Joint or separate accounts?

One of the biggest decisions you have to make as a married couple is what to do with your money; will you share it or still have your own separate accounts?



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For Robert and I it wasn't even a question and we opted straight for separate bank accounts. I trust Robert and he trusts me- in-fact I used to keep his money in my account when he didn't have a bank of his own (he knew I wouldn't spend a dime). However, in this instance it was more about independence. I didn't want either of us to feel as though we had to answer to someone else about our spending habits. I earned my paycheck and if there is a dress or pair of shoes I want to buy, I didn’t want to feel obligated t ask first. As long as at the end of each month we are responsible enough to pay our share of the bills, we feel the rest is none of our business.

As I mentioned earlier though (The making of a Mrs), being married has slightly changed our habits. While we know we don't have to ask whether we should buy something, for some reason, we still do. I suppose knowing that we don't have to makes us ask for a different purpose; to get the opinion of someone who isn't going to lead us astray. I made a big purchase this past weekend, and I had been back and forth about spending the money. However, I talked to Robert and he reaffirmed my beliefs that, despite the initial cost, it was a good investment. I've done the same for him countless times. It meant a lot to me when Robert started asking for my opinion. Robert had never done that before and just knowing he's asking me now shows me we've reached a whole new level as husband and wife (levels I didn't expect to reach).

I will say that when we have our own home we are getting a joint account for bills. Having an account that takes our money out automatically just makes sense. Even now we do have a joint savings account for our future home. However, as for a joint spending account, I don't see it happening anytime soon.

I'm certainly not bashing the idea of a joint spending account. I like the level of trust that having one shows, but for us it just makes us uncomfortable. Strangely enough we didn't need one anyway, we still developed that level of trust without having the account.