Should You Combine Bank Accounts?
Many married people never combine bank accounts. Some have a bank account together and separate bank accounts for use at their own discretion. It may help your partner keep track of expenses if she has a separate account for her child that she contributes to on a regular basis. If your partner maintains an account for her child, then you may also have one joint account all of the household expenses and bills are paid from, and still have separate accounts of spending money for yourselves. There are many different scenarios. Choose one that is comfortable for you and your partner.
Separate Bank Accounts
Maintaining separate bank accounts can be a simple way of knowing exactly who is contributing to household bills and the amount. If you are considering keeping your finances completely separate, you may consider splitting your bills as well. Perhaps you do not watch cable, but your partner enjoys having movie channels for nights when your stepson is over. The cable bill could then be one to which she contributes a greater amount.
Although this can potentially decrease arguing over certain money matters, it can also create tension. Figuring out everything down to the penny can drive you and your partner crazy. If you can split everything in a flexible way, with room for compromise at times, you will have an easier time.
Combining Bank Accounts
If you decide to combine all of your money, you will need to seriously communicate when you are upset about how money is being spent or saved. If you find your partner is spending $5 a day on coffee while you make yours at home for virtually nothing, you may find you judge her spending habits. It is important to know her spending habits and for both of you to be open about how much you are spending and on what. However, you need to make compromises in this situation and not pick at everything your partner is purchasing. If you find that money is a struggle, you may both need to be put on a budget and held to it, or agree to save more. It may be that your partner needs to make her coffee at home three times a week and buy her coffee twice a week in order to stay within the budget, but if she can make this decision for herself you may argue a little less.
Talk with your partner about all the options for handling money and remember that your money management systems should be flexible and not carved in stone. As your family grows and new priorities emerge you will need to re-evaluate your plans. Discuss with your partner what is working and what is not. Money situations will be ongoing and will require compromise and renegotiation.
Separate and Combined
Since money is such a touchy subject and everyone has his or her necessary items, you may find that sharing a savings account that you both contribute to, and then having personal accounts for your own spending, is a great way to go. If you have a savings account that you both contribute to, you could decide on contributing a certain percentage of your paychecks. This way you may not be contributing the same dollar amount, but there is fairness in how the amount was determined. Your personal account may help you pay for your hobbies, any items you want for the house, gifts, your student loans, and any other discretionary expenses. Your partner's account may hold money for her child, child support, her coffee, and gym membership. Having separate bank accounts for items like this doesn't mean you don't trust each other, and it is still important to disclose your income and assets to one another. In case of an emergency, you may have to lend money from your personal account to your combined account. Having both gives you the ability to share in certain areas and keep tabs on your own expenses at the same time.
