When you open an account at a bank or credit union, you usually start off with one checking account and one savings account. For many people, those are all the accounts they’ll need.

However, you can always open up more accounts, either at the same financial institution or a different one entirely. In fact, there’s no limit to how many banking accounts you can have open at one time. So how many bank accounts do you really need?

The short answer is, “it depends.”

Reasons to Open Multiple Checking and Savings Accounts

There are a lot of good reasons for having multiple checking and savings accounts. If you own your own business, for instance, you might want a separate checking account to keep your business transactions separate from your personal transactions.

Even if you don’t own your own business, though, there are a lot of good reasons for opening up multiple bank accounts for your personal finances.

If you want to save up for holiday shopping or a summer vacation, you can open up a club savings account which will only let you access the money you deposit in it on a specific day. You can also open up a traditional savings account to save money for a big financial goal, like putting a down payment on a house or remodeling your home. You might also want to open up a new joint account with your partner so both of you can contribute to shared expenses like rent or mortgage payments, groceries and utilities.

You might also want multiple checking and savings accounts if:

• You want to qualify for a new checking account bonus 
• You want to qualify for a specific perk, such as a loan discount or better saving interest rates
• You have automatic BillPay set up and want to make sure you don’t accidentally spend the money you set aside for the bills.
• You have over $250,000 and need to set up multiple accounts so all your money will be insured by the FDIC and NCUA.

When it comes to how you structure your savings and checking accounts, there are endless possibilities. It mostly depends on your personal financial goals, how much money you have in the account, and if there is more than one person accessing the account.

The Disadvantages of Having Multiple Bank Accounts

Of course, there are some potential downsides to having multiple bank accounts. The biggest disadvantage is that the more bank accounts you have, the harder time you’ll have keeping track of them all.

At best, this can just mean you’re not aware of how much all your accounts have in them. However, you also run the risk of getting hit with fees you didn’t expect if an account falls below a minimum balance requirement or you make a purchase using an account that has insufficient funds. These fees might be annoying by themselves, but multiple fees from multiple accounts can quickly add up.

The worst outcome, though, is not being aware if someone has stolen your identity to access your accounts. You might not be aware that the thieves have stolen money from you for days, and that gives the thieves plenty of time to use the information they’ve gained in one bank account to try to access other accounts you have.

So How Many Bank Accounts Do You Need?

As few bank accounts as you can manage. While everyone has different financial needs and may benefit from different types of accounts, the few accounts you have the easier time you’ll have keeping track of them all.

When you’re considering opening an additional account, ask yourself why you’re opening this account and what you’d like it to do for you. If you’re okay with the answers, open the bank account. Don’t forget that you can also close an account if it’s no longer useful.

Get the Checking and Savings Accounts You Need at First Alliance Credit Union

Having multiple checking and savings accounts can be very useful. However, the more accounts you have the harder it is to keep track of them. Make sure each bank account you have serves a specific purpose, and don’t be afraid to close an account that has outlived its usefulness.

If you need multiple checking and savings accounts, become a member of First Alliance Credit Union today. We offer multiple saving and checking accounts for our members, including different types of savings accounts, such as money market accounts and club accounts. You can keep track of all of them by using our online banking platform and mobile banking app.

Want more information? Check out episode 14  of our Good Money Moves podcast, which covers different types of savings accounts.