Financial expert Molly Benjamin reveals exactly how many bank accounts you need to have to get rich

A financial expert who overhauled her money after living from pay cheque to pay cheque has revealed why you need to have three bank accounts in order to get rich, and how much of every pay packet you need to put in each.

Molly Benjamin, 35, from Sydney, was working for a bank in her 20s and living a ‘rich broke life’ living it up at the weekends and having no funds left at the end of the month when she knew something had to change.

The turning point came when she was living in London in her 20s and she had to borrow money from a friend.

Molly remembers inviting some ‘girlfriends over to her house, cracking over a bottle of wine and inviting over a friend who works in finance to talk to them all about saving money’.

THE THREE BANK ACCOUNTS EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE 

This was the start of the Ladies Finance Club, which is a financial group founded by Molly that boasts thousands of members and empowers women to take control of their financial future. 

‘I was horrendous with money. I would have preferred to get a Brazilian wax than do a budget,’ Molly told FEMAIL.

‘But I have educated myself in how to be successful and save, invest and manage my funds.’

Molly is a strong believer in the fact that everyone should have three separate bank accounts: an ‘adulting’ account, a ‘fun’ account and a ‘future me’ account.

‘Personal finance is just that, it’s personal and what works for one person might not work for the next,’ she said.

‘But I like the 50/30/20 method as a place to start. This is where you split your money into different accounts.

‘You’ll need to put 50 per cent of your pay into your adulting account, which comprises your living expenses like rent or mortgage, food, utilities and transport.

‘Then, you can put 30 per cent of your pay into your fun account. This is for stuff like entertainment, shopping, dinners out, holidays and beauty.’

Finally, Molly said you need to put aside 20 per cent of every pay packet to ‘future me’ – which is centred around investing or saving for a house, holiday or deposit.

‘You can change the percentages and have more accounts if that works for you, but it’s really hard to get financially organised when you’re trying to pay bills, shop and save from the same account – it just gets messy,’ she said.

Molly (pictured) is a strong believer in the fact that everyone should have three separate bank accounts: an ‘adulting’ account, a ‘fun’ account and a ‘future me’ account

Molly (pictured) said one of the big mistakes women make with their cash is that they like to be able to see it, but with the cost of living going up, money in the bank is going backwards

THE ONE MISTAKE WOMEN MAKE WITH CASH 

Molly – who is the author of the new book Girls Just Wanna Have Funds – said women make one big mistake around money and getting rich: they like to be able to see their cash.

‘Most women I see like to keep their money in cash. It’s safe and they can see it,’ she said.

‘However, with the cost of living going up and inflation, and savings rates going up very slowly, your money in the bank is actually going backwards.’

The 35-year-old said if you have 3-6 months’ worth of expenses set aside for an emergency, you don’t have ‘bad debt’ like credit cards or loans and don’t need the money in the next three to five years, you should definitely be investing it, rather than just saving it for a rainy day.

‘Investing is actually pretty simple and not just for white men in suits,’ she said.

‘Let’s say I saved $100 every month for 30 years, I would have $36,000. 

‘But if I invested that $100 every month for 30 years and got an eight per cent return, I would have $136,946.’ 

Molly is the author of the new book Girls Just Wanna Have Funds (pictured)

THREE TIPS TO KNOW NOW

Molly shared the three tips you need to know to transform your finances, and it starts with getting on top of what you’re actually earning.

‘If you feel overwhelmed and you’re not sure where to start open an account and call it your OMG or Emergency account; start building $1,000 in there,’ she said.

‘The rule of thumb is if you’re single you can get away with three months’ worth of expenses, and if you have a family, run your own business or have a mortgage, you need six months’ worth.’

She said this money is for an emergency only: ‘It’s your safety net and it will change your life,’ Molly added.

Molly (pictured) revealed you should never wait for a Prince or a knight in shining armour to sort out your money, but instead you need to get on top of your own finances

The 35-year-old’s second tip is that you should never wait for a Prince or a knight in shining armour to sort out your cashflow: 

‘The reality is he’s not coming,’ she said.

‘When you hand over your financial power and decisions to someone else (even a partner), you hand a lot more than just the money over. 

‘Remember no one is going to care about your money as much as you are.’

Finally, Molly said ‘automation is key’ and you shouldn’t rely on manually putting money towards your goals, but set up automatic transfers.

You can do this for everything from your mobile phone bill to electricity bills, insurances and investments.

‘Each pay cheque, things should be transferred without you having to lift a finger,’ she said.

Molly Benjamin is the author of Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, which is out now. For more information, you can visit her website here and follow her on Instagram here. 

Three things to pay attention to with your finances now

1. Don’t think money is for spending, but for building your financial future: Molly said you need to ‘pay yourself first’. Instead of saving whatever is left after spending (which is ‘usually – spoiler alert – nothing’), you need to save and pay yourself first.

The 35-year-old (pictured) recommends having a buffer with your cash and paying attention to your superannuation

2. Have a buffer: When Molly was struggling with her finances, she said she had no cash in case of an emergency, like her car breaking down or if she needed to take some time off work. When you’ve built up an emergency fund, you should feel calmer.

3. Pay attention to your superannuation: Finally, you need to pay attention to your super fund, both how it’s working and how it performs. You can speak to a financial adviser for free via your super fund or do research online. Molly said that for women taking time off to have families or look after elderly parents, there are some great options like ‘spousal contributions and government co-contributions, which means your super doesn’t have to suffer’.