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Wife and I have joint bank accounts, but I know there are people out there that still live independently while still living with someone or married to someone.
Location: Huntersville/Charlotte, NC and Washington, DC
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlotte Panthers
Curious as to how others do things with their SO.
Wife and I have joint bank accounts, but I know there are people out there that still live independently while still living with someone or married to someone.
As a personal banker, I'd never be on a joint account with anyone. When it comes to money, my rule, don't trust anyone.
I would say home account, every of them put an equal percentage (lets say 50 or 60%) of their income and they sep ut direct income of the bills. Then both can have their personal account to save or use for whatever they want (I have a friend who like to invest in the market, if my boyfriend does that I would prefer him to have his personal account and use his money without putting into risk our money).
And the world would be perfect if you have a home-save account when you send money you don't spend and want to save for car issues, vacations... for future projects for the home.
In my opninion that's the perfect way to be a team without creating additional problems in the couple. If he wants to buy an iPad he can use his money, if I want to buy shoes and shoes and shoes I use mine. But we use our shared account to buy a mega TV or mega sofa for the house.
We have one joint account that we created for the monetary gifts we received from the wedding. Everything else is separate.
We both work and have good paying jobs so it wasn't necessary to co-mingle the money we earn. If she wants to use her earnings to buy shoes and clothes, that's up to her as long as she can pay for her expenses (school loans, car, insurance, credit cards). My salary goes towards the mortgage and everything associated with the house (electricity, water, oil, cable/phone/internet, landscaping, alarm). So if I want a new mountain bike or new snowboard gear, I need to make sure I can satisfy those payments before anything else.
I prefer it that way to anything else because it allows independence and accountability. I know friends of hers that are married. Both work and earn good money. They have all joint accounts. And every time the wife wants to buy a pair of shoes, dress, a lens for her camera, etc., she needs to "approve" the purchase with her husband. I'm not into that. My wife earns her money and she earned the privilege to do what she pleases with her earnings as long as she's responsible for her debt. If she's short one month, it doesn't mean I wouldn't help. But, she would need to be more careful going forward.
A combination of joint (for the mortgage, household bills, ongoing home renovation projects and travel) and separate (discretionary funds). Throughout our relationship the person making more has fluxuated, so we've loosely based our "precentages" on current income levels. It's not like my SO is eating caviar while I eat bread and water because I'm currently in grad school. We have pretty similar spending/saving habits so money issues, aside from wishing we had more, have never been an issue for us. I know we are fortunate in that respect.
When I was married it was all joint, and it didn't bother me at all. I felt comfortable with that arrangement. I seen my parents have separate accounts and it caused a lot of problems, especially when it came to how money was spent and bills were paid. I just didn't think it was cool, to have to remind your spouse or ask them if they paid a certain bill, like we are roommates or something. But many married couples I know have separate bank accounts and it really works for them. So there really isn't a definite answer, just have to find a partner that is on the same page when it comes to finances.
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