Joint bank accounts - will i drag my boyfriend down?

bobbadog

Hiya

I have bad credit which i'm a year into rectifying (debt free day Aug 28 2008) - my boyfriend and I have just started renting together and we'd like a joint bank account to both pay into, to cover all rent, bills etc.

I understand that if we apply for credit together, he will be associated with me and my black sheep past, but i'm wondering if that automatically happens if we open a joint account, or only if we apply for credit? We have no need for any extra credit at present...

Any words of wisdeom woul dbe greatfully received. I'm a new poster here, but a long-term loiterer

westernpromise

bobbadog wrote:

Hiya

I have bad credit which i'm a year into rectifying (debt free day Aug 28 2008) - my boyfriend and I have just started renting together and we'd like a joint bank account to both pay into, to cover all rent, bills etc.

I understand that if we apply for credit together, he will be associated with me and my black sheep past, but i'm wondering if that automatically happens if we open a joint account, or only if we apply for credit? We have no need for any extra credit at present...

Any words of wisdeom woul dbe greatfully received. I'm a new poster here, but a long-term loiterer

It will be evident that you are financially associated.

If all you want is an account from which to pay shared bills, it needn't be a joint account. It could be in his name, you both pay money into it, and he technically operates it (with internet banking you both could but only if he disclosed the logon details to you, which he's not supposed to do).

2008 seems a long way away. To pay off your debts faster, have you thought about using eBay to sell some of the shoes you got into debt buying? :-p

bobbadog

westernpromise wrote:

It will be evident that you are financially associated.

If all you want is an account from which to pay shared bills, it needn't be a joint account. It could be in his name, you both pay money into it, and he technically operates it (with internet banking you both could but only if he disclosed the logon details to you, which he's not supposed to do).

2008 seems a long way away. To pay off your debts faster, have you thought about using eBay to sell some of the shoes you got into debt buying? :-p

Haha! Thank you, Westernpromise... Have been thinking about him setting up a new account for just bills, but i'm a bit of a control freak and he's self employed in Construction - I have more time to handle the finances etc.

I'm an absolute eBay !!!!!. It's eBay that got us our letting deposit I just wish I could pay in Tesco with Paypal.

westernpromise

bobbadog wrote:

... Have been thinking about him setting up a new account for just bills, but i'm a bit of a control freak and he's self employed in Construction - I have more time to handle the finances etc.

Ah, so he's a cowboy builder!

If you work out what the monthly outgoings are, you could then both pay that amount into that account in proportion to what you earn.

Eg if he makes 1000 a month and you make 500, and your bills were 450 a month, you'd pay in 150 and he'd put in 300.

You could then set up all the bills etc to come out of that account. The only catch with this is that if you need new money products in the future - credit cards etc - they quite often want a utility bill with your name on it as proof of address. This could be a problem if they're all in his name.