It hit me the other day: I have money scattered all over the place—across 4 or 5 different institutions. While the core of my finances is handled by one main bank, I realized I’m also saving, investing, and managing money through TD, RBC, Wealthsimple, crypto wallets, and employer-based accounts.
How Many Accounts Are Too Many?
Is that too many? Most certainly. Should all your money be in one place for a simpler financial experience? Absolutely—but it’s easier said than done. As you progress in your financial journey, you’ll inevitably come across new products and tools from different companies, not necessarily tied to your primary bank. While some people switch entirely, I’ve chosen to open multiple accounts—even at the cost of simplicity.
Managing Money Across Multiple Accounts
The biggest challenge? Gaining a clear, centralized view of my net worth and financial products. I could use a finance app to sync everything across institutions, but not all my investments—especially those through my employer—are linkable. That leaves me with a semi-manual process that’s far from perfect.
Top Tools to Unify Your Finances
If you’re managing multiple accounts, consider these tools to bring everything together:
- Quicken Simplifi: User-friendly with solid budgeting and net worth tracking.
- Monarch Money: Ideal for families and couples, with wide institutional coverage.
- Empower (formerly Personal Capital): Excellent free dashboard for net worth and retirement tracking.
- YNAB (You Need A Budget): Great for zero-based budgeting and intentional spending.
- PocketSmith: Offers advanced forecasting and future projections.
- Wealthica: Especially strong for Canadians, with great investment tracking.
Should You Consolidate Your Accounts?
So, should you reduce your accounts to just a few—or even one? In most cases, yes. But before you start closing accounts, weigh what you’d lose:
- Are there features or benefits unique to those accounts?
- Does your main bank offer the same incentives?
- Would closing the account affect credit cards, employer payments, or special rates?
For example, one of my secondary accounts gives me access to a 2% cash-back credit card. Closing it would mean losing that perk. Another is tied to my employer—so I can’t close it even if I wanted to.
Take the time to go through each account, starting with the least used. Ask:
- Do I still need this?
- Does it offer something I can’t get elsewhere?
- Is it costing me more than it’s worth (e.g., monthly fees)?
If the answer to any of those questions is no, it might be time to simplify.
While simplification is important when it comes to wealth building, it may not be everything. Decide what matters to you. If you see that you are spending too much time juggling and jumping between different accounts, without being able to see what you have with ease, then it may be time to consolidate and cut down on the number of accounts you currently have open.