One offset account. Every goal accounted for.
You don't need five bank accounts to organise your money. Keep every dollar in your offset, cutting your mortgage interest at full strength, while Savvy Dollar tracks exactly what each dollar is for.
Your bank shows you one number, not six
If you've ever kept a holiday fund and an emergency fund inside the same offset account, you've hit the same wall as everyone else. Here's how most people try to solve it.
The spreadsheet
You build a tracker to divide the balance on paper. It works for a week, then a bill or a bonus throws the maths out and you stop updating it.
Doing it in your head
You just remember what's spoken for. Until you don't, and the school fees money quietly becomes a weekend away.
More bank accounts
You open sub-accounts or a separate savings account to keep things apart. Some lenders charge per account, and every dollar sitting outside the main offset works less hard against your loan.
Nothing moves. Everything gets a label.
Every dollar stays in your offset, working at full strength against your mortgage. Savvy Dollar keeps score of what each one is earmarked for, in real time.
Add your offset account
Tell Savvy Dollar the balance. That's it. Your money doesn't move, and no third party ever touches your banking credentials.
Create a Bucket for each goal
Emergency fund, school fees, the next car, the renovation. Name it, give it a target, and it starts tracking against your balance.
See what's genuinely free to spend
One honest number: your balance minus everything already claimed. No more accidentally spending money that had a job.
Offset savings compound. Most calculators ignore that.
Interest you're not charged this month means more of your repayment goes to principal, which means less interest again next month. Over a full loan, that gap is enormous.
Based on a $10,000 average balance at 6.2%. Nearly three times the straight-line figure, from the same money sitting in the same account. Every Bucket below shows you this number, not just the first year.
Multiple offset accounts vs. one account with Buckets
Some lenders let you link several offset sub-accounts to one loan, and plenty of budgeting advice tells you to move the money to a separate savings account instead. Both are legitimate. Here's how they compare.
| Multiple offset accounts | One account + Buckets | |
|---|---|---|
| Setting it up | Apply with your lender, subject to approval | Ready in minutes, no bank involved |
| Account fees | Often charged per extra account | None |
| Number of goals | Capped by what your lender allows | As many as you need |
| Changing your mind | Transfer between accounts, and wait | Rename or resize instantly |
| What you see daily | Several balances to add up yourself | One number: what's free to spend |
A Bucket for every kind of money problem
Goals behave differently. Some are lumpy bills you're smoothing out, some are targets you're saving toward, some are about timing. Each page shows how that Bucket works, with a live example you can put your own numbers into.
Money that leaves every year on a rhythm you don't fully control. Mostly about smoothing the lumps, so one month never looks like a blowout.
A target and a date. These show the monthly contribution you actually need, which is less than target divided by months once compounding pitches in.
Less about setting money aside, more about timing when it leaves. Both reward a bit more care than the rest.
The things people ask first
Can you split an offset account for different savings goals?
Yes, though your bank statement won't show the split. Savvy Dollar's Buckets track it for you, so your offset account still shows one balance while you always know what portion belongs to each goal.
Is it better to have multiple offset accounts or one account with Buckets?
Both keep your money offsetting your loan. Multiple accounts depend on what your lender allows and may carry fees per account. One account with Buckets gives you unlimited goals, no bank approval, and one clear free-to-spend number, without changing lenders.
Can you have multiple offset accounts on one home loan?
Some lenders allow several offset sub-accounts linked to a single loan, though many cap the number and some charge a fee per account. Others allow only one. If your lender is restrictive, tracking Buckets inside your single offset achieves the same separation without needing their approval.
Should I use a separate savings account instead of an offset account?
For most people with a mortgage, no. A separate savings account gives you separation but the money stops reducing your mortgage interest, and any interest it does earn is taxable income. An offset keeps the full benefit, untaxed, and a Bucket supplies the separation the separate account was giving you.
Does creating a Bucket move my money anywhere?
No. Buckets label and track portions of your existing balance. Your money stays exactly where it is, still reducing the interest charged on your mortgage.
How much is money in an offset account actually worth over a full loan?
More than the annual figure suggests, because the benefit compounds. Interest you're not charged this month means more of your fixed repayment goes to principal, which reduces the interest charged next month too. A $10,000 average balance at 6.2% is worth roughly $53,900 across a 30-year loan, against $18,600 if you simply multiplied the first year by thirty.
Does Savvy Dollar need to connect to my bank?
No. Savvy Dollar doesn't use bank feeds or open banking. You create accounts and enter transactions yourself, which means no third party ever holds your banking credentials.
Can I use a credit card alongside an offset account?
Yes, and it can work in your favour. Card spending is tracked as a liability against your Cash flow Bucket rather than an immediate withdrawal, so the cash stays in your offset reducing mortgage interest until you settle the card. This only works if you clear the balance in full every month, since card interest rates are far higher than any offset benefit.
How is this different from a spreadsheet?
A spreadsheet needs updating by hand every time something changes. Savvy Dollar keeps your Buckets current automatically as your balance and transactions change, so the numbers you see are always today's numbers.
Your offset account can do more than one job
Set up your first Bucket in under two minutes. No new bank account, no bank feeds, no money moved.
Start free with Savvy Dollar