I decided to close off one of my old checking accounts in an effort to further streamline my finances. It was a checking account that I got while in college and it did not pay interest. I only kept that account active because it was linked to my Prosper account and I needed to keep it open so my payments could come in. I kept about $15 at at time in there and had ING pull $5 automatically from it every month so that my money would not be idle in that account.
I finally got all of my money out of Prosper and since I decided to focus on Lending Club, which is linked to my ING accounts I finally have no need for that checking account. I stopped the recurring transfers in and out of the account and withdrew most of the money that was in there.
I thought I could get them to close the account while it still had a balance and I would get a refund check but in this case that was not possible. I had to get the account to a zero balance and then call them to close the account. This has made my budgeting a little bit more streamlined and it is just one less account I have to check up on.
Every now and then I get statements from old checking accounts, long forgotten.
Yeah, close it out if you aren’t using it.
It becomes stressful to have too many accounts open … there’s too much to track, and it’s too easy to miss a payment/forget about your money/ get hit with a fee. Its far better to stick with 1-2 bank accounts you know, in my opinion, rather than chasing the bank that’s temporarily offering the best savings rate, etc.
I find its always a nightmare trying to close them
Yeah its surprising how closing an account can be a little bit more detailed. My aunt thought she had closed a bank account but found out years later it was never closed, kind of odd sometimes how banks work.
-Jean
You have to have control over your account so the banks do not charge you a small extra charge for the account. Over here in Europe take the banks half-year fees for accounts.
Having your money in an account you are not using like wastage of your money. you should use it in any other purpose or should invest it somewhere.