Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Confession

I am an addict.

I collect bank accounts. It started small: I had a savings deposit at a federal credit union in my old hometown and checking and savings accounts at the everyday bank -- the one where my paycheck goes and from which bills get paid.

And then I moved. Employees of my company qualify for membership at a local credit union, so I joined. Of course, I didn't close my old credit union account. My rationalization was that it would be good to be part of a local credit union since I was no longer close to the one in my hometown. My rationalization for keeping my old credit union account was because I figured I might need it in an emergency when I'm visiting my parents. And since my everyday bank is fairly large and has local branches near my new home, I kept those accounts too.

That took the total to five accounts spread among three banks.

And then came Online Bank 1 (OB1). Dazzled by the higher savings rate, I opened an account. I really loved the interface and how easy it was to schedule transfers.

But Online Bank 2 (OB2) had a higher savings rate, so I opened a savings account with them, too. In setting up my account, however, I encountered a problem that required talking to a customer service rep. He helped me get my account set up -- and successfully talked me into opening a checking account. But I soon discovered that I hate the OB2's interface and how long it takes to transfer funds, so I only use this one for most of my savings, since the rate is higher.

When OB1 started an online checking system, I figured I'd give it a try, use it for paying my bills online -- even though I had been doing that with my everyday bank without any problems.

If you're keeping count, that's five banks, nine accounts.

Clearly I have a problem. (This is why this post is categorized under OCD.)

I'd love to simplify. I mean, seriously -- nine accounts? How ridiculous is that! And yet ... I don't know which ones to close. And then the question that comes to mind is, Should I look for a whole new bank? For example, there's a high-rated bank around the corner from my employer's office. I could open an account there. But then I wonder, what if I don't like it? What then?

Welcome to my brain.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My husband did this around the world. I'll probably never know how many he had or if they even have any balances because he didnt keep those kinds of records. :(

Bouncing Back said...

I too have a little OCD when it comes to accounts. I realized that what I thought was simple banking for me, was not. The credit union account, the ING account, the Sharebuilder account, the three checking accounts (one personal, one "emergency", one hobby), the roth IRA account.

Yikes... I feel your pain.

veronica said...

Glad to see I'm not the only one. It's time to make some changes, though. My goal is to get rid of one of the credit union accounts by the end of the month. And then we'll go from there ...