I’ve never been a fan of admin. Paperwork, forms, passwords—just the thought of it all is enough to make me put it off indefinitely. But as life gets busier and more complicated, it becomes impossible to avoid. For years, I’d been using a password manager to keep things somewhat in order, but it was a patchwork system that I knew wasn’t fully up to scratch. Then, I decided it was time to take things seriously and migrate everything over to a new password manager: Keeper.
That switch was the push I needed to finally get on top of all the loose ends in my personal finances—not just for business, but for the mountain of personal logins, bank accounts, utilities, and other important accounts. So, one Saturday, I decided to tackle it all head-on. With a strong coffee in hand and a whole day ahead of me, I set out to clean up the digital mess.
The task was daunting, to say the least. I had to update old logins, clean up accounts I hadn’t used in years, and organise a chaotic mess of IDs for utilities and online subscriptions. Slowly, though, it all started coming together. By late afternoon, I was nearly done. That’s when I stumbled across a few final entries that caught me off guard—notes I had saved under my daughters’ names (Tara left, Sophie right in the image).
The notes were for young saver bank accounts, supposedly set up around 2004. I vaguely remembered opening them but had completely forgotten they existed. I’d never received statements, and over time, they had simply faded from my memory. I assumed I had closed the accounts and moved any funds years ago. But as I looked at the notes, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
Intrigued, I decided to dig deeper. My first move was to call HSBC to check if these accounts were still active. Unsurprisingly, I failed the security checks—it’s hard to remember specific details about accounts you forgot existed! The only way forward was to visit a branch in person. That’s easier said than done these days, with so many local branches having shut down. After some searching, I found one still open a few towns away and decided to make the trip.
I wasn’t expecting much, but when I arrived, I was pleasantly surprised. The branch was quiet, the staff were welcoming, and I was helped by a polite and professional assistant. After a few minutes of verifying my identity and going through their system, she found the accounts. And to my shock, I discovered I had nearly £8,000 sitting there—money I had completely forgotten about!
It turned out that when my daughters’ grandfather passed away, he had left each of them £2.5k, which we had put into those accounts back in 2004. Over the years, with interest and time on their side, the accounts had grown to £4k each. The best part? Knowing that I’d get to surprise my daughters with the news that they were suddenly £4k richer.
This experience was a huge reminder of why it’s so important to have a clear and organised system for managing your personal finances. In a world full of complexity, multiple accounts, and never-ending digital clutter, staying on top of everything can save you money and give you peace of mind. Moving to a better password manager like Keeper allowed me to finally structure everything logically and easily access all those hidden details.
And who knows—you might discover hidden assets or forgotten accounts like I did! But this story doesn’t just end with found money. It inspired me to set some long-term financial goals for my daughters. I’m now focused on helping them build their savings to £15k each by the time they turn 21. Why £15k? If invested in a global equity tracker that mirrors historical performance, that sum could potentially grow into £1 million (in future money) by their retirement age. It’s a goal that only feels achievable when your financial life is organised and under control.
So, if you’re someone who, like me, hates admin and tends to avoid the paperwork, here’s my advice: take the time to migrate to a better system, get a password manager that fits your needs, and map out a structure that mirrors your family life. You never know what surprises might be waiting for you—like £8k you didn’t even know you had!
From the desk of Adam Morris.