I've made it to 25 with a good credit score, no loans and a very small amount of credit card debt. My bank account is always in the black.
However, once I seriously dated a guy who received overdraft slips on such a routine basis that they came with the missing child advertisements. Every slot in his wallet was filled with a credit card. And some of those were maxed out.
Would we have been a compatible couple for a joint banking account? Doubt it.
While I enjoy shopping every now and then, I'm a person who always knows exactly how much is in her account. When sharing an account with someone, I can't always have that luxury. They could be out purchasing a new big screen television while you're trying to pay the rent.
It would take a lot of communication and a person with a similar financial mindset for me to consider a joint account.
However, I have friends who live with their significant others and husbands who were filled with glee when the checks arrived with both their names on it. Some decided all the money would go into one account and others decided to maintain a separate account while relying on the joint account for major shared expenses. If I had to do a joint account, I would opt for the latter.
What is your view on sharing a joint account? Should only married couples consider joint accounts? Do you share a joint account with your significant other or spouse and how well is that working for you?
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Love union=financial union?
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2 comments:
If you are not married. Have your own account.
If you are married, have your own account.
My mother told me what her mother told her, no matter what always have your own account, because you never know when you'll have to stand on your own two feet.
Even if you are married, it's not a matter of trust, it's a matter of being fiscally responsible. Married people should have accounts together, but it should strictly be for household expenses and bills. No one should be tapping into it for a random shopping trip or taking the boys out for a round of drinks-- that is what your personal account is for. But I think when you love someone, you need to know the other person's spending/saving habits, because money can be a serious dealbreaker. A spender and a saver can be disasterous and a spender and a spender... that's just catostrophic.
People who are not married should not share money. However, once a couple is married, I don't think it's unreasonable to have a joint account. The two people should live as equals, and separate checking accounts negate that.
What if one person in the couple makes $20,000 and the other makes $50,000? This means that one person can afford some luxury items whereas the other can afford few.
What if one person is a stay-at-home mom or dad? Does that mean that the time that person spends at home is worth nothing more than maybe a monthly allowance from the breadwinner? Hardly fair.
If both people in a marriage are working, perhaps a reasonable compromise would be to keep 401K and savings accounts separate. But money should not be something that is held over either person's head.
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