New customer - advice please

Hi everyone, I’m new to monzo, currently awaiting my card in the post, I’m just looking for advice on how to get the best out of my monzo, I’m really bad at saving and budgeting and that’s something I think monzo can help with and part of the reason I joined. Currently at TSB I have a bills account separate with a separate account number that all bills come out of so I can’t spend it if it was still in my current account, is that something I can do with monzo too? Also seen a few things online about accounts being closed down is this something to worry about? Currently when my wage goes in my account I transfer it all to my mum and she transfers me it back weekly due to me being a nightmare at controlling my spending, I’m worried monzo May think this is strange and block my account to investigate. I have done the full switch so it should all be transferring over on feb 4th, will I still need to give new bank details to my work and car loans etc or is this something that is done with the switch? Any other help or suggestions with getting the best out of monzo would be brilliant, thanks in advance :+1:t2: P.s. sorry for the 100 questions

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Monzo has some great budgeting features, you’re in the right place!

Whilst no separate accounts, you can segregate your money into ‘pots’ and have direct debits come out of these pots.

Unfortunately no one on the forum is able to explain how Monzo identities accounts which it will block / ask further but if you’re not doing anything illegal you have nothing to worry about. No ones going to be taking your money. Best to keep another account open just in case though.

As you’ve got a switch, all your payments will transfer automatically and you’ll have nothing to worry about. Only exception is things like Netflix subscriptions and anything that uses your card to pay and not direct debit. Anyone who pays your old account accidentally isn’t an issue - it’ll automatically be forwarded to you and their online/app banking will be updated with your new account info.

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Hi Andrew & welcome :wave:

"Currently at TSB I have a bills account separate with a separate account number that all bills come out of so I can’t spend it if it was still in my current account, is that something I can do with monzo too?"
Yes, you can have your main account and then have ‘Pots’ which are like ‘sub-accounts’. You can also set-up one-off or repeating scheduled payments and Direct Debits to come from a designated pot (or more than one pot if you wish). Using the Salary Sorter feature, which triggers on payment receipts of £100+, you can move amounts of money from your main account to your designated pots almost automatically.

"Also seen a few things online about accounts being closed down is this something to worry about?"
Not unless you are up to something dodgy and Monzo’s excellent fraud prevention discovers it.

"Currently when my wage goes in my account I transfer it all to my mum and she transfers me it back weekly due to me being a nightmare at controlling my spending, I’m worried monzo May think this is strange and block my account to investigate."
You can set up a system to do this using pots. No need for multi-account transfers. Using Monzo will teach you how to deal with money better.

" I have done the full switch so it should all be transferring over on feb 4th, will I still need to give new bank details to my work and car loans etc or is this something that is done with the switch?"
Almost all bills/Direct Debits will automatically change over. Some CPA’s (like Netflix, Microsoft, X-Box Live, Amazon, Google, etc.) won’t come across and you’ll have to manually change the payment method for each of these to reflect your Monzo card details.

"Any other help or suggestions with getting the best out of monzo would be brilliant, thanks in advance :+1:t2: P.s. sorry for the 100 questions"
Keep reading the posts here on the forum - there’s a ton of knowledge here!

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Hi,

Are you switching the bills accounts or your other one?

Welcome!

First things first, keep that TSB account as it’s good to have a backup.

Things you can easily do, set up a ‘roundups’ pot, and enable Roundups on it, this will take the extra few pence of a purchase and pop it in that Pot (you buy something for £2.87, Monzo ‘rounds’ that up to £3 by popping 13p in your Roundups pot). Over time you’ll quickly start to save a little, it might only be £5 or £10 to begin with but it’s the first step!

If you are looking to break away from having your Mum manage your money, look at Salary Sorter (loads of topics on it here), but maybe give Monzo a month or two before you start that?

Above all, keep the notifications turned on. It’s been the simplest think to make me aware that I’m spending money, it sounds weird but it really has helped me a lot.

And the forum is a great place for questions and answers, I’ve learned loads here. I’ve been with Monzo for almost a year now and my money management is dramatically different, not just my day to day cash in Monzo but I’ve got a better handle on all my debt and an actual plan that is working to get it all paid off in a couple of years.

Final thing. I’d tell your work about your Monzo account, just to be safe. The rest are covered by the CASS agreement so you won’t get stung if the TSB or Monzo muck something up.

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What you could do is put your wages in what is called a locked pot. This means you cannot spend or touch the money. You can seetup scheduled withdrawals to your main acct. :slight_smile:

Welcome! :wave:

Another great useful thing is “bill pots”. These allow you to segregate your money that’s for direct debits, rent, council tax, phone contract ect and that money comes straight out of that pot so you will see exactly what you can spend that won’t put you over.

Brilliant! Thank you very much

I am switching my TSB current account to go full monzo and this will now be my main bank.

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