Pros and Cons of a Joint Account PART2

Advantages of separate checking accounts

You are free to manage your own funds as you like, and so is your partner, as long as you divvy up the expenses. You’ll need to talk about whether your portions should be precisely 50 percent or to split it according to your relative incomes. Revisit what your share is whenever one of you gets another job, a big raise, or you change your living circumstances.

You both have financial security with this system, even when one of you is away from home, plus you each have control of your own money. Online checking accounts make it easy to have separate accounts that can still “talk to each other” when necessary.

Drawbacks of separate checking accounts

Dividing up regular bills can easily be worked out, but how do you split a big car repair, insurance premium, saving for a vacation, or holiday gifts? This division of money also makes it more difficult to save together for a big ticket item.

With your own individual account, no controls are in place, so depending on your money personality, it could turn into a financial disaster.

Plus: Should You Join Your Finances When You Marry Your Households?

One of each

If neither a single joint checking account nor two separate ones sound appealing, you can always opt for three accounts – one joint and two separate. Then you each have a separate account to do with what you want and you also have a joint checking account for combined expenses. If you go this route, an online savings account can help you save for big ticket items.

Remember to be flexible. What you decide on now about how you handle your money may not always work. Change your way of managing money and switch accounts as often as your circumstances change, if need be. Continued dialogue, trust, and willingness to compromise should keep your marital money woes to a minimum.