Since that time we’ve added an online bank account, a credit card, and a taxable mutual fund account but it’s still much simpler than it had been. I’d say consolidating our finances has made it much easier to manage our money.

Acero: Actually, I am using HSBC to fund the T-bill purchase at Treasury Direct. Every time I make a purchase at Treasury Direct, the money is drawn from my HSBC account and after the maturity, proceeds are sent back to HSBC. The actual investments are made at Treasury website, but funding source is HSBC.

cs: Looks like we are in a similar situation with a large number of accounts. Not just that I may have to pay a fee for closing the brokerage account, but also I will have to pay taxes later if there’s any capitial gains. But having too many accounts is just a little pain to manage.

As the #3 comment said above, closing them down adversely affects your credit score, which seems counterintuitive – as you’re closing down cards, you’re cleaning up your personal financial life, so your credit score should go up. But alas, it is not the case.

In 2006, we closed 11 accounts, but opened 5 accounts (in ING Direct). Closing brokerage accounts is expensive. Most firms (except Schwab?) would charge $50 to $100 to close an account.

Consolidate all of your savings accounts into one… maybe two if you have a really good reason. Cut all of your non-active credit accounts as well. You can always get another 0% balance offer. Besides, do you need 0% balance transfer? Definitely cut sharebuilder, I would consider consolidating Firstrade and Scottrade, although you may run into realized gains then.