My bank allows an infinite number of sub-accounts and I have several. They include: Pets, Medical/Dental, Maintenance, Insurance, Taxes, Vacation, and Extra.

I estimated what would be needed annually, divided by 12, and I put that amount in each account every month. It's easy with things like insurance and taxes, but a little trickier with medical, maintenance, and pets.

Using this system is the best thing I ever did. At the first of the month, anything left from the month before goes into the extra account. If I want a new iPad, or whatever, I know exactly what I have to spend.

Prior to buying my new car I was making a car payment into a sub-account. When it was time to retire my 16-year-old car car, I had a heck of a down payment, plus I knew I could easily make the car payment since I'd been doing it for over four years!

Great article!