Hello, me and my boyfriend aren’t married yet but we are already discussing whether or not to merge our finances together. I know many couples create a joint account and merge their accounts together after they get married, but I don’t know if this would be good or would it be better to keep our own seperate accounts. Would like to know what other peoples experiences were like in order to help us decide. Thank you!
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Help a mama out and respond anonymously on our forum. Should married couples merge their bank accounts?
Merge 1 for the bills and another 1 for savings and also your own separate accounts to spend on whatever you want
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We have a joint account for bills
His account I send monthly fun money too
Account I have is strictly savings/sinking funds and money for budgeted groceries, gas, dogs, cat, and other budgeted necessary items. I am the better saver, and handle the finances.
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I think it all depends on your life and how you both manage money. If one is a saver and one is a bad spender maybe not or the person who saves keep a separate savings account. I think it makes it easier but I’ve been with my husband for 15 yrs and we just got an account together just bc we never took the time to do it until we were working on getting a house.
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You should have 4 accounts. Yours, theirs, yours together for bills and savings together.
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Thats up to the two of you. I would keep your separate accounts. But make a new account for the two of you
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I think that’s dependant on a few different things. My husband and I have a joint account. However, he’s horrible with money and has to be in control of our money. I have a business account and I tend to hide money in that account for backup when he inevitably needs it. Lol.
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Joint accounst separate from your own accounts. Put enough in one from both of you for all the bills and one for savings from both of you and your own accounts for whatever you wish
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My husband and I have a joint one for the bills, his account that I am on just for in case bases and then mine that I own and a saving account and an account for the kids so that way I deposit money into every month
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You could merge- but just make sure you have your own separate account in case something ever happens and you need to leave… or anything for that matter. always always have a cushion for yourself. Trust me, you’ll be thankful.
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Merge but always have a savings account of your own.
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Me and my husband have combined accounts. Neither of us are greedy about our money. I think either way of it’s mixed or not, is fine as long as it works for you 
make sure you are both on the same page
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I would say that it really depends on the two of you and how you manage money/bills/finances individually and as a couple.
My husband and I share one account. All money goes into that account and all bills come out of that account. I mainly handle the finances, like paying bills and all that, and once bills are paid, the money left over is just in the account. We discuss purchases with one another before we make them.
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We have separate accounts. He gives me his half of the money for the bills and what we have left is ours to spend. That way no accounts are overdrawn.
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We have a joint account for bills/groceries and separate accounts for anything else. Be both put about 3/4 of each paycheck into the joint account and whatever is left at the end of the month goes into a joint savings account.
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We have been together for 6 and married for 3, but our finances are still separated. We both have bills we handle, and we discuss any major purchases/changes in advance. In our case, it works.
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My husband I had two we shared and one was mine, then I closed mine and put my checks in one account and he put his in the other. When I quit my job to be a SAHM we closed the account my checks went into so we share one. So much easier that way
My man and I have done it since within the first couple months of our relationship 
we also got pregnant 4 months Into it and have been together going on 5 years this October and we aren’t married
My husband and I have joined accounts but that’s only because I’m currently a stay at home mom.
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We have a joint account.
One main account, with subaccounts in it. We have a “bills account, savings account, and our chequing account” both hubby and I have a card that we can access the account using. Hubby is terrible with spending money, so our rule when we made the account was, if it’s in the bills he can’t remove it, and if it’s in the savings it needs to be discussed before withdrawing.
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Depends on who you are. My fiance and I have an account together. My ex husband and I had an account together but then I had to create one with just my name and put our bills in it because he blew money. My fiance always makes sure the bill money is there so one account and our savings is what we have.
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It really depends on your level of communication and financial consciousness. I’m the boring penny pincher that is gonna make sure we can survive/retire one day. My husband is the fun guy that would have us broke in 2 years with tons of great memories. lol He has his own account and I have mine. However, we have another savings account that we share. We also share a Bills account. He has an auto transfer out for savings and bills each month and what is left is “his spending money” same for me. Sometimes, sharing everything makes the most sense. Sometimes, sharing nothing makes the best sense. My only advice is just to communicate about finance either way. Because your financial stability will rely heavily on both of you and you need to be on the same page either way.
