'Do you have a joint bank account?' poll discussion

MSE_Martin

I think there is a confusion here between two concepts.

1. Conceptually marriage involves sharing
2. How you manage your bank accounts.

It is perfectly possible to share but have seperate accounts - and is advisable if you have different money personalities.

As many of you will know I have a piggybanking technique of budgeting I've developed - that involves an INDIVIDUAL having different bank accounts for different purposes and split accounts can be a part of that technique.

So there are no rights or wrongs here - it depends on how you operate.

its also worth remembering some people should avoid joint accounts as it financially links them (marraige doesn't) and therefore if one has a bad credit score it stymies both.

rev229

Married with joint accounts. 4 joint current account, DH and I only use the one his salary goes into. Child benefit, DDs DLA and my carers allowence into another one. Some money into a joint tesco clubcard plus account for monthly food shop and fuel! And another one for child tax credit and quidco! He is too confused by how I manage the money and leaves me to it! We don't spend what we haven,t got, in fact we just don't spend1 and our only debt is the Mortgage which we overpay monthly. we also have joint savings but within that different pots for us and the kids. Our accounts offset the mortgage.
I also have a joint account with my Mother. Her idea, so I can use it to pay for her funeral any any after death expenses:eek:!

walkerno5

We are married and have a joint account. We have some friends who are married but don't have a joint account. It is always a pain in the fundament going out for dinner with them as they negotiate the bill between the two of them.... I understand they also do separate shopping. I just couldn't live like that, it's hardly a recipe for domestic bliss is it?

LameWolf

MSE_Martin wrote: »

It is perfectly possible to share but have seperate accounts - and is advisable if you have different money personalities.

I agree. Mr LW and I have been married for seven and a half years, but we still have separate accounts.

We started off that way because we'd both been taken to the cleaners by former spouses, also his ex was for a time still trying to syphon money off him, and would have had a good go at trying for mine, too.

However, we've found a good compromise; keep the separate accounts, but have the ability to instantly transfer money to each other online; and we both know each others' passwords, so it's not a question of not trusting each other.

It might sound weird to some, but it works for us, and we've never ever rowed over money.:o

ETA: Walkerno5 wow, your friends even do separate shopping??:eek: If we went out for dins with friends, one of us would pay our bit, and 'tother one would pick up our bit of the tab the next time.

bodeia

I'm very happily married but we have individual accounts. I'm main bread winner so my account pays all the bills/mortgage etc and DH account is used for shopping. We have a joint savings account for a rainy day but it can only be accessed by both signatures.

Reason DH isn't financially astute and it's all left to me to manage....

*Louise*

Married - Joint main accounts

I do have a couple of savings accounts in my name (from before was married) which I have kept and I use them to save for various things. Hubby knows about them (but not what's in them) and is happy to let me get on with all the banking because he's the first to admit he's not organised enough to want to deal with it all.

captainjoe1979

ForumName wrote: »

Married people who dont have a joint account are living with the wrong partner.

Marriage = Sharing.

Marriages are about trust and respect for each other. The reasons not to have joint accounts far out way the reasons against, as individuals you can take advantage of banking promotional deals twice joint accounts just encourage financial laziness, separate accounts mean you both have to talk regularly about money. I can understand why single income families might think it necessary but as has been pointed out if you keep things separate than if there is financial problems you’re better off with separate accounts

ALIBOBSY

I suppose it can depend on the circumstances really as to what suits a couple. I can't imagine not having at least one joint account tho. I understand the situation many peeps use with separate accounts for wages to go in then they pay an amount each into a joint account for the bills, but for us once we were married (I was also 5 months pregnant at that point) separate current accounts were pointless. We did have 2 current accounts-both joint and Oh's pay went in one and the bills all came from that one. My part time wage went into the other and covered petrol/food etc.

Now I am a SAHM full time I have the time to sort out all the bills, so I deal with the financial side of things. We do have some savings account that are separate, 2 in my name and an isa each. The savings accounts are in my name as I don't currently work so it saves the tax. I was a pensions advisor previously so OH is happy for me to deal with all that side of things (and as he admits himself he is fond of "spending"). We do discuss things as I wouldn't want him to be left with a big headache if something happened to me and he had to sort out all the bills and he knows what we pay out each month etc (I would know to the penny him probably to within £20 ish lol).

The point is you need to sort out the way it suits you BOTH best we all know how money worries and disagreements can cause big rows down the line.

The poll is interesting as it suggests married couples are much more likely to have joint accounts than couple who live together, not sure why. Perhaps more of those with children (so one parent either stays at home or only works part time) are married, or perhaps older couples, again more likely to be married also usually have joint accounts hmmmm ....

My Oh says he looks on it as a partnership, his side is to go out and earn in the week my side is to sort out financial aspects and the day to day stuff for the kids and the house. However when we are both in the house we both muck in-but thats family isn't it?

Ali x

deepdale56

ALIBOBSY wrote: »

I suppose it can depend on the circumstances really as to what suits a couple. I can't imagine not having at least one joint account tho. I understand the situation many peeps use with separate accounts for wages to go in then they pay an amount each into a joint account for the bills, but for us once we were married (I was also 5 months pregnant at that point) separate current accounts were pointless. We did have 2 current accounts-both joint and Oh's pay went in one and the bills all came from that one. My part time wage went into the other and covered petrol/food etc.

Now I am a SAHM full time I have the time to sort out all the bills, so I deal with the financial side of things. We do have some savings account that are separate, 2 in my name and an isa each. The savings accounts are in my name as I don't currently work so it saves the tax. I was a pensions advisor previously so OH is happy for me to deal with all that side of things (and as he admits himself he is fond of "spending"). We do discuss things as I wouldn't want him to be left with a big headache if something happened to me and he had to sort out all the bills and he knows what we pay out each month etc (I would know to the penny him probably to within £20 ish lol).

The point is you need to sort out the way it suits you BOTH best we all know how money worries and disagreements can cause big rows down the line.

The poll is interesting as it suggests married couples are much more likely to have joint accounts than couple who live together, not sure why. Perhaps more of those with children (so one parent either stays at home or only works part time) are married, or perhaps older couples, again more likely to be married also usually have joint accounts hmmmm ....

My Oh says he looks on it as a partnership, his side is to go out and earn in the week my side is to sort out financial aspects and the day to day stuff for the kids and the house. However when we are both in the house we both muck in-but thats family isn't it?

Ali x

Married couples are much more likely to have only joint accounts because getting married implies a long term commitment and sharing life's ups and downs. Living with a partner implies hedging your bets and therefore separate accounts keeps options open. These are generalisations and of course don't apply to everyone.

Neither is right or wrong, good or bad - just different.

wildthing01

my husband and i have always had joint accounts, since way before we were married, but we've progressed from putting in proportionately equal shares of our incomes to just putting everything in there over the years - i can't be doing with the hassle of separate accounts. we also know each other's logins and pin numbers, and it just makes life so much easier. plus, i consider that in a marrage, everything should be jointly shared (i'm the main earner), otherwise i don't really see the point of being married.

the only thing we keep in separate accounts is our birthday and christmas money, just so it doesn't get lost in the general pot and spent on groceries!