In order to produce the podcast and keep content up free for you, I work with partners so this post may contain affiliate links. Please read my full disclosure for more info.
Are you two looking to dump your debt faster and start building wealth? See how joint accounts can help you can do both with a lot less stress!
Joint Accounts – The Way to Go?
There are strong feelings on the pros and cons of sharing checking and savings as a couple.
I totally get it. We've had some really good, deep, (and sometimes long) discussions on how we wanted to tackle our finances together.
Even though we've found a lot of common ground through the years, we still each have a different take on money.
And we actually love that.
We feel that our perspectives allow us to make better decisions, not just with our finances, but our marriage.
The tricky part, though, is finding a way to manage your money on a day to day basis.
And for us, we have joint accounts.
In today's episode, I'm going over:
- 3 ways joint accounts can make money easier to manage as a couple
- how you can determine if separate accounts are harmful to your relationship
- figuring out a system you love
Hope you enjoy!
[smart_track_player url=”http://traffic.libsyn.com/couplemoney/CM_005_Joint_Bank_Accounts_and_Happier_Marriages.mp3″ ]
If you want to hear from another couple on how they manage their money, check out my interview with Derek and Carrie Olsen.
Resources to Manage Money Together
Want to make talking about money less stressful? Here are some fantastic resources to get you on the same page and mastering your money faster!
- What’s Your One Page Financial Plan?
- How to Successfully Budget as a Couple
- Track These 2 Key Numbers to Master Your Money
- How to Master and Maximize Your Bank Accounts Together
- Money Tracking and Budgets: Personal Capital, Mint, and Tiller are fantastic options
- Qapital: Free tool that makes saving automatic and fun
3 Ways Joint Accounts Can Build Up Your Marriage and Finances
If you two are thinking about merging finances, here are 3 ways having joint accounts can help you grow your relationship and wealth together!
Less Hassle with Bills
By combining our money into one pot, we can simply schedule our bills from a central location.
Mortgage, utilities, and savings are scheduled and we only check on the accounts just to verify everything has been paid.
Using an online bank has made it even simpler to stay on top of our finances. You may also want to use your local credit union or community bank to see what they have to offer.
You may find better benefits and fewer fees.
More Transparency
Having joint checking and savings is handy for us because we both can see where we can improve on with our finances.
It’s a safety net to protect both of us – two heads are better than one so we can catch any crazy double charges that may pop up from a bill.
We can also bounce ideas off of each other on how to better optimize our system and save some money.
Makes You Face Issues Upfront
When you two share bank accounts, it also makes you more aware of the big issues in your marriage (money and otherwise).
I know for some couples, that possibility alone seems to push them to separate accounts, but believe it or not, this can be a wonderful opportunity for your marriage.
Having the money talk can be a turning point for the both of you.
Derek Olsen from Better Conversations on Money and Marriage made an insightful remark about how joint accounts can help the two of you with your marriage:
Combining money within a marriage does not cause problems, it might uncover a few and dealing with them now is a good thing.
Most problems are already there, not created. There is no sense in avoiding what is already there.
With financial problems being a huge factor with marital stress and divorces, its crucial to try and get things sorted out sooner rather than later.
Are Separate Accounts Bad?
Does that mean that individual accounts are toxic to your marriage? Should you close all of your individual checking and savings?
My answer is – it depends on the two of you and your personal situation.
Personally, we have checking accounts that we use for personal expenses like gifts, lunches out during the week, and small purchases here and there that make us happy.
For my husband, it’s coffee visits and for me, it’s usually books or trips.
That said, we do have access to one another’s account if we need to get to it.
We talk about all of our accounts during our monthly money dates so we're on the same page. I think that's key.
If you two decide to keep some accounts separate, it really helps to share all your numbers, even if it's just on the spreadsheet. It's impossible to work together if you're in the dark about key accounts.
However you decide to handle your accounts, make sure there's a plan in place should something happen to one of you. Emergencies can happen at any time and you don't want to have this added stress of your spouse not being able to access finances as needed.
Thoughts on Joint Bank Accounts
Enough about us, I'd like to hear from you. I know we have different approaches to our finances.
How do you manage your finances? Do you combine most of your money? Why or why not?