Married Folks: Do you have separate bank accounts?

[Engineer]

All joint accounts. When I was working construction, I had a separate account at the credit union for my vacation pay to automatically dump into...but nowadays, that's converted into our regular checking account.

What's hers is hers, and what's mine is her's too...

More true words have never been typed on these forums! :awe:

 

[nanette1985]

Back when I was still married we had all joint accounts. Big mistake when my (now ex-)husband decided to leave me for a younger variety.

We trusted each other and it worked fine, until it didn't.

 

[TallBill]

You had an IRA as restaurant staff and stocks and bonds?

Well when I was married I was in the Army. I make way more than that now though, so yes. My contributions to various savings for this january alone will be easily over $1500.

 

[MentalIlness]

Been married since 1995. Her money is my money and my money is her money. Been that way forever and I won't change it.

By the way, Ill be 35 in a few months, and Ive been with her since I was in the 3rd grade.

 

[Hacp]

Back when I was still married we had all joint accounts. Big mistake when my (now ex-)husband decided to leave me for a younger variety.

We trusted each other and it worked fine, until it didn't.

Um if he left, then you've got it made. Alimony, child support, plus half his assets. You're set for life.

 

[dainthomas]

I've never understood why everyone doesn't keep small slush funds for themselves for everyday expenses and gifts and whatnot. "Honey, can you write in $40 from Bath and Body Works into the register? And this has nothing to do with our anniversary in two days." Yay, what a surprise.

 

[Mike Gayner]

All of my paycheck, except for $200, goes into the joint account. All of her paycheck, except for $200, goes into the joint account. That last $200 goes into our separate accounts. We pay all bills from our joint account. Any splurges, gifts, or other things that often cause fights amoungst married couples comes from our separate accounts.

Pretty much exactly this...like scarily similar to our arrangement :hmm:

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

We have separate accounts, have never used a joint account, and have been married (happily even) for over 23 years.

 

[RPD]

No poll?

Joint account, add her to my savings account.

 

[gevorg]

We just have a huge cash stash. First come, first serve.

 

[TechAZ]

I've never understood why everyone doesn't keep small slush funds for themselves for everyday expenses and gifts and whatnot. "Honey, can you write in $40 from Bath and Body Works into the register? And this has nothing to do with our anniversary in two days." Yay, what a surprise.

You could always...ya know....withdraw cash from the bank/atm and not use the debit/C.C. at the register at Bath and Body Works.

I have joint account. Don't really understand separate accounts. I buy what I want, she buys what she wants. Neither of us empty the account out.

 

[chin311]

Just got married and hasn't really been a concern of ours, probably keep it separate just because we are used to it that way. but if she needs money she knows where to find it lol

 

[actuarial]

Mostly joint. My wife has a CC that she uses for gifts so I won't know where she bought from.

I do all the finances, she decides where to spend all non-bill non-savings money, though I buy more big ticket items. We're both very conservative with money so it works out fine.

 

[sourceninja]

We have both.

Separate accounts for personal money and joint accounts for bills and things we plan to buy together.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

We currently have completely separate accounts and split the bills. We'll probably get a shared checking account at some point.

 

[nanette1985]

Um if he left, then you've got it made. Alimony, child support, plus half his assets. You're set for life.

Nope, he drained the accounts & quit working. Can't recover $ that isn't there. It was mostly my earned money anyway. It was a filthy nasty divorce, it boiled down to who was willing to sink the lowest and do the worst things to spouse and kids, and he won that battle. Long and sordid story.

 

[Fausto]

We did for a couple years, but it got to be a giant pain when paying bills and whatnot.

 

[Fritzo]

Before one of my co-workers got married a few years ago, I had no idea that some people keep separate bank accounts after they're married. Do you?

We do, but just because it's easier to track. Nothing sucks more than two people spending from the same account, never knowing how much is actually on there. Two accounts removes the confusion. We just transfer money from one account to the other through our banking website when needed.

 

[skillyho]

Separate and staying that way. We've been married 3.5 years, together 7.5 years total. We add up what we make, and what are static bills are and make sure we each keep an equal amount left over at the end to save/spend/splurge as we'd like. A little more complicated up front, but keeps things much less messy for us.

 

[AkumaX]

1 separate each, 1 joint

 

[kranky]

One account. She doesn't work, she gets cash from the ATM when she needs it and uses credit cards for everything else. She is not a spender or a shopaholic so there's never been any unpleasant surprises. We pay off the credit cards every month. Joint accounts work best for us because the recordkeeping is easier, paying bills is easier, and neither of us is careless with money or big spenders.

I do understand why separate accounts are better for some people, because there's no single best way to handle it. Each couple has to figure out what works best for them.

 

[Homerboy]

We have joint everything.
She doesn't have a regular paycheck with an employer and is self-employed with a small home business. That business account is technically in her name, but I have full access to it, and generally "manage" it.

 

[dainthomas]

You could always...ya know....withdraw cash from the bank/atm and not use the debit/C.C. at the register at Bath and Body Works.

Which part of that is easier/more convenient than having a small separate account? The part where I have to find one of the ATMs for our credit union, or the part where I get to explain why I took a bunch of cash out when I never use cash?

You missed the part where I said we have a joint account. 99% of the money goes in there. The rest for minor daily stuff like a cup of coffee or a random gift goes in the individual one. It just makes it easier to track money in the main bill account.

And it's not like it's some secret account in the Caymans. We both have access to every account from the main login.

 

[SunnyD]

Yes and no. I have 3 accounts (well 5 total). My wife has access to all but one of them. We do have designated accounts that she predominantly uses, versus ones that I use. But if need be, we both use all of them as needed.

 

[JS80]

Both. My account pays rent, her account pays for day care, kid stuff, shopping, groceries, etc. Works out well because we are cheap mofos. Remaining of both is swept to investment account, which is under my name.

Success to marriage is trust and compatibility. If my wife was a spend happy person, we would probably have a lot of arguments. But we are both cheap asses and make good money so no fighting on that front. She trusts me with our money so she doesn't care where I put it. I do, however, create quarterly net worth statements for her so she knows where we are and so she knows where to get the money in case I get shot by a deranged W hating liberal commie that goes on a shooting rampage against his Congressman.