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When you get married you are suppose to be come one. If you are having doubts about trust then you shouldn’t get married.
ALWAYS keep your own account. Always have a plan. Open a joint account for bills/groceries/household - but my advice, woman to woman, ALWAYS keep your own account
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My fiance and I have our own accounts but we also have a joint one that we both put money into for bills.
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I’ve been married almost 30 years. We have always had separate accounts.
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My husband and I did years ago
Create a joint account for bills but also keep your separate personal accounts
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I like the 3 account method. Two individual accounts then a joint account for household things
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My husband and I keep our main accounts separate. However we share a joint account for emergencies. It’s nothing to do with trust. It’s just how we agreed to do it long before we got married.
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We have separate accounts. Been together 7 years and have 2 kids together. It’s what works for us. You gotta find what works for you
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It’s always smart to have your own personal account incase anything were to happen. It’s okay to have a joint account for bills, ect. But, I think all women should had a security blanket. I tried explaining this to my ex when we were engaged and he didn’t get it.
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If you aren’t married?? Noooooo!
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Do what’s best for both of you. You don’t have to have a joint account just bc you’re married. Not everyone does.
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We have a joint checking & savings and then we have our own personal accounts. We both contribute to the joint accounts and all bills/expenses come from the joint accounts. We discuss anything that comes out of the joint accounts. What we have leftover goes into our personal accounts and we only discuss purchases over $500 from those. (Because they could bring a motorcycle home 
)
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Yours, mine, and ours. The ours is for bills and household things that will be needed.
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3( technically ) accounts.
- Account all pay checks go into. This is called the billing account. Once you calculate all bills. Move extra over into the 2nd account.
2nd account which is called spending. This is everything.
3rd account is savings/retirement.
When using the spending account thou. You both must trust each other and agree to come to a limit before asking permission if it’s OK. This will only work if both parties are working and have a good spending habit.
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Once me and my fiancé get married we are going to have 3 accounts. His, mine, ours. The ours will be the account that we deposit money into for bills. We round up all our bills so that we build a little cushion in that account without getting strapped for cash. This allows us to buy presents for each other without the other one knowing and allows us some financial independence. I got burned sharing an account in my first marriage. You will figure out what is best for you. Good luck 
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I didn’t, we have a joint just for bills, we put half in each every werk
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I think it depends on the dynamics. If you both work I suggest separate accounts for individual finances with a joint account for joint bills re: mortgages, oil, electric, internet, etc. And both contribute equally to the joint account to make payments. You can even direct deposit to your joint account a specific dollar amount and have the remainder of your paycheck go to your individual account.
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Married 4 yrs and still haven’t merged accounts 
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From experience. Its gonna be a NO for me.
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NOOO me and my husband have been together 11 years and have never shared a bank account.
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Depends on a lot of things tbh. Can you trust each other with how you both spend it? Does he or you have black marks against your name when the other hasn’t? Me and my partner aren’t married we don’t have a joint account but we do share all the money and we know what’s in each account and we both have access to each account. We won’t do joint because I ha e marks against my name due to bad credit score so we don’t want that to affect us both. His credit is good so our credit cards etc are in his name xx
It really depends on how you view/use money.
Are you already sharing funds from separate accounts?
Do you plan to get married?
Is one of you less financially responsible than the other?
My husband and I have had a joint account since we got together. Because it was just quicker to add him to my current account rather than have a separate account to maintain and keep track of. We were both financially responsible at that time. Now, it really isn’t that great as one of us always spends outside of the budget and I have to constantly fix things so we don’t overdraft.
I definitely like the suggestion above. Have the joint account where bills come out of & keep a separate account for yourself. You obviously then have to determine who is paying how much of what.
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not all of it & not with a prenup
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I’d keep the main accounts separate, but you can utilize a joint savings. It will save you from a lot of arguments over petty purchases.
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We merged before we even got married😅 my husband insisted on getting my own bank account though. But i dont even have money in it since i dont work.
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It’s good to have a joint account for bills and then a joint savings account for emergencies and then y’all’s own bank account for money to spend as you please without having to check in with your spouse first. That’s how me and my man is gonna do when we get married in 2 years 
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Have a joint account for household and separate accounts…because you can.
