I’m writing from sunny (or not so sunny) Nottingham, where I have a spectacular view of the castle from my hotel room. My absolute favorite thing about England is the Marks & Spencer food hall- it’s a delightful mix of basic supplies and posh pastries with a bit of everything in between. It reminds me of my years living in Manhattan, where caviar and ramen noodles sat cheek-by-jowl in the grocery store. I’m very glad for my budget graphs right now, as I could easily break the bank on pastries alone.
Before I set off on my trip I set up two bank accounts (each with a debit card) at two different banks. Having two funding sources means I’m protected in case one of my banks freezes my account, which is fairly common when traveling internationally. The bank is trying to protect my interests from fraud, but that doesn’t do me much good if I’m stuck without cash in a foreign country.
I’m currently using my PayPal account and debit card, as well as a checking account with a major U.S. bank. When my paycheck is deposited into my checking account I transfer a portion of it into my PayPal account. This transfer generally takes 3 business days, so it can take up to a week for the transfer to be completed. During this time the transfer amount is not available in either account, and I want my account balances to reflect this fact.
To get around this transfer conundrum I’ve created an asset account called “Transfer Holding.” (I discussed how I use bank vs asset accounts in a previous post at two different banks) When I initiate a transfer I transfer the funds into my asset account. I also create a transaction reminder which I set to auto-commit a deposit to my PayPal account on the day the transfer will be completed.
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Now I’ve got everything I want- a clear record of the transfer, keeping the amount of the transfer visible in my net worth, and automatic entry of the second half of the transfer into the appropriate account.
The information in this blog posts is only meant to detail my experience and should not be considered financial advice.