Despite getting onto the bankwagon quite late I have had my Monzo account for just over a year now. With so many people raving about it I couldn’t resist signing up for one and I’ve never looked back. There’s something about the amazing tech you get behind an internet only bank which appealed. I haven’t gone full Monzo and my wages still go into a traditional bank. But how we split our money this works for me and Luke.
Having a Monzo account has helped me save more money and budget better. As Monzo is a MasterCard it’s pretty much accepted everywhere and I’ve set it up my Paypal and Apple Pay with no problem. Here’s why I love my Monzo account.
Setting up is simple
Setting up a new account is so important as having too many steps would put me off. As Monzo is digital-only you apply online. To set up an account you fill just in some questions and fields, then take a quick video of yourself as ID proof. The whole process including validation took minutes.
My card arrived within 2-3 days of signing up and when you validate it online you get your pin number through the app. So there’s no impatient wait for the pin to turn up days later.
The step-by-step guidance to set up your account is amazing
The app has a great step-by-step plan to help you set up your account and make the most of the features. It helps remind you to add contacts, set up a savings pots, add your card to Paypal/ Apple Pay.
Having this guidance helped me to make the most of my monzo account and all it’s features.
Transactions don’t sit in pending, the money comes straight out
One of the things I hate the most about banks is when you think you’ve got loads of money left, but you don’t as money is just in pending. And bam you’ll be poor the next minute. With a Monzo account the money comes straight out of your account so you always know the exact amount you have to spend in your account.
You get an instant notification when you purchase through your Monzo account
As soon as you make a purchase on your card you’ll get a push notification to show your transaction. For me it’s something before I’ve walked away from the till, or before I’ve had the order confirmation screen online. You can of course turn these off if they annoy you, but for me it helps me stay accountable. The notification tells you how much that transaction was, and how much you’ve spent that day. This is a great way to then track how much you’ve spent if you’re on a day/ night out or on holiday.
It’s also a great security feature as you’ll know as soon as a transaction has been placed. As me and Luke have a joint account he knows the second I spend on our joint account.
You can track your spending habits easily
Within the summary tab you can see a breakdown of what you’ve spent your money on. Gone are the days of spreadsheets or paper and pen to see where your money is spent. Your Monzo account can do it for you splitting down month-by-month or week-on-week.
Having this information will help you to budget better. And just know where your money is going.
You can split bills and create tabs
If you have friends who are also on Monzo you can split bills when you’re out to save you all paying separately on card and annoying the waiter. One person pays and then selects to split with their contacts and you each pay your part.
You can also create tabs which is great for things like holidays or hen parties. When someone spends you can add it to a joint tab and Monzo will work out who owes who what at the end. Both of these features make money sharing and paying back mates so much easier.
You can have as many savings pots as you like
I’ve saved the best until (almost) last, and that’s the savings pots. Before Monzo I had about 10 different physical bank accounts, each for different reasons. I had ones for tax savings, house money, bills, holidays savings etc. The Monzo pots work exactly the same but they’re all housed within one physical account.
When you spend money on your card you can only spend what’s there and not what’s in the pots (unless you withdraw from a pot) so you’re not going to accidentally spend it all. You can lock pots and set savings goals so you can see when you’re 50% of the way there. For me it’s great to see all my money separate so I know what I have for what purposes.
You can do money round ups
Money round-ups are a great way to save without realising you are. If you enable the function all your purchases will be rounded up to the nearest pound and the money saved. So if you spent £3.40 on lunch, the extra 60p would be added to savings. On your account it will show as £4 out of your account, but the extra money will be put into a pot.
This is an easy way to save some money (it all adds up).
