This is a tough question that will probably yield many different responses depending on who you ask. When my husband and I got married, I felt that we should combine our money into joint accounts. My husband wasn’t so sure. He wanted to have some privacy in his spending, and I could understand that need. So, I started researching what the options are and how we should go about moving forward.
Keep accounts separate
One option is to leave things the way you have them. It would obviously be easier because you wouldn’t have to go through the paperwork and phone calls involved in combining your accounts. It also allows you to have more privacy…you can spend money the way you would like to without feeling like your partner is judging.
Things to think about:
It may make it more difficult when it comes to paying bills. Who pays the rent/mortgage? Do you cut all the bills in half and each make a payment?
Combine all accounts
Having one savings and one checking account with both of your names on it will make it easier to pay for joint bills like utilities and mortgage and to save for your future. It also lends itself to the “what’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine” mentality.
Things to think about:
Will you feel like you have to justify every purchase with your partner? Do you feel the need for privacy in your spending habits?
Have one joint account and separate personal accounts
This option gives you the best of both options above while avoiding some of the not so good things. You could have one joint checking account that pays for all of your joint bills. You each have your own separate accounts that you use for spending money. This gives you privacy while allowing you to make bill paying easier.
Things to think about:
This option has some difficulties. How do you decide how much of your paychecks go into the joint account? Should it be a 50/50 split? What if one person makes a lot more money than the other? Does the person with less earnings get less spending money? What if only one of you works full time, or one of you doesn’t work at all? These can be some tough obstacles.
Our decision
So, after researching the options, my husband and I decided to have a joint checking account, a joint savings account and each have our own separate checking accounts for spending. This lasted about 6 months before I decided that it was much easier for me to just use the joint checking account. I handle paying the bills with the exception of one of my husband’s credit cards. He pays for that card out of his personal account. This gives him the privacy he was seeking and makes bill paying easy for everyone me. This has been working very well for us…we rarely get into heated discussions about money and spending habits.
Did you and your spouse combine bank accounts after marriage? What option has worked for you? Let us know in the comments!
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