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[MSE Archna]

Poll ran between 20-26 May 2008:

How long would it take before you financially getinto bed with your partner and have a joint account?

When it comes to your credit score, it's not marriage, living together or even just holding hands that count. It's all about joint financial products like bank accounts or mortgages (see the credit rating guide).

A. 0-3 months 2% (100 votes)
B. 3--6 months 1% (56 votes)
C. 6-12 months 4% (172 votes
D. 1-2 years 9% (453 votes)
E. 2-5 years 11% (554 votes)
F. 5-10 years 4% (179 votes)
G. 10 years + 1% (48 votes)
J. Never 19% (938 votes)
H. After you've moved in together 23% (1135 votes)
I. After you've married 26% (1270 votes)

Voting has now closed, but you can still click 'post reply' to discuss below.

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[ringo_24601]

I've been seeing my girlfriend (now fiancee) for 2 1/2 years. We're getting married in 4 weeks, so i thought it was the right thing to do to get a joint account.

Credit scores don't worry me. We've got a joint mortgage, she's got more debt than me but nothing considerable.

Who actually cares that much about credit scores anyway?

[luxor4t]

We got a joint account when we married 22 years ago, which was funded by his salary and propped up by my shiny credit rating. We still have it, and now his credit rating is shiny too.
We did have very different views about money but then reality in the form of mortgage, kids etc made Peter Pan grow out of being a lost boy. Finance wise we veered from fairy tale to horror story before everything settled down. Now we work to a plan.
I still have 'my' account, just in case ....

[*Louise*]

After we moved in together and had our first child. (Had been together 2 years previously)

[Dorrie]

I am always surprised at the number of married couples who don't have a joint bank account. I sell Avon and the number of times I have gone to someone's house and the lady is out and her husband refused to pay for her order, saying that it's her stuff, not his! Surely if you are married everything is joint? My late husband and I always had a joint bank account, and my present husband and I also have a joint bank account. The only thing we have separately is the savings account, which is all in my name as I don't pay any tax.

Our marriage is a partnership - he earns the money and I spend it

[TheToothfairy]

I have been with my DH for 13 years (married for last three) and we have two children.
We do not have a joint account and I don't intend on getting one at any time in the future.

I have my own bank account and DH his. Each month he gives me a set sum of 'housekeeping' with which I pay all the household bills etc. What is left in his account is his to spend as he pleases and likewise with myself with what is left over in my account. The result is that in all our time together, we have never argued about money!

I have seen too many relationships and marriages breakup over rows about money and ex-spouses being responsible for debts not incurred by themselves, to want to go down this route. Don't get me wrong, I love DH dearly but in reality, you never know what is around the corner.

This way of doing things has worked really well for us, we don't need to question each others spending or feel guilty for buying something we like and it also avoids the common problem of seeing money in a joint bank account and each of us individually spending it.

[Pootle1]

Never.

My wife and I have been together 15 years and never had a joint account. We see it as a valuable way to preserve our independence! We are both earners although I earn more than her. Domestic bills we split 50-50, larger bills (building, furniture, etc) we split in rough proportion to our salaries. Some things I pay for, e.g. holidays for both of us. We don't have children.

[emmy05]

Never intend to, i dont mean anything by it but hubbys a bit of a naughty spender at times so would rather he wasted his own when he feels the need lol.. my mum and step dad have done very well with their own accounts for over 25 years, its not a case of being secretive, its more of a case of knowing just what we got and whos to pay what in the household and as long as we both do pay the bills, then im happy enough.
i personally find joint accounts old fashioned, and i can honestly say we probably have more money put aside and saved cos we have our own accounts, his wages are weekly and mine are monthly, we work well together and thats all that matters.

[mcgazz]

What Pootle1 said.

My wife pays the mortgage (which is bigger than all the other bills combined), Council Tax, and food bills, I pay all the utilities and a few other things. I got really anal about it a while back, and put an Excel spreadsheet together, which shows how much I should transfer into her account every month to maintain our earnings ratio in our disposable income. I reckon that's pretty fair, and it avoids having to have a joint account.

[Sammz]

I'd have a joint account to pay household bills etc but not one that both salaries get paid in to.

[Skyhigh]

I've been with my partner for 5 years through living at home before University and through 4 years at Uni.

We've just bought our first house, so we opened a joint account to pay for all the house hold bills (rates, insurance, etc) so we can both pay into it via our online accounts.
Its definitely not a 'shopping' account.
The mortgage and larger purchases come out of my account as I'm the higher earner - so its just simple financial choices really.

We've kept our own personal accounts, but there's nothing to hide as neither of us 'splurge', at the moment we're concentrating on paying off the mortgage ASAP.
First year in of our 25 year term, we're aiming to pay it off in 15-17 years.
[It annoys me having to pay so much interest on the mortgage!]

[Marker]

Dont need to!

We use eachothers cards.

We pay bills off my wage and live off his! We dont need a joint account to do that, we are however about to consolidate all our debts into one loan which both our name will be on.

[aurorahelios]

I couldn't vote on this because I think it depends on far too many variables, particularly the relationship - I would have to trust the other person implicitly. The partners attitude to money would also be an important factor, if you have two people with different attitudes to money then it really would be a breeding ground for resentment.

I've got a joint account with my OH, set up when I became pregnant so would have been 3 years into our relationship, works well for us. I still maintain a current account in my own name though for peace of mind.

[Baileys Babe]

We have been together 10+ years. We do not have a joint account but did have a joint mortgage. We have kept our seperate accounts, but all money is both of ours. We discuss money very openly and plan spending and investments between us. DP has a credit card and I have a second card on the same account. This has worked very well for us since we first started talking about moving in together, 10 years ago. This works for us, but I know it would work for others.

[tinkerbell84]

Been with my partner for about 7 years. I'd never get a joint account with him. He's a serial saver, I'm more of a serial spender. I don't need him to see how I spend my money, and I'm not really interested in how he spends his.

We have a joint mortgage, and split bills according to net income so that it's fair. After that, his money is his, and my money is mine.

[LumpyCustard]

I'm single (and always have been), so this doesn't really apply to me, but even if I were married I don't think I'd bother having a joint account. I'm not sure why anyone would need one. My parents never did, they rarely argued over money and are still together 40 plus years on.

[Nicki24]

Me and my other half set up a joint account when we moved in together but its purely for the mortgage/household bills/grocery money etc. Our salaries are paid into our own individual accounts and we transfer a set amount each month into our joint account to cover the bills........it works out better that way as it still means we have independence over how we spend our 'own' money. I wouldnt want it any other way.

[pinkkaz]

We have one joint account that our salaries are paid into and the mortgage and bills come out of, and then a separate account each into which we pay a set amount each month for our personal allowance.

I also have an ISA even though we're not at the saving stage yet - one more month till all our debts are paid off!

[Marker]

I could never live with whats mine is mine with my other half.

At one point in our life I was the main earner, I would never let my self have more 'personal' money than him. Now hes the main earner and with his job, I will never have a stable job as will have to follow him around (not have to but I will ) so he will more than likely be the main earner.

We will still have equal 'personal' money though!

[cazrobinson]

i think as a woman, you are very vulnerable if you rely on your hubby's income. Always, always keep you own account and keep saving for those unexpected events...