Should your bank accounts be joint, individual, or both?
If you’re newly married or planning to get hitched, odds are at some point you’ll think about joining your finances.
Here’s what you’ll need to consider before commingling your money:
Can you manage more than one account? A joint account will be easier to manage than individual accounts. Paychecks will go into the same account used to pay bills and you’ll both have access to the money, which makes it easier to keep track of finances. The potential downsides? One person may end up doing all of the work of paying bills, and you’ll have to come up with a system for letting each other know about debits and withdrawals.
Do you need financial autonomy? Consider if one of you might need a separate account. Perhaps you receive freelance income or are paying down debt you accrued prior to your marriage. Or, maybe you simply want to be able to spend money on things such as holiday gifts without an explanation. You just need to come up with a system that works for you.
Do you have different financial habits? Maybe you like to blow money on a fancy latte every day and it drives your spouse nuts. If that’s the case, you may want to have your own account with some discretionary income.
Perhaps the best idea is to keep a joint account for household bills and individual accounts for incidentals. If you choose to do this, just be honest about what each of you earns when calculating who pays what percentage of the bills.
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