Finances

[VandalSquirrel]

We've discussed it (we've got a few months, but we like to plan ahead) and there's going to be six accounts, hers, his, ours and have one each of checking and savings. We are both likely going to have career changes in the next year, but as of now we're planning to do half of each persons pay check into the joint accounts, and the rest is personal. Though if we're saving for something (house, vacation, etc.) we'd put more into the joint savings.

Anything that is house stuff would come out of the joint account, or if it is something we're both using, like gas on a trip or what not. Anything that is personal, such as clothing, his electronic gadgets, sorority dues, professional fees, haircuts, gifts or eating out with friends, is a personal expense. Since we're not legally beholden to one another now, we take turns a lot on fun things. He paid for dinner and a movie the other night, but then I turned around and bought dinner a different night and ice cream twice. Mr. Romance bought me red sink mats, a swiffer wet jet and an automatic shower cleaner as presents but once we get married at The Hitchin' Post it would be a house expense.

[MysticCat]

I've described this some in another thread, but here's a little more detail.

For checking, we have two joint accounts -- one for household and family expenses and pretty much most things, and one solely for charity. The later is a matter of discipline for us, taking money off the top of paychecks and other income for charitable purposes.

We also each keep a separate checking account. I use mine for lunch on workdays; Y membership; CD, book, or other "just 'cause I want it" purchases; and presents for her. She uses hers for similar things-she-wants and presents for me.

I have by far the larger paycheck -- about 90% of my monthly take-home (after retirement, 401(k) and deposits into savings) goes into our household account -- the rest goes into the charity account and into my personal account.

Her distribution between accounts can vary from month to month, because her income tends to vary more from month to month. For that reason, we've always relied solely on my income for loans (mortgage, car loans, etc.) and for budgeting regularly monthly expenses.

We maintain a joint savings account (usually just the minimum is in there because the interest rate isn't great) and a joint money market account, which we use as the main "savings" account. We also each have an individual savings accounts, mainly so we can have the individual checking accounts -- there rarely is much money in mine beyond the minimum unless I'm saving up for a present for her or I've gotten gift money for Christmas or birthday.

[LPIDelta]

I am excited to share what has worked for me and my husband--part of this advice comes from Suze Orman.

We each have our own checking accounts and one joint account. The joint account is used for paying monthly expenses and bills. We figured out what our monthly living expenses are and then determined what percentage of those expenses each of us would be responsble for, and that amount is submitted automatically from our pay to the joint checking each month.

The percentage contributed is based on the percentage of household income each person makes. So as an example and using round numbers: If my husband makes $40k and I make $60k a year, he would contribute an amount equal to 40 percent of the monthly expenses, and I would submit 60 percent. So if the monthly expenses were $1,000, I would pay $600 and he would pay $400.

Doing things this way has really helped us stay to a budget.

We then use our personal checking for spending money or for individual bills (I pay my credit card and student loan from my account). This way, he doesn't question when I spend $100 at Ann Taylor loft and I don't question when he spends $100 at the Harley store.

We also have a joint savings account where bonuses and extra monies go and I have a personal savings account (without my husbands name at a separate bank) and credit cards because I believe that any woman, even if she is married, should have a safety net.

Most important, just talk and plan. A good, mutually agreed upon budget and plan will go a long way to preventing issues. Good luck!