Joint Account or Seperate Accounts in Marriage?

Question

My fiance and I are getting married in June 07
He is wanting to have his own personal account that he will take 50-100 out his check every pay period to spend on whatever he wants no matter cost or what the item is. His example was a $40 video game. That I have no problem with. My issue is that we had agreed to have a joint account at one bank and now he is wanting his own account seperate while I place my entire check into the joint account . Both of us are on direct deposit. Am I wrong by feeling like this is an unfair deal if he's taking amounts out of his check to "play" and my check is used for bills along with his. He brought up that he makes more money than I do so he should be able to spend what he wants. I am very concerned with having to track two accounts possibly three or more if I have an account then the joint account his personal account. So anyone that has joint accounts or single accounts or both what has worked best for you... ? Second how can this affect us tax wise

Answer 1

I would do both. Not because he wants it. For your financial protection. He sounds like he's going to need time to adjust. First remind him that once you're married you will become a family ( really you are now but guys are so literal). He can have his sep acct but so will you. Then you both deposit your "share" of the bills into a joint acct. Your share being the percentage of your income versus his. NO Halvsies! Again this is a family... So if you earn $400 per week and he earns $600 then you pay %40 of the bills and savings to his %60. He'll get tired of this real quick and agree to joint acct. Also if you do most of the house work ect... make him "pay" you in percentage points. Next thing you know you'll be "making" more then him. Then again you both might grow to like the seperation of finances, keeping you from fighting about money as often. Good luck and congrats on your engagement.

Answer 2

My husband and I have one checking account and one savings account. The savings account is in my name only, but it's linked to the checking for overdraft protection. We both put our money into the checking account, we both do banking online to keep an eye on how much money we have, and we both have a good idea what our budget is on a monthly basis. If I want to buy something more than like $50 I normally let him know "We have an extra $200 this month after expenses, so I'm going to by xyz for $75." We don't make impulse buys except in an emergency, but we don't count pennies either. Like when I get groceries, I get what we need and figure out if it's within our budget amount when I check out.

We save for major things in the savings account. For example, right now our car is in the shop. We put away the amount of our insurance deductible in the savings account so that we knew it was already "spent" and didn't think of it as money that was there. When the car is ready, I'll go to the bank and get a money order for that much.

We always use money orders instead of checks, and pay as debit instead of credit even though we have check cards. This keeps the balance that's online as current as possible, so if I see that he's made a purchase I wasn't aware of, I know not to do the same. When you get into financial trouble is when you're both writing checks and they all hit at the same time.

You could do the "each of us puts half of the bills in this account" thing and each have the ability to spend whatever you want. However, what's going to end up happening is you both have a bunch of stuff, you're jealous that you're buying house stuff and he's buying video games, and you end up never saving any money because you don't realize how much you could be saving if you worked together. I personally feel that "we each pay half the bills" makes you roommates instead of partners. (My sister and her husband do this and it works for them, except they never have any savings.)

Answer 3

Joint accounts are easier to control where the money is spent. Having separate accounts in a marriage creates problems later when one person makes a lot more than the other and you are splitting the bills in half. The person who makes the lower salary always gets screwed.

From my 12 years of marriage, we take $100 a week in cash to spend anyway we see fit. If one of us wants something that costs more than that (e.g. a Plasma TV), we wait until we have the money saved and buy it then.

Answer 4

My wife and I found out separate accounts worked best for us when both of us were working. Now that I am retired we have one account.

We split the household bills according to the percentage both of us contributed to the income and, yes, we sometimes wrote two checks to pay a bill. But, when I wanted to buy a "toy" from my account or she wanted to buy something for her from her account it did not bother the other one because it was not "their" money.

Now that I am retired and she is still working, we have one account and my retirement and her paycheck both go into the one account. I still can buy a "toy" now and again and she can buy what she wants to buy but we are both more carefull of the money as we have less income now.

As far as tax wise there should be no affect. Taxes are on income not where you put it once you have it.

Answer 5

Your fiancee is immature where money matters are concerned which is evidenced by his attitude of taking $50-$100 out of each of his paychecks to spend on whatever he wishes. Whatever happened to paying your bills FIRST, and then seeing what is left over to spend "as you wish"? Who makes more money in the relationship is irrelevant. Marriage is supposed to be a joint venture, right? You should not be placing your entire paycheck into your joint account, and it is not fair for your fiancee to expect you to do this unless he is willing to do the same thing. You need a separate account with your own money in it, even if it's only a small amount. If you are putting your entire paycheck into the joint account and he has his own separate account to buy whatever he wishes, you will start to resent this in no time flat, trust me. The fact that he says that he makes more money than you, so he should be able to to spend what he wants is a bunch of BS. It's just an excuse for him to be irresponsilbe with money and buy whatever he wants, while you are stuck paying all the bills. Once you are married, the two of you need to sit down each payday and pay your bills FIRST, before you spend money on whatever else it is that you each want to buy. Your bills are your first obligation. My wife and I have a joint checking account that we pay all of our bills out of first. Then if there is something that one of us wants, and we have the money for it, that comes second and is paid for out of our joint account. We also have a checking account for the business that we own. In addition, we also have a savings account that is in both of our names. That's enough for us to keep track of! PLEASE get this money issue resolved with your fiancee BEFORE you get married, otherwise you will be headed for disaster. Best of luck to you.

Answer 6

90 % of divorces are from money fights; therefore, if you don't get on the same page with money and finances then you have a high chance of getting in trouble elsewhere. I believe in joint accounts and participation, and sitting down and making a joint spending plan.

Answer 7

keep your seperate accounts. Split the bills in half and tell him to give you the money. Then you both spend how you wish with whats left in your own accounts. Same goes for dining out and groceries.

Answer 8

Its actually hard to do the whole seperate account thing married, joint is much easier.

Answer 9

Have a joint account and individual accounts. Each put half your pay in the joint account and the rest in the individual accounts.

Answer 10

Tax wise? no affect...
If you trust him and he trusts you then there should be no reason to have 2 separate bank accounts?
Why would anyone make all this trouble for them selves to keep up with check book register, online banking, fees, etc. ?

It sounds like he is not ready for a commitment...