--- title: Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have? | TIME description: MONEY's Taylor Tepper tells you what the magic number is. canonical: https://time.com/video/IelaiGts/ og:title: Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have? og:description: MONEY's Taylor Tepper tells you what the magic number is. og:url: https://time.com/video/IelaiGts/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IelaiGts/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have? twitter:description: MONEY's Taylor Tepper tells you what the magic number is. twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IelaiGts/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have? > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. ## Video: Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have? [Watch (HLS stream): Dumb Money: How Many Bank Accounts Should I Have?](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IelaiGts.m3u8) (1:30)  _Published 2016-09-21. MONEY's Taylor Tepper tells you what the magic number is._ --- Jul 27, 2023 8:49 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Elon Musk is worth about $19 billion — here's how he made his money](/video/OWmBaCuZ/) ### Elon Musk is worth about $19 billion — here's how he made his money [Dumb Money: Why Do Companies Have 401\(k\)s?](/video/vrqRyDV0/) ### Dumb Money: Why Do Companies Have 401(k)s? [App Lets You Save Money Without Even Realizing It](/video/ZwikBi9W/) ### App Lets You Save Money Without Even Realizing It --- ## Transcript Today on Dumb Money, how many bank accounts should I have? I'm here to answer the money questions you think are too silly, stupid, or scary to ask. I'm Taylor Tepper, and this is Dumb Money. [ SOUND ] Well, how old are you a bank account is a tool, and the right tool depends on your needs. If you're young, and single, and just starting out, you really only need two accounts. You need one for checking and one for savings. Your checking account is your money's way- station. In with paychecks and out with your bills. Your savings account, though, is a home for your emergency fund Where you slowly, paycheck by paycheck, deposit money until you end up with six months worth of expenses. That's your safety net in case something terrible happens. Leave that as pure as the driven snow. Married grown- ups, they're gonna need a few more. At a minimum you're gonna need three accounts, a joint savings account and two separate checking accounts. You want freedom when it comes to everyday spending and unity on long- term saving goals. And do you want to save for something special? Like a big vacation or a down payment on your dream house? You can set- up a separate savings account for that goal and dedicate a portion of each paycheck to fund it. Some banks even let you divide up your one account into different virtual accounts for different goals. You can even nickname a special savings account like Connet Tailor's boat fund. Researchers have found that people are more successful at reaching there savings goal when they have clearer picture of what exactly it is that they are saving for. 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