Money can bring people together. Money can separate. Money is a point at which relationships can crack or bind. So when it comes to those who are married, how should they store their money? In different accounts? The same one?
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. -Genesis 2:24 NIV
When it comes to my wife and I, I believe that the more areas of our lives we can combine the better. We feel very strongly that keeping a joint checking account keeps us accountable (no pun intended) to each other.
3 Advantages of a Joint Checking Account:
- It keeps things simple. No longer will you have to keep track of two accounts (were you keeping track in the first place?). Just reconcile your account and make sure that you are both communicating on the transactions that are taking place.
- It pushes you to be accountable to your spouse. There have been many times that I wanted to eat out or buy something off of iTunes, but didn’t because of the close accountability Courtney and I have. Having one account that you both have access to will force you to talk about your budget!
- It reduces greed. Keeping things in perspective, a joint checking account will disable you from claiming your money is only YOUR money. From now on, it will be both of yours. This will allow you to give more freely, since it was mutual money anyway!
I know our marriage has grown strong through the use of a single checking account. Believe me, it wasn’t easy at first combining our accounts! All of the sudden, I had to consider the implications on my family when I spent money. I wasn’t accustomed to that! But oh, was it worth it. We have saved so much money and pursued more income because of our close communication and accountability.
Are you married and have a joint checking account? Please share your experiences in the comments!
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There are more problems than meet the eye here. My wife and I had joint accounts twenty years ago. Despite our best efforts it was a disaster. My mane is on her checks and vice versa. We each other look at the accounts and statements which solves a trust issue. Seeing the way she manages a checkbook there is no way we could have a true joint account. I am sure the feeling is mutual. Neither one of us has had an overdraft in years but when we had a single account we bounced checks like super balls.
I’m sorry to hear that a joint account didn’t work out for you. If you ever did want to give thought to combining accounts in the future, I found that spending this month’s income next month works wonders on bouncing checks. It creates a good buffer to where if you are both paying attention to your budget, you shouldn’t overdraft. Let me know what you think! Thank you for adding to the discussion! Any other readers out there have issues with joint checking accounts? I want to hear from you!
My husband and I have joint accounts, but when it comes to spending money outside of bills, we keep it separate. I take out a small amount of cash (Blow Money) for the week, and he has a chequing account to which we move a set amount each week. He’s on the road and is forced to eat out more frequently than most people. It would be extremely difficult for us to keep track of what the other spending given the distance that separates us. Definitely when it comes to big ticket items we discuss them first and the cost comes out of our combined money, but if I want to buy an iTunes song, I just have to make sure I leave myself enough for whatever else I “want” that week too
Sounds like you have the right balance. Great idea to spend cash for your blow money, you’ll save a lot that way! The most important point is to make sure you have excellent communication, and it appears that you do! Great job! You’re doing better than most couples out there!