Seven Checking Accounts

I have four children, who were born within 4 years and 1 month of each other. In many conversations with others, I hear the words, "I don't know how you do it with four kids and . . .

The "and" is followed by any number of statements -- "do all that volunteer work," "get them to all their activities," "knit," whatever happens to fit with the conversation at hand. Most recently, it was "and pay for all their activities on only one income!" So, I gave my stock answer: "Well, I have seven checking accounts."

Just for fun, try telling someone that! The response I get is usually a cross between "you're kidding, right?" and the person stepping back, because, really, who wants to be that close to a crazy person?

I actually do have seven checking accounts. Truthfully, I have eight -- my husband opened a new one last week, but since I don't think my name is on it, and I think seven rolls off the tongue a bit better, we'll keep it to seven. And, lest you think I really am crazy, I will disclose that they are all free (thank you Credit Union!), they all have overdraft protection, and I always get the cheap checks. Believe me, that many checking acounts isn't costing me much, and it is saving me a fortune!

Long ago (before kids, and before husband!) I kept all my money in one little account, and kept track of things on a spreadsheet. Sometimes the spreadsheet numbers got really close to zero, but I always knew how much I had available to pay my bills, save for retirement and splurge on a little fun. Then I married a great guy, who is a whiz with long term finances, but can't keep track of the variables of everyday life. Many of those early marital squabbles came about as he "borrowed" from one of the categories, but never paid it back! We tried so many different ways to have money when we needed it, and did manage to stay out of debt, but the system always felt like a free for all.

Fast forward to those four little ones running around the house, and one day I decided to sit down and figure out how much I planned to spend on kid activities. As my friend pointed out the other day, anything times four is going to turn into a big number! Imagine my surprise when the swimming lessons, zoo and museum memberships, a children's theater subscription for the older ones, music lessons, a couple of half day summer camps and some rec center sports teams suddenly added up to $5,000! You just can't pull $5,000 out of the grocery money over the course of a year, and think that it is going to work out. At the very least, someone is going to get hungry!

So, the checking account system was born. We already had one, of course, and I added two more right away, then another two, and finally last year, two more. Now I have checking accounts for general use, house, clothes, food, gifts, medical expenses, and, naturally, kid activities -- the thing that started it all!

What have I found over the course of 8 years in this system? That, my friend, is what I want to share with you! We're up over $9,000 for those kids now, their feet are growing at an amazing rate, and gift giving opportunities arise at every turn. We always have the money we need (although that medical category has been a kicker in recent months, a story for another day) and I don't feel like the kids are experiencing stress over money, even as they are aware of the tough economy. I hope to share with you how to meet the challenge of family and finances head on, using a little organization, a little discipline, and a lot of checking accounts!