Joint. Can’t see the point of anything else.

When married, joint account for bills etc and equal amounts to separate accounts for personal spending.
Living with partner and respective kids – joint account for household bills but separate accounts for less of other reasons. Large household expenses are addressed jointly.
Individual spending is our own so my watches and sports stuff v online shopping. No arguments whatsoever!

April 1990, the day we got our house, got married October same year. Works for us, probably not for everyone.

Our wages go in to our individual accounts and we then pay in to joint account which covers the mortgage and household spending. Above normal spending is agreed and more funds are then transferred to the joint account.
Since we had a baby I pay 75% so we’re both left with similar amounts in our individual accounts. Having individual accounts make it easier to keep in control of spending without asking each other constantly if we can by new shoes or bike bits.

Mrs CD had some money issues when she met, she now doesn’t have a credit card, I trust that she isn’t going to run off with our money but I neither of us trust that she won’t spend what we don’t have.

Joint account since we were married(27yrs),after bills,most gets spent on our kids and fun things.
Works for us.

16 years with a joint account. Priority is the kids and house so it made sense to us that everything is shared equally even if one earns considerably more than the other.

IMO separate accounts just muddies the water.

Had a joint account – caused arguments.

Now have separate accounts, mygood lady tells me how much she wants each month to cover stuff and I give her it.

No more arguments – which is nice.

We have separate accounts but as I had an offset mortgage current account when we got married it was tricky to change. But all our money is ours really as money just gets moved between accounts to suit, I earn twice as much as her, I pay all bills, I set up savings, investments, pension whilst she buys clothes … lots of clothes.

One issue I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread is how to deal with saving for the future and pensions. Do people sort that out jointly or just rely on each other to do the right things?

It’s not that straightforward though is it? Depends on the relationship dynamic, if kids are involved, salary rates etc and if the partnership is a patriarchal dictatorship of a bygone age or not.

One issue I haven’t seen mentioned in this thread is how to deal with saving for the future and pensions. Do people sort that out jointly or just rely on each other to do the right things?

You can’t have a joint pension…

It makes sense to maximise tax relief, so if you pay tax at 40%, make maximum payments to that person’s pension as you get 40% back.

We both have company pension schemes, so each pay into those as we both get employer matched contributions.

We’re one family unit so the money all moves freely between our accounts. Wages and customer payments go into our own accounts, bills and almost everything we buy comes from the joint, which we fill as needed.

Both of our wages get paid into the joint account each month, bills all come out of that joint account, then money for “living” is moved to a different account we can both see then usually taken out and held as cash in the house. Then in an attempt to maintain the illusion of independence we both get the same x amount a month “pocket money” that is not accountable moved to our own individual accounts. Whatever is left after all these deductions goes to savings.

We stick with this regardless of who is earning more at any given time.

separate – when i met my wife she was a credit disaster, county court judgements, the lot (CCJ not really her fault other than ignorance to be fair)

As I was in the process of buying a house we may have fibbed about cohabiting and the mortgage was applied for and granted to me alone. Remortgaging, once we were married, i didn’t need to use her salary to get any extra so didn’t. Hence all the mortgage, and the associated endowments to pay it off are in my name still.

We just haven’t got round to having a joint account since, but given I pay all bills apart from the pet insurance – it’s her dog she can pay for it – and then give her a housekeeping allowance every month for food and stuff, we don’t really need it. What she earns she keeps, what’s left for me after the bills and HK is mine. We ‘share’ discretionary expenses thereafter.

I even pay for her PCP on the car (another historical one)

Hang on – I’m being mugged monthly here aren’t I 😉

Not married but…..

A joint account into which we both pay an equall ammount each month to cover mortgage, bills and savings, and the rest is our own.

Worked well untill I lost my job, and she still has her old flat which will likely be sold next year. So at some point soon I’ll run out of (personal) savings to pay into the joint account, and she’ll have a chunk of money to pay off about 25% of the mortgage.

