How to Keep Business and Personal Finances Separate

Confucius once said, "Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.” And that’s especially true when it comes to our finances.

In today’s video I’ll show you how I separate and simplify my business and personal accounts and manage everything with ease.

Hi, my name is Lucas and if you’re tired of doing finances from a place of stress and frustration, you’re in the right place.

Recently, I helped a client that had 7 banks, 10 bank accounts and 14 credit cards. Once I took her through The Big Split Boot Camp and she got organized, she discovered close to $30k across all of her accounts.

I see it again & again - the more confusing our finances, they more money that get’s wasted. But, when we simplify things, we’re able to improve the flow of our cash. Let’s take a closer look (If you prefer to watch the video, please check it out here…)

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Step 1: Remove The Unimportant

The first step is remove the unimportant, the unnecessary, the overwhelming and the stressful.

One credit card for gas, one for groceries and another for office products - c’mon - do you like keeping track of all of those accounts and sorting through those bills?

And what about the points? I had one card for flights, one for cash back and one for hotel stays but never came close to redeeming any of those benefits.

Throw in several bank accounts, a few banks, and a bunch of payment apps and before we know it, we’re suffocating under the weight of a bunch of products that make big corporations rich.

If you want finances that work in the background and require very little effort from you, clean house. For example, I have one set of accounts for my personal life and one set for my business

I got clear on the few accounts that were actually important and got rid of everything else. I invite you to do the same.

To Do:

List of all your credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts, different forms of payment and all the different financial institutions you currently use. If you haven’t used it in the last three months or forgot that you even had it, close it out.

When it comes to credit cards, figure out which reward is most important to you and close the others. When I closed the hotel and cash back cards, my flight rewards skyrocketed!

Then, look at the remaining products on your list. What can you close or consolidate to make your life easier? If you have three different banks and one of them is a pain in the ass to deal with, get them out of your life.

Step 2: Concentrate on the few things that are Important

Once you’ve cleaned your financial house and have less stuff to manage, it’s a lot easier to separate your finances and get organized. With Confucius in mind, let’s keep our finances really really simple. One set of accounts for our business, one set for our personal life.

I have one credit card, one checking account and one savings for my business. And one credit card, checking and saving for my personal life.

All business expenses go on the business card, and I pay it weekly from my business checking. All personal expenses go on the personal card and it gets paid from personal checking.

It’s a simple system with numerous benefits:

The accounts are separated, organized and easy to manage

1. I never co-mingle funds

2. Spending is easy to keep track of

3. Instead of paying a ton of different bills each month, I only pay the credit card bill

4. By concentrating all spending to one card, I receive a lot more rewards

5. My bookkeeping is super easy because there’s one statement for personal, one for business

Whether you do the exact same set up or create your own system, the fewer accounts and financial products you have, the easier it’ll be to manage your money on a daily basis.

If you’d like to learn more about the process, check out this video or, for a more personalized, hands on approach, consider The Big Split Boot Camp. For 1 week it’s just you, me and your finances. We simplify, get organized, I’ll show you how to plug your financial leaks and keep more of your hard earned money.

Financial Clutter Creates Financial Confusion

Before I got organized and streamlined, my business and personal accounts were a mess. I was always behind on bills, forgot to invoice people and would hand my bookkeeper a box of receipts and expect them to figure it out.

I’d forget which credit card I used for business expenses and when big checks would come in, I’d spend like a kid in the candy store, hoping I wouldn’t run out of money. It was a perfect recipe for living paycheck to paycheck.

If you’re dealing with something similar, I invite you to clear all the financial clutter, separate your business and personal accounts and set yourself up for success.

And if you’re hesitant to close a bunch of credit cards and accounts, you’re not alone. I see it daily with my clients, so start slow and close one product at a time. If you like how it feels, keep going.

As we wrap up, I invite you to do two things:

• Remove the unimportant, the unnecessary, the overwhelming & the stressful. Clean your financial house and simplify.

• Have 1 set of accounts for your personal life and 1 set for your business

Make your finances so simple that they work in the background and require very little effort from you. Then, move on with your day on focus your attention on things that are more important to you.

If you know anyone that could benefit from this or my other videos, please pass it along.

Thank you for your time and energy! I’ll see you in the next one.

- Lucas Z.