How can one number simplify your persona finances?  Yes it is true.  One number can help you simplify your personal finances.  This number will make things easier for you and will help you reduce your financial stress.  This number is not a large number.  You are probably thinking yes one very large number can help me simplify my personal finances.  If you read Would winning the lottery simplify your personal finances?, you will know that I do not believe having a large amount of money will simplify your finances.  Let me stop the suspense and tell you.  The number 1 can help you simplify your finances very easily.  Think about it if you only had:

One checking account and saving account- you will know where all of your money is held.  There is no need to have a spreadsheet to keep track of all of your accounts.  Less mail to receive with only one account.  Less accounts you have to balance at the end of each month.

One bank – you will never have to think which bank account do I need to take the money from.  No need to think about which online bank account I need to log into.  Everything for your finances can done at one location or one login.

One mortgage – if you need two mortgages to purchase your house should you even be purchasing the house.  You can only live in one house at a time so why would you need two.  Just think of the up keep you would have with two homes.

One car per driver – If you are lucky you may be able to have one car for the entire family.  That would save you alot of money.  But that is not always practical.  So stick to one car per driver in the home.  If you have three cars and only two drivers, how often is the extra car driven.  You can save on maintenance  and insurance by getting rid of that extra car.

One cell phone – unless your job requires you to carry a phone for work.  You do not need more than one cell phone.  Eliminate that additional expense.

One investment account – its much easier to keep track of your investments if you only have one account.  You will have a better understanding of your overall asset allocation as well as keeping track of your investment performance.

One credit card – yes having only one credit card came significantly simplify your finances.  It limits your spending and enables you easily track your spending and credit card debt.  Eliminates the need to pay multiple bills each month.

One service provider – if you can consolidate your utilites to only one provider that will eliminate the bills you have to pay.  This is not always possible but can simplify your finances if you can do this.

One advisor – do you really need more than one investment advisor or accountant.  Probably not.  Decide which one provides the services you need and best fits with your goals and objectives.

One insurance provider – usually you can consolidate your home and auto insurance which may lead to a discount.  Is there really a need to have separate insurance companies.  Again reduces the number of bills you must pay and keep track of.

So you can see how the power of one can help you simplify your personal finances.

Can you think of any other ways to reduce to one to help you simplify your personal finances?

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This post was featured in Carnival of Personal Finance: Parts of Speech Abuse Edition hosted by Mighty Bargain Hunter.