Comments on: Should Married People have a Joint Checking Account?

By: Ryan Rust

Ryan Rust — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 23:19:42 +0000

My girlfriend and I have been together for 7 years. We have separate accounts and I see a potentially very large problem with combining them. She LOVES to spend her money on everything that any normal girl would.( She makes very good money as a waitress) I often try to induce financial information and sense into her regarding her spending habits but often to no avail. Therefore, we have talked about always having separate accounts. I would like to think that if we were married it could be different but I am pessimistic.

By: John

John — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:28:37 +0000

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!

By: Julie

Julie — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:36:05 +0000

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

By: John

John — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:25:56 +0000

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!

By: Daddy Paul

Daddy Paul — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 15:29:13 +0000

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.