Should you combine your finance or keep them separate

posted on Feb 1, 2019 |   181 likes

How to figure it out

These days, it's not necessarily a given that newly married couples will merge their individual bank accounts into one joint account. One of the reasons a lot of people have sentiments towards merging their account with their partner is because of previous experience that is not necessarily their experience but experience from family members and friends which makes it very complicated for them to agree to have a joint account.

The best time to get this out of the way is to talk about it before you tie the knot, talk about how you'll mingle your money. Calmly express your opinions and discuss the various ways to manage your money.

If you would be having this discussion, remember you have the following options to figure it out.

One Joint Account

This implies that each of you put all of your earnings into one joint account. If you're both comfortable with this approach, it's certainly the easiest logistically. This option encourages transparency and accountability. With a joint account, a partner cannot spend money recklessly without the other partner agreeing to it or without their knowledge. Although one joint account would not be a good choice if one of you has a bad spending habit. At the same time, this option can also help to curb bad spending habit, especially you both have to sign before withdrawing the money in the account.

The One-Two Method (One Joint Account Plus Two Separate Accounts)

This is the second and probably the most realistic way to manage your finance as a couple. This method allows you create a joint account while you retain a personal account. This method is best used as a target savings account. When using this method, you both decide how much you would both contribute into the account every month or week depending on how convenient it is for both of you. Most of the time, people use this type of account to save for their children yet unborn, save for a home, a family car or for a vacation. The account can also be used to pay a household bill and other things you agree to do with the money saved in the joint account. The advantage of this method is that each person retains autonomy and financial independence.

Depending on which method you choose to use for manage your money as a couple, ensure you plan it properly, draw up a budget and rules to how it would be spent so it does not become an issue later in your marriage. Once you can both agree on this, then you are on your way to a financially happily ever after.