So far it’s worked well because it means there’s a buffer in my savings that I can manage before it becomes a household issue. And I suspect what will happen is we’ll switch to paying in proportion, she’ll pay more in the short term, and I’ll catch up when we have kids.

been together 10 years, but not married (mrs has been married before, and has no interest in doing so again!). no kids on either side, hoping to have a kid in near future. don’t know that that’ll do to finances..

we have a joint account to cover mortgage, food, bills. we each put in the same each month. (she earns a good chunk more than me). as i work near a supermarket i do most of the shopping, so i’m the only one that spends the money and keeps an eye on it. she doesnt even know the PIN for her card.

so we have a roof over our heads, and bills, food covered..

all other money is left for us to do whatever we like with. thats mobile phones, cars, petrol, toys etc..

so i’m saving for a new car, (which in turn will save me money long term) then a new bike (as a reward for saving for the car of course!) 😀

To answer the OP then…

…just do what feels right to you!

😀

Hang on – I’m being mugged monthly here aren’t I

Yip!

patriarchal dictatorship

Sexist!

You’ve not met my wife then?

I’ve never understood the separate accounts thing.

I’ve never understood the joint account thing. We opened one to put cheques in that were addressed to both of us (towards our honeymoon etc.). I now put some money into her account each month (I work, she does a bit of childminding but primarily looks after our kids), but that includes fuel/food money that she has to manage.

I’m not always the best in the world with controlling my spending, but she’s on another level, and there’s no way I’d have a joint account with all our money in it.

20+ years together, not married, separate accounts. Whoever earns more pays proportionately more of the shared outgoings. It’s all ‘our’ money, we don’t need permission from each other to buy anything, the big stuff gets discussed & agreed as necessary. Works for us.

Pretty much the same here, only over 10 years, because we’re two people and not a homogeneous mass.

It seems a lot of people here are moving money between personal and joint accounts just to move it straight back out again; what on earth is the point of that? It’s just adding an unnecessary extra step, am I missing something?

The household bills all come out of my account. Over the years our earning ratio has shifted, my OH has at various times earned considerably more or considerably less than I have. When she was earning more, we had a standing order set up for her to give me a contribution; when she was out of work due to ill health we had a SO in the other direction to cover her outgoings plus a bit extra to do what she wanted with. In the rare cases where at the end of the month one of us is a bit short, or wants to do something special like book a holiday, then we just transfer money.

We just find it easier with one account. Everything goes in it, and everything that needs to be paid comes out of it. That means bills, mortgage (when we had one) cars and savings. My wife manages the savings, setting up isa’s, etc and it makes sense to do it from one account.

Interesting topic! Why just because you earn more should you pay more into a joint account? Crashtestmonkey and I were on the same pay for the last 12 years. I have recently had a career change and taken a £12k pay cut. I don’t pay less into the joint account and neither should I because I earn less. We spend the money in the joint account on what we can afford with the money we each put in. I have less money to spend on my stuff but that’s tough, as thats’ my job.

I accept it’s different if you have children and one party is the child carer instead of working, but in a normal adult life it’s different. We have our own seperate accounts for spending on bikes etc.

Joint account for everything. It’s about trust and she is my wife.

How do you buy her a secret present, if she sees the bank transaction for “Handbags’R’Us” or whatever?

It seems a lot of people here are moving money between theirs and their spouses separate accounts. It’s just adding an unnecessary extra step, am I missing something?

Why just because you earn more should you pay more into a joint account?

for better or worse, for richer or poorer. etc etc.

Early on in our relationship I told my future wife that there was no balance sheet. Surely that’s how it should be?

Agreed
I used to earn a lot more than I do now but now I reckon Mrs PP must earn double what I do, although I’ve had several decent bonuses and one big redundancy payout over the years.
Our salaries go into one account. All the bills, shopping, fuel , eating out, pocket money etc comes out of that. I’m crap with money and knowing there’s someone else looking at the account keeps me on the straight and narrow. If there’s anything left at the end of the month she shuffles it away into a savings account. I dunno how much she’s got tucked away but £2400 for a new-used car when ours went pop was no issue.
I have a separate account that I use for eBay and other sources of income. I paid for my motorbike out of it, I pay for shiny bike bits out of it and probably 1/3 of my pocket money too, and sometimes some holiday spending money.
As far as I can see ‘our’ money is one pot and we’re both sensible with it.

I’ve seen a few mention ‘I give her a housekeeping allowance’ or words to that effect. That just sounds so alien to me, like from another age. I’m surprised there are still folk that use that language.

We just have joint accounts. Missus does an amazing job of running the finances and tax each year. Works for us.

