Before we got married we each had our own accounts. After we got married dh kept his and I closed mine. We then opened a joint account. When dh gets paid all but $200 goes into our joint account. Dh makes the money and I pay the bills. If I ever need additional funds I just go to his account and transfer to our joint (which I've had to do a lot of lately).

The reason he still has his own account is that he can withdrawal money whenever he needs it without worrying about it 'messing' with the balance on our joint account. DH uses his account to buy gas, stuff for work, gifts for me , etc. We don't have the mentality of his & her finances---it's our family money.

The day after we came back from our honeymoon, I put his name on my checking acct and his DD started going there. We still have our pre-wedding monies separately, (we've been married for almost 2yrs). He only has a few thousands and will probably use that for his trip with his father this fall. I have a lot more and it will probably be used for house down payment in a few years.
For all intent and purposes our monies are in the same account. I do all the financial stuff and I don't think my DH even knows how much and what we have where.
I can't imagine having separate accounts. First of all, my DH has NO interest in financial stuff. None. The only thing he wants to know if he can buy something for his computer or hobbies. I look at our budget and let him know. It might sound like I control everything, but in reality we compromise. He agreed to having a budget and I made sure I put categories such as his hobbies, etc.

We have been very open with each other since the day we started dating. We talked about everything before we even got engaged. We talked about things such as:
1. Helping family - we send monthly checks to his parents and I wanted to know if I will have any "say" in the amount, etc.
2. When we have kids, whether I'll be working or not and will he start thinking of monies as "his" if I am SAHM
3. Who will be doing the bills, budgeting, investing
4. What are our views credit cards, buying large items, etc

So, that's what I would recommend. Talk about financial stuff before getting married. Laying out all your cards on the table: debts, savings, future plans.

I think whether accounts are kept separate or combined is a minor logistical detail. I think it is a lot more important to be on the "same" page financially.
Lena


.

I am in the old fashioned camp, too. Dh got burned financially in his first marriage and thought about two accounts - especially when I was still working - but to me, if you trust somebody enough to MARRY them, have sex with them, have their children, share everything, that should include your money, too for good and bad. That is just my opinion.

When we moved in together we got a joint account. When I started selling Avon, I got my own account so that wasn't coming out of our bill account. It has it's advantages and disadvantages. I have a friend and her and her dh have seperate accounts and it works great for them. He pays what's in his name and she pays whats in her name.

I see it both ways. If you are married, you are together and that should include bank accounts. Finances and family should come first. But at the same time, I think it tends to take away from ones independence, especially if you are both working. As long as bills are being paid and things are in order, then what I do with the rest of MY paycheck should be my business. If I want to get a manicure, I will. If I want to go shopping, I will. If I want to put it in savings, I will. And it will be MY decision.

We have always had joint accounts as well - just never had any reason or desire not to put things together. We married young and poor, so we didn't need to keep anything separated. It has worked very well for us and never caused any problems. The only complaint about it comes from DH at gift-giving time because I can see how much he spent on my gift (like it really matters)! Like the others said, I think it all depends on your personal situation. Everyone has a different comfort level depending on his/her personality and experiences, and this plays a huge roll in setting up finances. I also believe, like Lena, that being on the same page "financially" is of greatest importance here. If there are separate accounts because of "financial discourse," I believe you may just be asking for more trouble and distrust in the future.

__________________
Homeschooling Mom to Daniel (13 Years), Andrew (10 Years), Stephen (8 Years) and Emily (4 Years)

My husband and I have an account together and then I have a separate account. It works well for us.

Ally

__________________
edited out business link

We share an account because I'm a stay at home mom. He puts his check in every two weeks, I have a budget and pay everything out of there and moniter how the extras is spent. I agree that if DH wasn't as responsible (and by responsible I mean do what I tell him to do and let me take care of it ) We would have a seperate account with money that was safe for him to just spend until it was gone.

__________________
Mommy To Brody(3 years) Mason(20 months) Orin (3 Months)

"It's easy to pass judgement, it's more difficult and more meaningful to love someone" Big Love


"Cholesterol won't stick if you have the right attitude"

We've had a joint account since the beginning of our marriage. I was hesitant at first because I'd been working at a good paying job for like a dozen years before we married and I was used to having my own money. But I figured since we were uniting in marriage we might as well unite our finances as well.
I never regretted the decision.

__________________
~Jeweled

We have a joint account that we use for all the house stuff. We also have our own money which is basically any extra money that we get (birthday money, research studies, etc.) and dh has an account for his, I keep mine in a jewlery box or if it is too much, I will put it in ds's savings account until I need it), we use this money for "fun" stuff (like my girls trips and his golf trips)

ITA

__________________
Vicki
Mama to Princess, 5 and Wild Thing, 3
Progress Since 1/6/09: