You are a fool if you have a joint bank account.

DevilsAdvocate1

We have a joint account and it works for us. I gave up work when our second child was born and spent several years not working. I would have hated it if he "gave" me housekeeping money. Instead, the money he earnt went into the joint account and if I needed money I would draw it out.

My parents always had separate accounts and many times I saw her begging my dad for money. On one occasion she wanted just 60p to go to some fitness class at the local community centre. He refused for a good hour, though at the very last minute he relented. I remember thinking that I never wanted to be in the position where I had to beg anyone for money.

I am now working again as the children are getting bigger and my money goes into the joint account. There are some savings just in my name for tax reasons, but there are none in my husband's name.

A good friend of mine is now divorced. They had separate accounts. When their first child was born, her husband expected her to still contribute the same amount to the bills as before. This meant that she got into a lot of debt when on maternity leave. He also did not want her to go back to work full time, so her reduced hours meant she still did not earn enough to cover her outgoings. They then had a second child. Meanwhile, her husband bought a BMW and joined the golf club. Eventually, she left him and took the 2 boys with her.

So I guess the important thing is to be able to discuss finances with each other as both types of set ups can cause problems if you are not able to discuss things.

libra10

Being from an older generation, most of our money is in joint accounts, administered by me mainly using the internet.

When our children were young and my husband was working, I paid money into the local bank office. Remember those?

I dealt with bills etc. while my OH was out earning a crust.

Another reason I do the banking is that my OH doesn't use the net much, leaving finances to me.

In the words of the song, 'we've been together now for 40 years ..............' and at the end of the day, it all comes down to trust!

Blobby8_2

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
What she said, only I'm a bloke

DitaVonTee

I do really cringe reading some of the posts, me and hubby don't have joint bank accounts, we do have seperate ones.

But we just call it 'the money' lol It's not his or mine, it's ours and we share responsibility for it.

Probably thats wrong too

pelirocco

tomatoe wrote: »

Your opinion means little to me but thanks. It is not silly to protect yourself from fraud/debt/homelessness caused by an ex partner who goes on a huge spending spree in YOUR name.
P.S I like it here so may stay.:)

Maybe you should concentrate on picking better partners?

peachyprice

tomatoe wrote: »

You are a fool if you have a joint bank account.

No, you are a fool if you have a joint bank account and do not close/restrict it if you split up.

Plenty of grown-ups manage to have joingt bank accounts while in a relationship and deal with it appropriately when they close. Don't tar everyone with the same brush, we're not all stupid you know.

Barneysmom

libra10 wrote: »

Being from an older generation, most of our money is in joint accounts, administered by me mainly using the internet.

When our children were young and my husband was working, I paid money into the local bank office. Remember those?

I dealt with bills etc. while my OH was out earning a crust.

Another reason I do the banking is that my OH doesn't use the net much, leaving finances to me.

In the words of the song, 'we've been together now for 40 years ..............' and at the end of the day, it all comes down to trust!

That's us too.

thistledome

tomatoe wrote: »

What I have posted is correct and helpful to anyone about to begin life as part of a couple.

Yes, when starting life as a married couple arrange your finances in anticipation of your future relationship breakdown and divorce.

With this attitude, it will definitely happen.

FATBALLZ

I made a similar point on this forums a few weeks ago and was told I must have a poor relationship with my partner. Some people seem to have deep held irrational objections to people who don't want to have a joint account which is quite bizarre. There is no practical reason why you need one, and it prevents so much aggro when things go wrong, I do struggle to sympathise with people who blindly give their partner the ability to completely screw them over financially and then wonder why they're left completely financially !!!!ed if the relationship turns sour.

I'm a big believer in 'hope for the best, prepare for the worst', so will never open a joint account.

LadyMorticia

My DH and I have a joint bank account because my health problems mean that I sometimes can't go out and DH has to go out for me so we have a joint bank account to make it easier for him to take money out at the ATM or pay in shops with the card.