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I think it really depends on what you and your boyfriend feel comfortable with. If you prefer to only have one joint account, have one joint account. If you would rather have a joint and then separate accounts as well, do that. My boyfriend and I have joint account & then I have two of my own (one for my auto loan, one that I have just had for a few years now before we had joint account. This one will be for saving to open my private practice). You could do a joint for bills and other household expenses + a savings emergency fund & then individual ones for saving + fun spending money. Everyone does it differently so you’ll hear a lot of different input
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We have a yours, mine and ours. Ours is used for all household stuff … must discuss big purchases tho. Married over 30 years and it works
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My husband and I are separate
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They say a married couple should have 4 accounts. 1 joint checking,2 joint savings and each should have personal account
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Do what works for you. There’s so many different scenarios. We have a joint account and then I also a separate account.
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My husband and I have both 
we each have an account, but we also have a joint account that most of the money goes into. Our debit cards are on separate accounts in case one gets locked
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You should have one together, one saving account together, then also separate ones to do the things you like. You need you time and you can decide together on how much each one can take out.
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My husband and I have been together for 22 years and never shared a bank account. We each have access to the other’s account if needed but we have our own. We split the bills…he pays the mortgage & I pay the utilities. We discuss any big purchases and usually split the cost of those too.
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everything is 
% separate bills split nothing joint and i love it. No fights no bullshit we have been together for the last 10 years we have been together and married for 6 and a toddler. He has a business account for his business that I’m on but rarely use so I can do the books and he can buy materials or the occasional run for materials or things if I have to. Very little personal comes out except for maybe groceries on the rare occasion. So I don’t consider that joint. As we have to keep the business and personal separate for his accountant
At this point I would never go to a joint account way to many issues we both know what bills need to be paid when and that’s that no excuses. If you want to go out or go buy something can you afford it ? If yes buy if not then tough cookies
Do both! Each have an individual account and have one merged like a savings
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My husband and I have shared money since we started dating. We keep it all in the same account because it’s easier for us to keep up with that way. He isn’t so good at keeping track of money and I am so we share an account and it makes it easier. We don’t really worry about one of us spending money we don’t have because we keep it all written out in a budget and we can both see where we stand financially at any point of the month. We also have an agreement to not make purchases over a certain amount without discussing it with each other first. Like I’ll go shopping for some clothes or shoes or get my nails done or something without discussing it first, but I’m not gonna go out and buy a car or anything like that
My husband has access to my account, I have access to his at one bank. However, I have an account that I also use with my adult children… he does not have access to this account, but it is only used to pay property taxes, electric and net/phone.
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Me an my husband didn’t
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We have 3 accounts mine his and joint. If trust (which what it’s sounding like) is the issue then I’d suggest 3 accounts
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I keep my own account,I had it 2ay b4 we married,it’s the only thing that’s all mine now that’s I’ve remarried. He did after 5 years put me on his account.
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My husband and I keep all money for household and family together, we also have our own money on the side for things we want our need that we consider extra from the household and family needs
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Me and my Husband at the moment dont have joint we have separate, this works fir us he pays bills i pay everything else then we have our own money to save or do what we want x
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We have a joint n we each have our own. Keeps the peace. I pay bills out of mine.He gives me money each payday for that. But you have to decide before hand how it’s going to work. We consult on big purchases, allot our splurge money n so on.
Separate accounts. But one together for bills
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As a retired mental health therapist, unless your spouse is a compulsive spender or gambler, marriages usually work better with combination bank accounts. Saying this, I also think it is good for each person to have a separate account for spending money. Smaller accounts.
The main account shows trust and commitment to the marriage. My opinion is that both people be involved in money management and bill paying. In my opinion you should combine accounts after you are married. I wish you both the best of luck. 
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We have one joint account together but still have separate bank accounts as well. We both have access to all bank accounts. It makes paying the bills and what we’re going to spend money on easier.
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Me and my husband have separate accounts. 
been married 8 yrs . Just never was something we got around to doing .
It depends on the couple I guess . Some spouses want joint some want separate.
I guess something to consider is when you opened the account . If it was before a marriage its easy to keep it separate. If you opened something while together then it could be easy just to make it a joint.
