Checking, Savings, Business.................everything is together. Nothing hidden. We usually spend together. I'll take her shopping every month or she'll let me know shes going. Communication is key.
we have a bunch of accounts. this way i can keep the wife confused enough that she doesn't notice the large monthly expenditure on hookers.
We have multiple accounts, but they are all joint accounts. We have two checking accounts: I am listed first on one account and she is listed first on the other account. Neither of these accounts have a lot of money. The money in our checking accounts we can use as we please. The vast majority of the money is in money market, brokerage, and savings accounts handled jointly. Neither of us would ever spend a large sum of money without consulting the other. It is good that we are both savers.
If your spending habits and savings goals are similar, a joint account can work. If they are different, I recommend seperate accounts. Now we do not have a fight every time I pay bills.
We do pretty much what others have said and have a joint account where all our money goes into. Then we set up a budget which covers everything that is really shared expenses (i.e. Bills, Gas, Food, and pretty much ALL of that stuff). As part of the budget, we each get an allowance of money each month for whatever it is that we want and we each have our own separate checking account where we keep this money and get paid into each month. That way we both are more or less equal in what we spend on ourselves each month.
It can be dangerous but for a lot of couples, that is the best way. It may seem hard to believe but it's true. You'll learn that as you get older and meet other couples. The one actively doing the books should keep the other informed. Any day she wants, my wife can open Quicken and see exactly what's going on.
I'm primarily in charge of the money, and I would never let my wife spend anywhere near $150 on a pair of shoes. And I wouldn't let her buy shoes she didn't need.
i'm with you man. hell, my wife doesn't even have keys to the house. she has to ask permission to come and go. women are much less likely to stray when you have them under lock and key. the occasional beating also helps to keep her in line.
We have a joint account, because that is what works for us. We know other couples who only have separate accounts, which works for them. Methinks some people like the idea of having money which is theirs and only theirs.
joint account, spend together, and not worry about anyone hiding anything, communication and trust is the key. if you dont trust the person with your money, mind as well not even marry them. on the other note, when my ex fiance and I splitted up, our joint account and joint saving splitted in half as well... we joint account even before we got engage...
All money into one pot. Most big purchases we discuss. Anything less than $250 is no big deal. I pay the bills but everything is transparent and we have access to all financial accounts. Her last big purchase - Coach purse. My last big purchase - BMW M5. I win. lol
We have a joint account for all bills, children stuff, food, and house related stuff. We each have our own accounts and give ourselves an allowance with which we can do anything with.
My wife and I do both, and it's worked out TREMENDOUSLY. No fights over money. None. Zero. No resentments or bitterness. I have my personal account, she has hers. Direct deposits go into them, respectively. Then, we've got a "tax system" - 45% of our earnings go to the joint. The remainder is ours to spend at will. The joint account can only be used for actual, ironclad monthly bills: mortgage, homeowner dues, water, etc (plus home repair stuff like AC or plumbing). Can't dip into it for personal bills like gas or shopping (including groceries), definitely not for vacations. This way, I'm not finding out we're short on paying bills because of discretionary spending on stuff like clothes or shoes. She puts in less to the joint account, but she has less to spend as well. I typically pay for most of the groceries without complaint. It's worked really really well for us, 5 years in. Evan
There's a big difference between not letting someone waste money and being abusive. And it's not like I'm a hypocrite, we both spend very little money on non-essential items.
We have always had a joint account, but we also have personal "allowances" so that we can get things that we want without feeling guilty. My wife is a stay at home mom, so my allowance isn't as much as it could be, but the system works for us.
Interesting question - been married almost 3 years and we tried in the beginning to keep both of our checking accounts (since we each had our own checking account before we met). At first, I let her handle the finances/books but after she wrote a bunch of checks on the wrong account and we had some checks bounce, we did away with having 2 checking accounts, going down to just 1 (luckily I used to work at the bank that we do our banking with and they cleared everything up and reimbursed us of the overdrawn fees). So, we now just have one joint checking account and then my savings account which she has access to but she has never touched it (mainly because there's nothing in it but also I don't think she even knows the account number but it is not like I have hidden that from her - she just has never had a need to use it). We or I should say I have thought about doing 2 separate accounts and have a joint account where all the bills are paid from. Yet I never could do that because to me that shows that there is a lack of trust on her. Things have improved substantially in this aspect of our relationship because 1) I do the finances now, and 2) she has scaled back significantly in her spending. She also does a better job of letting me know when she has to buy something that could be 100 bucks or more. She was in business for herself the last 3 years but they have to close the business and she is going to try to go back and get a teaching job this coming fall. I think if she is successful (and I have been praying about it every night) that our finances will get stronger. Communication is definitely the key, especially if you do just 1 account and it is the joint one. Nothing is worse than having one person go out and buy something that costs more than you can afford and you not know until after the fact. Been there, done that but that was a long time ago fortunately.
