Comments on: Combining Finances When Getting Married.

By: LTJP

LTJP — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:26:10 +0000

Actually my wife and I kept seperate accounts after we got married. It was just easier. We decided who was going to pay “what” i.e. she pays the whole mortgage and I take care of all the household bills (elect, utilities,food,phone etc) – which pretty much come out equal to what we both pay each month. I have child support that I am obligated for – she also has a son that she takes care of. Once all the bills and responsibilities are paid for – whatever is left over in our respective accounts (which is not much haha) is ours. This system works out for us very nicely. What she buys with her money is her bizz – and what I buy with mine is mine. I put any extra into my savings and she puts what she wants into hers. Then if we take a vacation or want to do something we both have some put aside for whatever we need. We are both not huge spenders and do talk over large purchaces with each other before making the decision. But bottom line is we dont have “secret” accounts but they are seperate (not joint). We are just comfortable with things set up this way. Just my 2 cents…… Have a great day – JP

By: david

david — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:37:41 +0000

No worries Gracia, it worked fine!

By: Gracia Fraile

Gracia Fraile — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 15:16:09 +0000

I’m not married, but my boyfriend and I live together. And we have combined money. We started off with my 0 savings and his 2000€ savings (that he put to buy our furniture). We created a joint acount and that’s where our paychecks go and from where we pay all our bills. We both have a debit card, and although we normally ask before a purchase, we don’t worry too much if it’s something we truly believe the other one will agree. I’m the one doing the managing, and recently set up an ING savings account, for both of us. I’m a freelancer, so no regular paycheck for me, but at the end of the month I know what I’ll have for the next one, so I budget all our expenses, some “pocket money” for both of us and, leaving a “safety cushion” of 20% of our monthly budget in the account, the rest goes to the ING account.
Right now we’re doing a 3 no-spend months experiment, so we’re not following this 100%, but hey, it’s a system that works. And I know that I wouldn’t be saving any money if we hadn’t have combined. I’m such a shopper.

**I didn’t see the security code so I clicked “back” in my browser and now it won’t let me post because it’s duplicate content… let’s hope this clarification lets me post, and if it’s indeed duplicated, I apologize.

By: Green Panda Treehouse | | Weekly Round-Up: Learning About Money Edition

Sat, 04 Oct 2008 23:15:38 +0000

[...] Combining Finances When Getting Married. [...]

By: david

david — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 16:18:31 +0000

I agree 100% – I am not sure people should be married if they cannot trust each other with money.

By: WillowDee

WillowDee — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 15:02:39 +0000

I’ve been married for a very long time, and we’ve only had “our” money…everything combined, each of us with equal access. If I had it to do over again, I wouldn’t change a thing. If you can’t trust your spouse with your money, how in the world can you trust him/her with your heart?

By: The Friday gathering - Updates and cell phones

The Friday gathering - Updates and cell phones — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 10:45:44 +0000

[...] Combining Finances When Getting Married. [...]

By: Double

Double — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 03:47:19 +0000

When we first got married we were out of sync on pooling of finances but after many discussions we got on track and have maintained a budget and financial goals over the years that has been very beneficial to us.

We found it was best to have separate account and pay the bills pro-rated to our income levels.

By: Shell

Shell — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 18:03:59 +0000

My husband and I got married 6 months ago. As soon as we could we combined our finances. We are so glad that we did. I have learned to stop being so free with money and at the same time he feels a little more free to. It’s been a good learning experience and has inadvertently brought us closer.

By: david

david — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:38:43 +0000

“If one spouse or the other has an issue with allowing access to “their” money, I think there are bigger problems to address.” – I agree 100%. If you cannot trust your spouse, you probably should not have gotten married, no?