QOTD 3/23

minionlover

How do(will) you and FI handle finances?  Separate accounts, joint accounts or both?

brainybrunette

We'll have a joint account for household expenses and savings but we're each going to keep our own personal accounts.  I think it's always a smart idea to have your own bank account independent of your husbands...not because I don't trust him but because I think it's important for a woman to maintain her financial independence (that's my feminist rant for the day LOL).

lepoissonrouge

Right now everything is separate. I don't know when we will transition into joint accounts... either this summer when we figure out our apartment or after we get married. This summer seems more logical to me.

We are planning on having joint savings and joint checking where the bulk of our money will be, and then separate checking accounts that are only ours. He and I have one credit card a piece, so we will more than likely just be keeping those. I'm not sure if we will get one that is both of ours... is there some sort of benefit in that that I am not aware of?

mpjf1001

We each had our own checking account and savings account. But I recently added FI to my checking account and we closes out his when I lost my job. So we pay everything from that account for right now...
In the future I would like for each of us to have our own accounts and then a joint account we each contribute to to pay bills/household expenses from, but since I manage the $, bc god only know what would happen if FI did it, for now its this way and then when i get back on my feet we will go back to separate accounts probably with one joint.

mrshall1027

We've had joint accounts since before we got engaged.  We both have the same outlook on finances and it's been very easy and one of the best decisions we've made.  We have a bills accoung, a spending account, and a savings account.  FI made a budget in excel and maintains it.  He pays all the bills and I just let him know before I spend any major amount of money.  I actually love doing it this way.  It makes things very easy and I don't have to worry about any of the finances.  I completely trust him and he trusts me.  We were both in marriages where our previous partner was horrible with money, so it's a nice change for the both of us.

mana8503

Right now it's separate.  I take care of mine and our bills (FI puts money in my account for mtg) and FI has his own for his bills.

When FI gets home we are switching banks and doing a joint one.  I'm way better at finances and budgets... so FI will be getting a weekly cash allowance and that's it.  

minionlover

FI and I got joint accounts when we first moved in together.  We have 2 checking and a savings.  We also have separate accounts.  His is to pay a personal loan and mine is basically a savings account that I have had since I was a kid.  Other than that we share everything financially.  Like Yasmin, both FI and I were in previous marriages where we didn't really know what the other persons money was going.  This is a nice change for both of us. 

achiduck

We have a joint account that our paychecks get deposited into. We pay our mortgage, grocery bill, hydro, interent, etc, etc from that account and we also transfer a set amount into our personal accounts at the beginning of each month. That money is "play money" and we're not responsible to each other for how we spend it. 

We've been doing that for 6 months and so far it seems to be working pretty well.

pockysquirrel

Right now everything is separate. I've been nudging him about setting up joint accounts, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. Once that happens the plan is to use the joint account for shared bills, but keep managing our own individual expenses like student loans, credit cards and cell phones separately. I frequently warn him that once we're married, I'm taking over all the financial stuff because I'm better with money than he is. It's mostly a joke. Mostly. LOL.

pzavecz

We have both. We have our own separate accounts checking and savings and we have 1 joint account that is specifically for the wedding, just because it's easier to keep track of how much we have for the wedding. After the wedding, we'll probably just use that one as our main account. Although we maintain our own separate accounts right now, we treat our money as OUR money....so it's all joint money when it comes down to it. It's just a technicality of where the money is actually located.

aimee58

Currently, we each have our own accounts and a joint for all of the wedding money. After the wedding, that will become our primary account. Then we'll put a small amount each paycheck into our own separate accounts for gifts and little misc. things.

Iggy85

We have a joint account for household expenses, but we also have our seperate accounts so that when birthdays, christmas, and anniversaries come around we can keep gifts a secret! lol

snuff9861

Everything is seperate and will most likely stay that way. FI is terrible with money and I would hate to see the damage he could do if he got ahold of that much money. I manage the finances, and that includes cahing his paycheck and doling out money to the bills and giving him his allowance.

Ividian

We have separate accounts and have no intention of sharing them. We are both good with money, have our own personal bills, and an agreement on how much we each contribute to the monthly bills so it's perfect for us as a couple.

lenergyrlah

We got a joint account in January, but right now we're just using it for the wedding money.  I don't see us completely joining finances unless one of us stops working to take care of a child or something like that (which won't be happening anytime soon).  FI is terrible with money; I added him as a user on my credit card and he already managed to charge $2000 so I'm going to have to take it away from him.

lepoissonrouge

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/wedding-club-boards_october-2012-weddings_qotd-323?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Wedding Club BoardsForum:56b9bcef-1e34-456e-81f5-cfaa107456b2Discussion:f76a3429-3ea0-4ddb-858c-5ee8ec0af8acPost:0e3ca928-3f63-4fe3-9e50-5100dfe50abf">Re: QOTD 3/23</a>:
[QUOTE]We got a joint account in January, but right now we're just using it for the wedding money.  I don't see us completely joining finances unless one of us stops working to take care of a child or something like that (which won't be happening anytime soon).  FI is terrible with money; I added him as a user on my credit card and he already managed to charge $2000 so I'm going to have to take it away from him.
Posted by lenergyrlah[/QUOTE]

O my goodness! I would cry. I would for sure be revoking that priviledge, lol. Thankfully FI is afraid of credit cards, which I am sort of the same way so it's good. I use it for gas so I can get bonus cash back and that's about it.

kimm260

We have 1 joint account that we each deposit money into for the wedding and for groceries. When the wedding is over we will continue to save money for a down payment on a house in that account.   Other than that we each have our own account for bills and what not.  FI is actually better with money than I am so I deposit money in to his account for half of the bills.   Eventually I am sure we will get a completely joint acount but for right now it works for us. 

steveandta

We have been having a joint acct for years before we were engaged. It works for us

ivedonethisb4

Ours are separate. We bank in different towns. I bank where I work. He banks where we live its just easier for us that way. Neither of us wants to change banks. As far as bills...FI makes way more than me so he pays majority of the bills. I pay my personal bills buy groceries etc.

poison+kisses

Right now we each have our own accounts, but sometime soonish we're going to get a joint account. We figure it'll be easier if we get the joint account before we buy a house. Even though we still have separate accounts, our money is mostly treated like it's joint. We both contribute to half the rent, but he pays all the household bills, and I put (basically all) my money into high interest savings. He said he doesn't mind that I don't put anything into the bills because whether the money is in my savings account or his, it's all going towards the same things. Also, I spend very little on random stuff and shopping, so I'm sure if I went shopping a lot he wouldn't be ok with it. 

pengy16

currently its seperate. he pays the house bills while i pay the mortgage. otherwise we pay our own bills seperately. I dont think we will join them but he will be getting an account at the credit union once were married.