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Should we get a joint account?

13

Comments

  • benjus
    benjus Posts: 5,433 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    If you have any joint outgoings that can be paid by credit card, you could consider getting a credit card with her as an additional cardholder. The account would be in your sole name and you would retain full control, but she would have a card with her name on it.
    Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
    On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
    And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning
  • Archi_Bald
    Archi_Bald Posts: 9,681 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    lufc7 wrote: »
    Get a joint account, it's part of a stable relationship.

    You can have a perfectly stable and good relationship, and pay your fair share for bills without having a joint current account.
  • benjus
    benjus Posts: 5,433 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    grumbler wrote: »
    Joint accounts create serious problems while having no advantages against sole accounts except an extra debit card.

    If it's a packaged account the benefits will be available to both account holders for a single monthly fee, whereas with a sole account the benefits may only cover the account holder.
    Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
    On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
    And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,571 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Archi_Bald wrote: »
    You can have a perfectly stable and good relationship, and pay your fair share for bills without having a joint current account.

    Absolutely. We've had everything joint from a very early stage but other couples arrange their finances differently to suit themselves. It doesn't mean they don't have just as good as a relationship as us.
  • lufc7
    lufc7 Posts: 173 Forumite
    Of course you can have a stable relationship without a joint account, but what the OP wants, ease of access, transparency etc without either of them taking either another sole account or credit card where only the named individual would be liable for bounced DD etc a joint account would be very sensible in their situation. I have in the past told people the opposite due to their circumstances being different ie one party has a bad credit file etc. But in this instance a joint account makes sense and as another poster pointed out if it was a packaged account with insurances etc that they both need they could even be saving money.
    'If you ain't living life on the edge you are taking up too much room'
    'Everyone dies but not everyone lives'
  • Archi_Bald
    Archi_Bald Posts: 9,681 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    lufc7 wrote: »
    Of course you can have a stable relationship without a joint account, but what the OP wants, ease of access, transparency etc without either of them taking either another sole account or credit card where only the named individual would be liable for bounced DD etc a joint account would be very sensible in their situation. I have in the past told people the opposite due to their circumstances being different ie one party has a bad credit file etc. But in this instance a joint account makes sense and as another poster pointed out if it was a packaged account with insurances etc that they both need they could even be saving money.

    WOW, you got some sort of psychic powers to be able to state so categorically what makes sense for the OP? What if you were wrong?
  • jimjames
    jimjames Posts: 18,894 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    Thanks for the replies. I have thought about the horrible situation if it all goes wrong. That's the reason I've posted really. I just can't think of another way of keeping the expenses transparent without me being the bad guy asking for money all the time.

    Maybe we go a bit softer and we maintain a spreadsheet of monthly expenses that she knows I'm paying for and she sends me the block of money that reflects the sum of all that? That means I personally am still technically liable for all the expenses - a bit one sided. It's a difficult one!


    Why not have a joint account that you both pay a set monthly amount into to cover all the bills? You can then keep your existing accounts and both have visibility of the payments made.
    Remember the saying: if it looks too good to be true it almost certainly is.
  • gycraig_2
    gycraig_2 Posts: 533 Forumite
    Me and partner have a joint account. Then both receive 250 quid a month each fun money. Works for us anything in joint account is for bills / saving. Personal accounts are entirely up to us and nothing to do with partner.

    Just another say of doing it. Joint account pays for essentials etc
  • benjus
    benjus Posts: 5,433 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts
    jimjames wrote: »
    Why not have a joint account that you both pay a set monthly amount into to cover all the bills? You can then keep your existing accounts and both have visibility of the payments made.

    That's what we have done. It doesn't solve the problem though - it still creates a financial link between the account holders which can be hard to break. One party could empty the account and run up an overdraft and disappear. The bank could chase either account holder for any debt, and will generally go after whichever seems easier.
    Let's settle this like gentlemen: armed with heavy sticks
    On a rotating plate, with spikes like Flash Gordon
    And you're Peter Duncan; I gave you fair warning
  • lufc7
    lufc7 Posts: 173 Forumite
    Archi_Bald wrote: »
    WOW, you got some sort of psychic powers to be able to state so categorically what makes sense for the OP? What if you were wrong?

    Like most people on here this is my view point and advice just like by your response you deem it correct that they don't have one. I tried to explain the reasons to why I suggested what I did. What can I say I'm a glass half full rather than glass half empty kind of person. We can all worry about things going wrong but we would never do anything if did. Just being sensible and taking appropriate risks to me makes sense as much as to you they don't.
    'If you ain't living life on the edge you are taking up too much room'
    'Everyone dies but not everyone lives'
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