The ‘2 accounts’ rule helps newcomers not run out of money at the end of the month

Money for me

I have a love-hate relationship with money! I love money because it can open up new opportunities such as learning soft skills to upgrade myself, traveling, going out with friends and relatives, buying things that I like… But on the other hand, money is also money. something that I have to work hard to earn, but if I don’t know how to keep it at the beginning of the month, it will “fly away” at the end of the month.

As a person of the young generation people call “Gen Z” in the dynamic environment of Hanoi city, there are too many “temptations” around me to spend money. Although I want to live a life of enjoyment, it is clear that for a newcomer, the salary if spent too much will definitely run out.

Because of that, I am aware of the fact that I have to save, in the short term to not meet the situation of “out of pocket” at the end of the month, and in the long term, to save up for long-term plans. From there I made my own rules “2 accounts”after a period of testing, it has also been found to be effective.

If you don’t have a lot of money, why open 2 bank accounts?

The fact that I had 2 bank accounts at first was not intentional, but because the bank associated with the company to pay my salary is not the bank that I previously used for personal purposes.

But when I have 2 accounts, I clearly divide one account to spend, pay for everyday things like breakfast, lunch, gas, parking, eating with friends on the weekend, paying for electricity. at the beginning of the month… and an account just for savings and big spending (buying high value items) and sending money to parents.

The consumer account is the account that the company uses to pay salaries. On the first day I receive my salary, I will immediately transfer half to a savings account and keep the other half for daily expenses. The consumption/saving ratio for each person will certainly be different, also depends on each person’s living situation but for me this is a reasonable ratio. When I reach a certain amount of savings, I will open a savings book with a period of 6 months – 1 year.

If you are afraid to create a new account, a simpler way is to use a bank account to save and an e-wallet (Momo, ZaloPay, Moca…) to make a payment account. However, this way has the disadvantage that when you want to withdraw cash, you will still have to “touch” your bank account.

The way I keep each account’s card in my wallet is also well thought out! The consumer card is placed high, so it’s easier to get at checkout, and it’s also a shopping card in cooperation with Mastercard, so there’s no need to enter a pin code when paying. The card of the savings account is of course placed in a “hidden” place and harder to get in the wallet, just a regular debit card, so every time you use the payment, you will have to enter the pin code. Even to increase efficiency, I can cancel the card of my savings account, only using it completely through the app with large schedule transactions.

Saving or not depends on the way of thinking

In fact, this is a “soft rule”, it is not rigid because sometimes I still use my savings account to buy things, or there are months when I still spend more than my self-limited amount. However, after 1 year of applying this rule, I have also saved a small amount to take care of the future, in case of illness for myself and my family. I did not have a situation of “out of pocket” and had to borrow this and that person to buy things anymore.

This rule is set by me to become a “blockage” whenever I want to spend something: Seeing that the remaining balance in the spending account is not much, I do not want to buy anymore, or withdraw the card of the savings account. I find it difficult to pay, so I don’t want to buy anymore! But the truth is that this “obstacle” is not too difficult to overcome, the money in any account is still … your money, if you want to use it, no one can stop you.

The most effective way to save is still to change the way you think. Instead of buying a cup of Starbucks, I buy water from a coffee shopman on a motorbike for only 10,000 VND, instead of changing my smartphone once a year, it takes me 3 years to do it, my clothes are also very simple. Don’t buy too much. Simply because for me personally, the scene of life “The beginning of the month is empty, the end of the month is empty” bring a lot of frustration, anxiety!