Why Married Couples Need Four Bank Accounts
Estimated reading time: 9 minutes
Steve Harvey, who hosts the game show Family Feud, says that all married couples need a minimum of four bank accounts.
Last night, I saw a YouTube video of Steve Harvey offering advice during a motivational talk.
I found his reasoning interesting as we have more than four bank accounts.
Let me explain our bank accounts and why we use them, and you can watch the video of Steve and his reasoning.
Married Couples Need Four Bank Accounts
Steve said that a financial advisor changed his life with the advice that married couples need a minimum of four bank accounts.
I’m curious to hear how many married couples who read this agree with Steve or do not agree.
Related: Read my full review of the Top 4 Virtual Online Canadian Banks we use to see what’s best for you.
Another thing to consider is what fees you pay for, such as cheques at your bank.
Cheques Plus is where you can order cheques for your bank account in Canada for cheap!- Read my product review here.
Bank Accounts #1 and #2
I agree with Steve that married couples should have a joint bank account and savings account if they live together.
Whether the couple rents or owns a house, the bills need to get paid, including maintenance.
Mrs. CBB and I have a high-interest (haha!) savings account with our names.
I shouldn’t laugh at the high interest since my UK bank account made me a whopping $0.50 last year.
Now that’s laughable.
Joint Bank Account– You pay all household bills and expenses from this bank account.
Savings Account– Both signatures are needed to move the money out of the account.
Personal Spending Accounts #3 and #4
Personal Bank Accounts – One bank account for each spouse to maintain individuality.
These two accounts are meant to be spending accounts, so each spouse doesn’t need to ask for money.
We used to be like this and still are; however, we are both named on each separate bank account.
After paying all the bills, expenses, savings, and investments (if you invest), whatever is left gets divided.
So if the couple has $1000 left, they each would get $500 transferred into their spending accounts.
The spending accounts are meant to be private, and the spouse can do as they wish with the money.
We’ve never had to ask each other about spending unless it is a significant purchase which we do talk about.
We often bounce ideas off each other to ensure that what we buy is worth the money.
We don’t say you’re not buying it, but we will research to see if better deals or discounts are available.
It’s more of a joint effort to save money for the overall purpose of the large item.
Emergency Savings Is A Must
Another consideration is whether the married couple has an emergency savings fund.
This is a MUST in our lives, and I hope everyone married or not, has one bank account dedicated only to emergencies.
Some people like to use their Tax-Free Savings Account as their emergency savings.
We invest our TFSA, so it’s just another investment account that we don’t touch.
The max amount you can put into your TFSA for 2022 is $6000, which hasn’t changed since 2019.
Related Read: What Happens to Your TFSA when you die?
If worse came to worse and we had to pull money from the TFSA, so be it, but emergency savings are ideal.
Spouse #1 Bank Account is a spending account
Spouse #2 Bank Account is a spending account
With both types of spending accounts, we choose a bank with no fees, such as Simplii Financial.
TD Bank, for example, charges $16.95 a month for a chequing account, and the savings is $10.95.
The fees are waived if the savings account has $4000 and doesn’t exceed that amount during the month.
Steve Harvey Explains The Minimum Four Bank Accounts
How Many Bank Accounts Do We Have?
I’m almost sure Steve Harvey would tell us we have too many bank accounts.
Mrs. CBB and I don’t mind having money spread around at different banks.
We find managing our bank accounts easier if they all serve a purpose.
- Simplii Financial is where we have a savings account, chequing account, and projected expenses account, each with its own savings account.
- This is because when I moved to Canada, PC let me open a bank account as a secondary cardholder until I built up my credit score in Canada.
- Once that was done, they offered to open a bank account, so I did. Our names are both on every bank account we own.
- Also, when you use your friend’s unique link (affiliate) to open a No Fee Chequing Account, High-Interest Savings Account, or Personal Lines of Credit, they have.
TD Canada Trust
- TD Canada Trust is where my business accounts, Savings, and a USD (American savings account) are.
- At the time, Simplii Financial did not offer an American bank account. We also chose TD since Mrs. CBB has had a TD Visa with them since she was in her 20s.
Tangerine Virtual Bank Account
- Tangerine bank account is a fantastic bank account in which we hold a small amount of money for our son.
