Joint Checking Account- Yay or Nay

[Tobias Beecher]

nay!

 

[sunfloweruva]

Nay.

Even if your relationship is rock solid, mixing finances is a great way to ruin it.  Even the most understanding partner can become angry when they feel like they are being taken advantage of..and believe me, someone will eventually feel that way, even if it is not the case.  No two people have the exact seem spending habits, but what is now a personal choice (what you/she spends her money on) will become a source of frustration, because every purchase will affect you both. So, nay.

[jacy85]

I'm on the fence about this.

I'm not worried about one of us stealing money.  I am worried about spending habits though, and what sunfloweruva pointed out.  But we will be living together, and will be paying the same bills.  And we pretty much tell each other what we buy anyway.  Both of us managage money well, and feel pretty much the same about splurges.  So seeing how spending habits will pretty much remain the same, things may just work out the same as they do now, only all the money will be in the same place.

I just figure we'll cross that bridge when we move in together next year.

[puss puss]

This lady I work with found out her husband secretly had a separate bank account and credit card.  She was pissssssssssed.  He wouldn't let her take her parents out for sushi when they were visiting from China, and it turns out he was spending $70 for lunch everyday at a steakhouse. 

[nathanielmark]

speaking from experience i would advise you not to do this unless you get married first.  its a HUGE commitment and i think for most people can only be handled with a commitment to marriage. 

i lived with a gf years ago and we tried this, it was one of the things that led to the end to our relationship. 

Ok, before you scoff or try to murder me, hear me out.

I was thinking of setting up a joint checking account for my gf and I, cause we live together, pay the same bills, always go out and eat together, blah blah blah. Our expenses are merged, so I thought it would be easier to set something like this up.

The only thing that might be a concern is tax time, cause we file separate returns, but obviously checking accounts don't draw interest so no income to report, so that should be fine as well..

Pros and cons to this?

[dsong02]

before my wife and i got married, we each had separate bank accounts.  she was working back then so she had income.  but even though my money went into my account, it was still considered 'ours'.  and even though we considered my account 'ours' hers was considered 'hers'.  thats just the way it was. 

i would advise against the joint account.  from a guy's perspective, there are two major things that can break up a marriage or a relationship:  1) another man, and 2) money.  money problems NEVER go away.  no matter how much you make, you will NEVER make enough.  and no matter how content you may be, she will NEVER be content with the money situation. 

no man should go through money problems before getting married.  get married first.  dont put yourself in a situation where you could potentially introduce a factor that can damage your relationship.  do that AFTER you get married.  its harder then.

[headmachine]

before my wife and i got married, we each had separate bank accounts.  she was working back then so she had income.  but even though my money went into my account, it was still considered 'ours'.  and even though we considered my account 'ours' hers was considered 'hers'.  thats just the way it was. 

i would advise against the joint account.  from a guy's perspective, there are two major things that can break up a marriage or a relationship:  1) another man, and 2) money.  money problems NEVER go away.  no matter how much you make, you will NEVER make enough.  and no matter how content you may be, she will NEVER be content with the money situation. 

no man should go through money problems before getting married.  get married first.  dont put yourself in a situation where you could potentially introduce a factor that can damage your relationship.  do that AFTER you get married.  its harder then.

forgot option 3)another woman...if u get this serious this soon, ud prolly hafta get one for wifey, one for urself, and another for ur action at the time...and that would just be redundant having 3 different checkin accounts. so go with one account if this happens and make sure the hoes dont take too much out of the pot. 

[nachosauce]

bf and i live together we have "seperate accts" but spend money jointly so its not a big issue. when he did not have an account he gave me all of his checks and i deposited them into my acct. he has a card to my acct and we just spend jointly.  if he spends a lot of my money he will write me out a check or whatever so we don't have any problems in this arena.

i think it is the maturity of the people involved. if you have a penny pincher or a frivolous spender forget about it. but if you are both moderate, have the same goals and intend to be married do whatever works for you.

[ShadowTMDG]

If you decide on going with the joint checking account, make sure you're always on your best behavior and you're never going to breakup with her (If that's the case why don't you just marry her?).  Allowing her direct access to your funds allows her to punish you if she thinks you've been bad or if you've broken her heart.  Kind of like when you let a girl borrow your shirt - she keeps it while you're together then destroys it when you break up with her.

Personally, I would never do it - you lose your right to privacy (even if you have nothing to hide, you should still protect your right) and you make it that much more complicated if something should ever happen to the relationship.

[ShadowTMDG]

If you decide on going with the joint checking account, make sure you're always on your best behavior and you're never going to breakup with her (If that's the case why don't you just marry her?).  Allowing her direct access to your funds allows her to punish you if she thinks you've been bad or if you've broken her heart.  Kind of like when you let a girl borrow your shirt - she keeps it while you're together then destroys it when you break up with her.

Personally, I would never do it - you lose your right to privacy (even if you have nothing to hide, you should still protect your right) and you make it that much more complicated if something should ever happen to the relationship.