… [Her] Vanguard rollover IRA
[Her] Workplace 403b (fidelity) …
If your spouse’s 403b plan accepts transfers in and has good low-cost fund choices, she can do a rollover of the Vanguard IRA to the Fidelity 403b.
… [His] Optum HSA …
It’s worthwhile to add another account in the year spouse turns age 55 if you have a HSA-eligible HDHP that covers your spouse. Your spouse is eligible make a catch-up contribution annually in her own HSA.
… [His] Vanguard taxable…
… [His] schwab trading account…
Agree with combining His two Taxable accounts. Another option, if you and spouse are open to a joint taxable account, is to combine the two His/Her Taxable accounts + Her Computershare account into one joint Vanguard taxable account.
… [His] treasury direct ibond account…
Consider a TD account for your spouse to purchase I-Bonds too.
Each of you can purchase up to $10k annually.
1. ya - going to close the savings accounts and use a vanguard taxable account as a our emergency fund / replacement for savings
2. Not sure if we can transfer the shares to vanguard? anyone know if this is possible without significant fees?
3. Her 403b will NOT allow rollover IRA transfer - already tried this.
4. She doesn't have a HDHP so can't do HSA for her
5. Can you combine the two taxable accounts, or will it trigger a taxable event (sell and close one vanguard account and then buy back into another)? And can you simply add a name to an existing one, or does it require liquidating both accounts and setting up a new one? (I will contact them to see - but figured I would ask here first)
One thing about using Vanguard for your emergency fund. I don't think it is FDIC insured. Are you sure you want a hunk of cash sitting there?
tomd37
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Joined: Thu Mar 01, 2007 9:39 pm
Location: Middle Tennessee

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by tomd37 »

We have been married for 56 years now. During all that time we had one joint checking account, with her income for the four years she worked part-time going into that joint account. I started investing at age 50 in 1987. I only had one tax deferred investment account and she had one investment account (TIRA) based on my income. I have one Roth account based on conversions from my TIRA, and we have one joint taxable investment account. So, the accounts over the years have been simplified for us and will be for the survivor when one of us passes. :D
Tom D.
Horton
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Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Horton »

As the great philosopher Kenny Rogers said:

“You gotta know when to hold ‘em,
Know when to close ‘em…”

Or, something like that.

:P
80% global equities (faith-based tilt) + 20% TIPS (LDI)
Sagefemme
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Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Sagefemme »

AnnetteLouisan wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 5:27 pm My mom once told me to put all the papers (relating to retirement accounts, insurance etc) on a shelf and think about it some other time. Not entirely a bad idea.
I like your mom.
Sagefemme
Posts: 352
Joined: Mon Mar 12, 2018 9:31 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by Sagefemme »

I think spouses can have privacy even with joint savings and checking accounts. We each have our own credit cards, so the details of what was bought and for how much is buried in the statement. If I really want to "hide" something, or if my CC payment is embarrassingly large one month, I will use the the bank sweep account associated to my taxable account, which he never looks at, to pay the CC bill. For the first 25 years of marriage we shared everything including same credit card, so it was really leaving the beaten path when we got separate credit cards. I felt like I was having an extramarital affair!! But really we got separate cards because we felt we were missing out on CC rewards.
JBTX
Posts: 11227
Joined: Wed Jul 26, 2017 12:46 pm

Re: what to do when you have so many accounts?

Post by JBTX »

dred pirate wrote: Wed Jan 19, 2022 4:23 pm So - looking through my accounting software - and I quickly realize I have a ton of accounts and wondering if this is abnormal- and if after retirement (which is still 15 years away for me) if people simplify? I keep a document in our safe that has a list of the accounts and passwords and some other info such as life insurance, etc so my wife (who trusts me with the finances - but we make joint decisions) can access everything in case of my demise.

List of our accounts:
Checking and savings for me
Checking and savings for wife
joint checking and savings (we did this because we were both professionals and sort of liked the idea of a little independence when it comes to spending on ourselves and giving gifts to each other - we are completely open with what we have in these accounts and have nothing to hide)

her accounts
compushare account for her (COF stock from her father when she was a minor - slowly selling it off and transferring to 3 fund portfolio in taxable account below
vanguard taxable account
vanguard Roth IRA
Vanguard rollover IRA
Workplace 403b (fidelity)

My accounts
Workplace 403b (transamerica)
Workplace 457b (transamerica)
Workplace Roth 457b (transamerica) technically not a separate account I guess, but I treat as one due to Roth vs Traditional
Optum HSA
Vanguard Roth IRA
Vanguard taxable
treasury direct ibond account
schwab trading account - likely will sell them off and move to vanguard taxable - this was my attempt at trading - I don't recommend it)

daughter (these obviously will go away when she becomes an adult/graduates college)
529
savings
vanguard taxable


Changes I could make?
Like stated earlier, probably will sell off and close the schwab account.
Could combine the vanguard taxable accounts. I started hers as it was "her stock" . We treat them like joint accounts, and are each others beneficiary. I know if we sell off one, we would have to pay capital gains taxes on the profit - which for mine isn't much as the account is small (likely only 1500 profit in it right now). Can you do a joint taxable account with Vanguard?
I know we could combine the checking and savings of each other to have a joint account - that might be something to do when we do reach retirement - but as of now, we sort of like it - we probably spend more since we know the other person isn't going to scruitinze it. I probably would have a heart attack when I see what she spends on selfcare stuff- haha.

any other advice? FWIW I use moneydance on my apple to keep track of everything


Cheers,
DP
Mine is probably as complicated as yours. There are reasons it is the way it is. Could I simplify? Yes. Will I eventually simplify? Probably. Am I worried about it now? Not too much. Like you I use software (Quicken) to track it all.

We have multiple 401ks, iras, Roths rollover iras. Some of them could be combined, but there may be some theoretical liability advantages to not intermingled rollover iras with IRAS. The 401ks we have are good ones. I don't want to roll them into a current company employer - those could change. Don't want to roll to ira because of liability protections and actually lower fees. Multiple bank accounts, mainly due to chasing bank bonuses and higher interest.

From an estate planning perspective it would be good to simplify for my spouse if I were hit by a bus. I probably will eventually.
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