Today I’m over at the Credit Sesame blog talking about how my husband and I didn’t merge all our finances together when we bought a house and got married. On top of the joint account for house expenses, we still have our own separate bank accounts.
The following is an excerpt from the post:
I personally think the quote “All you need is love” should be modified to “all you need is love and financial compatibility, along with separate bank accounts”.
It is possible to be with someone for both love and money. What I mean is that you can love someone and love the way they handle money. I love my husband very dearly and the fact that he is frugal and resourceful (translation: he’s a DIY guy when it comes to home renovations, troubleshooting computer problems and fixing cars) makes me love him even more.
When we first starting dating, I had no idea what his financial situation was or what his money habits were. Like many couples, we spent a lot of money on dates to restaurants and movies. I don’t ever recall talking about finances until we considered buying a house together. While it is an extremely important conversation to have with someone that you are getting serious, it is a conversation that most people would rather avoid. A study conducted by Northwestern Mutual revealed that the topic of money was place higher on the list of uncomfortable subjects with family and friends. Americans would much rather discuss their own death or sex before discussing finances.
You can read the rest over at Credit Sesame.
One a side note, just watched the Force Awakens and loved it. That’s all I’ll say about it.
Oh and I want a light saber.
Have you watched it? What did you think of it?
Enjoy your weekend and may the financial force be with you.
We’ve been maintaining separate accounts + a joint household account for the entire time we’ve been married (almost 10 years). It works really well for us. The individual accounts get discretionary allowances each month and the rest goes into the joint account for bills. It’s a really good system an allows us to still have some personal money to use as we see fit.
I think it’s also a great system that could possibly help couples who are having trouble managing their finances. I like the idea of still having my own money to make my own purchases.