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My husband and I share all accounts. Checking and savings. We’ve been like that since we were dating. I think it depends on the couple. Especially, if you plan on being a stay at home mom at any point you want to be able to use or pull out money whenever you want. Also, if a spouse passes away it is very hard to get money from those accounts because they become frozen. These were things my husband and I discussed though. We’ve been sharing accounts for 10 years and never had a problem. The only thing he doesn’t have access to are my kids savings account.
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Everyones different. Do what is best for you.
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We have 1 joint account
In my opinion I would rather keep separate accounts. In case the relationship doesn’t work out well. And decode to separate. Me and my bf have our own separate accounts. And rather keep it that way.
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If you each have one, no. If you split like most do, something happens, or he withholds money, you’re screwed. Just make a separated joint one for saving/using shared money while also keeping your own.
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We have 2 bank accounts with our bank. A savings and checking for bills and a savings and checking for our wants or what I like to call our plan money. You can keep them open but 1 for budgeting purposes and add each other to the accounts.
My husband and I have separate accounts. He puts a good portion of his check into my account via direct deposit, plus I get my check. With that I pay all the household bills, my personal bills, buy groceries, pay the kids’ extracurricular activities, dinners out, etc. He pays his personal bills and the car insurance with the portion he keeps, and he takes us to dinner now and then, buys lunch through the week, etc.
He was not great at keeping up the household bills without accumulating late fees, so I took them over years ago. 
I have a better system than he has. Haha
I think it all depends on who is better at the finances whether or not to join accounts……
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It’s really up to what works for you guys. My husband and I did it because it’s easier for us to manage our finances together. But I’ve also known couples who kept their own account, but also some who had their own accounts but a joint household account. You guys really just have to decide what works best for you
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We have separate accounts. But we know eachothers pin number and use eachothers card.
We have 3 accounts total. I have mine where my check is deposited and he has his where his check is deposited and we have a joint account and we both transfer amount here into the joint account every single week. That account takes care of all of our bills and groceries. Anything we want for ourselves or “extra” comes out of our own separate accounts
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My husband and I have seperate accounts. It would have taken a pay period to get it changed over and I would have had to wait for a paper check in the mail so it wasn’t worth the hassle of switching it over. However, we both use each other’s debit cards and know what is in each other’s account so we don’t over spend
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Keep your own accounts but open a second one for you guys put money in for the bills in this way where money is left in your accounts is yours to do with whatever
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Do what works with you both. My late husband and I had both. Joint account covered mortgage and bills our personal accounts were our savings we shared our funds when needed there would be times mine paid for holidays or paid his Tax bill lol… we shared everything including the housework and raising our son.
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Me and husband have joint checking and savings. Have since day one
The pessimist in me says separate accounts, but I’ve been burned before. In a healthy relationship I hear you should have one joint account for bills, household things everyone uses and like couple activities then separate ones for yourselves. I guess it depends on how healthy you see your relationship. Everyone knows deep down if their relationship is toxic af or has a good shot at making it. And I should add even if you have separate accounts you’d be better suited to know each other’s PIN. It can always be changed.
My boyfriend and I each have 3 accounts. Checking, savings and joint. The only one we share is the joint to pay bills and buy groceries.
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We have separate accounts but split who pays what each month
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Definitely not while you’re not married
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We have a joint checking , he has his own savings i have my own . Works out perfect !
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His, yours, and ours worked for me 36 years strong
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My husband and I have never shared an account. He’s terrible with money and I pay all the bills, so he just gives me x amount of dollars every payday to help cover bills.
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No how you going to surprise him or her on birthday Christmas when they get bank statements
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Once you are married , a joint checking for expenses , a joint savings that requires both signatures to make a withdrawal , and each should have their own individual account .
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Make a house account and keep separate accounts
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My husband and I have 1 joint (house hold bills) and we each have our own accounts.
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My boyfriend and I have been together long enough where we share everything. We have 3 bank accounts- mine, his, and bills/house stuff. This works well for us. Joint accounts can go wrong for so many reasons and cause unnecessary arguments. It’s not that we don’t trust each other with our “personal” money, it’s just simpler this way 
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My husband and I share a checking account and credit cards. Before we were married we each had access to each other’s personal accounts.