It’s not a ‘housing keeping allowance’. it’s an allowance. We both get one, the same amount, paid from the joint. It’s for personal stuff (including christmas presents). It’s about 10% of the net amount going in.

I’m more surprised that some people can’t fathom the fact that other people don’t run their lives exactly the same as they do. It’s almost like they haven’t worked out that we’re all different….

It’s not a ‘housing keeping allowance’. it’s an allowance.

Not you, but read back – there are a few that talk about giving their partner an allowance to run the house. I suspect my grandparents had a similar arrangement. But then again my wife does not ‘run the house’ – it’s a shared task (this does not mean that I don’t realise she is in charge – I know my place!).

Separate accounts and a joint savings one. Outgoings are shared out between us proportionately according to the difference between our earnings. Obviously we both had our separate accounts before we got together and haven’t felt a need to change so we haven’t.

Both wages paid into a joint account to cover bills etc.

We both have individual accounts and the joint acct pays us both monthly allowance/pocket money to spend as we wish. Mainly haircuts for the missus judging by the priceless on the counter 😯

Occasionally certain items will be classed as ‘joint’ elements and not paid out of pocket money (mostly chains and other bike wear and tear for me as I ride to work every day, she gets her petrol covered).

Fascinating….

In my marriage we had 2 joint accounts and 2 joint credit cards. Amicable separation and divorce, we each got custody of one account and one credit card. She earned and earns well, and now I am paying maintenance for kids to her account . But a mate got taken to the cleaners by his ex partner to near the point of bankruptcy… and it is difficult to close or get your name off an overdrawn account…

Now, with my partner 2 years, but not living together full time yet, and we will get married sooner or later. I earn rather more than her and her divorce is not yet finalised, At the moment we have our own individual accounts and a joint account which I put money in, and is mainly used by her. I suspect this may be the way we run things till at least her kids have flown the nest and she stops getting maintenance from her ex.

For me I’m cool about the trust thing, and would go to fully joint accounts, but I think separate credit card accounts to keep some privacy would be good.

breatheeasy,
That sounds the same as our set up. I have a few discussions on what is classed as ‘joint’ expenditure. Bike stuff is if it’s for the commuting bike!

Personal account(s) each for salary etc., and a joint account for household costs (mortgage, utils, food, nursery, occasional treats). The joint account funding is pro-rata based on net income.

Big purchases that are a joint benefit (e.g. holidays or a new telly) are usually split 50/50 for simplicity.

Whatever’s left in our personal accounts is spent however we like, no questions asked. If my wife wanted a spanking new car why should I pay for half of it when I’m still running round in a banger ? Why should she pay for more bikes that don’t even get used ? I’d feel uncomfortable in both cases.

Obvs if one person is not earning then this model doesn’t work, the breadwinner’s account becomes the de-facto joint account and needs to cover everything (inc. “pocket money” for the non-worker).

Slight aside – when one person changes jobs or gets a pay rise we treat the other person: the extra money from the first month in the new job has to be spent on a meal. Sometimes it’s just been a takeaway, sometimes it’s been a whole weekend away. However we had to clarify the rules last year when I went from unemployed to employed and my wife suggested I should spend the difference between new income and previous income of £0 ! Nope…

It’s not a ‘housing keeping allowance’. it’s an allowance.

As one who is ‘guilty’ of using the phrase – frankly that sounds more alien to me, that i should define how much my wife is allowed full stop.

It’s just terminology, but as i earn more than her, particularly when she was a stay at home / part time working mum, it’s only right that i should contribute more. Equally, there’s no point giving me the job to do the food shopping because she generally does the cooking, plans the meals, etc. and therefore goes and buys the food shopping with money that i provide. She also pays the kids’ school meals, childminder, etc. It’s the money she uses to keep the house running, what else should i call it?

It’s the money she uses to keep the house running, what else should i call it?

The household account?

It isn’t a household account. It’s money i give her, to supplement her wages, so she’s got enough to cover the housekeeping bills and anything left over is hers.

If the kids need school shoes this month, she’ll have slightly less* for herself. If I go away on a week’s business trip and don’t eat the contents of the fridge daily, she’s a bit better off.

* who am I kidding – have you seen the price of school shoes?

Wow!