- He can use this money in high school since it is his chore or allowance account.
EQ Virtual Bank Account
The EQ bank is the bank account that gives you more and is part of our ‘online banks’ list.
EQ BANK comes with no hidden fees that users need to worry about.
We don’t keep much in this bank account, but we monitor it monthly as it’s where we keep our son’s government cheques or any birthday money and other cash for him.
Motus Virtual Bank
Motusbank is one of the newest Canadian online banks in direct competition with Simplii, Tangerine, and EQ Bank.
We wanted to test it out since we already have the other bank accounts they are competing against.
UK Bank Account
- British Current Account – This bank account is used for everyday purchases and bills. On our next trip to the UK, I’ll wipe out the account and close it.
- The reason is that it becomes another hassle for Mrs. CBB if I pass away first.
- Also, it’s only in my name, and I’m not bothering going through the process of adding her since there’s not much in the account.
More Than Four Bank Accounts
We have four banks that we invest in. I wonder if that counts.
All joking aside, our Canadian bank accounts have both of our names.
It doesn’t matter how many bank accounts a married couple has as long as they serve a purpose.
Once we found out that a bank in Canada could freeze a bank account if both names were not on them, we changed.
This is standard practice since the bank account is registered with one person.
It’s not like the surviving spouse won’t get the money because they will once the required documents are submitted, provided there aren’t any marital issues.
The last thing we wanted was to work our way through red tape when we should be grieving the loss of me. (it doesn’t sound perfect, but that’s the truth.)
Overall, Mr. Harvey points out his minimum bank accounts theory.
Instead of spending accounts, we give each other an adult allowance built into our budget categories.
See Less Spend Less is our motto with the allowance.
Discussion: How many bank accounts do you think a couple should have?
Please leave me your comments below.
Mr.CBB
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CBB Net Worth For The Preceding 12 Months
Scroll close to the bottom if you already know how to calculate your net worth to see the breakdown of our February net worth.
Net Worth Increases And Decreases
The chart above reflects our net worth increases and decreases throughout 2021-2022.
Our net worth has increased steadily until April, September, November 2021, and February 2022.
I was shocked that my truck was worth almost as much as I paid in 2017.
The truck was purchased as a display model and test truck in 2017 for $47,000 cash and will be worth $38,000 in 2022.
The truck was perfect with the small mileage, so we got a fantastic deal.
We bought our home for $265,000 in 2009 and have made one increase to $345,000 in our net worth.
With the increase in housing prices in 2022, our net worth would increase by approximately $1 million if we sold our house.
I stopped there because I questioned whether adding it to our net worth made sense.
We look at the big picture and then remove the house, seeing more of an accurate number.
How To Calculate Your Net Worth
Net worth adds up your assets (what you own) and then removes your liabilities (what you owe), giving you a net worth number.
We like calculating our monthly net worth to know if we are still on track.
Some people calculate it yearly or quarterly, but it’s up to you and how informed you want to stay.
Net Worth is only an estimate, and not everyone uses the same type of figures to tally it up.
Determining Net Worth
Net worth = Assets – Liabilities
Calculate your net worth with our Free Money saving Tool Net worth Calculator (Canadian Budget Binder.
Stop Comparing Your Life
Some people may have had to start over as I did by returning to school a second time.
Others may have gotten divorced, suffered job loss, theft, identity theft, overspending, fell ill, or injured at work.
There are so many reasons I couldn’t list them all.
There was a point when we had to stop investing in our RRSPs and change our budget strategy.
In short, life happens.
Net Worth Losses And Gains 2022
Hi CBB Friends,
Unfortunately, our net worth took another nosedive in February -120%, although we’ve experienced ups and downs the past few months.
I still have many years until I retire, so I’m not too worried since this is how investing works.
Our financial advisor and his team created a projected plan for our family.
It was one of those wow moments, but we know that numbers change simultaneously.
That’s all for the net worth update for February.
Mr.CBB
Canadian Budget Binder Net Worth Updates 2022
Click the links below to read our net worth updates for 2022.
- January net worth update 2022
The following net worth report will be in April when we look at our March 2022 net worth figures.
Feel free to comment below.
