Until a couple of weeks ago I thought that I had a sure fire simple budgeting system. But then for some reason I suddenly began to feel overwhelmed with the amount of bank accounts we had, as well as the number of cards we both seemed to be carrying around. I knew then that a purge was in order.
Between us we had (and I’ll list them as it’s easier);
- 2 Amex cards
- 1 MasterCard
- 2 Visa cards
- 3 Debit cards and 3 current accounts
- 14 savings accounts
First a little background. Hubby and I only have a mortgage and a current account in joint names. Everything else is in individual names despite the fact that we share every penny of our money…..whoever earns what doesn’t matter, it all counts as one pot.
I know the reason we kept individual current accounts, it’s so hubby can sneak a new nine iron past my online banking checks……I’m joking, but it is sort of the reason; we both have a monthly personal spending allowance and neither of us wants to worry about what we spend it on. Both of us would feel bad about spending money from our joint account because this is money for our goals.
But something has to give. Simple living means simple finances so we’ve started the amalgamation process. One Amex, one visa, one current account and a reduction in savings accounts. Even my beloved ING money pots. Less is definitely more.
I know that joint finances are not for everyone, but we feel that we’re ready.
Separate or joint bank accounts? A good or a bad idea for a couple? Let me know your thoughts.
For free updates you can subscribe to this site here. Thanks for visiting!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Fewer accounts and joint accounts works for us.
I’m not against separate finances for couples – talking about completely separate, not just separate fun money accounts – but I’m always intrigued about how they work. Some couples I know that have seperate finances do so because they have wildly different money management skills and goals. I haven’t seen any of them deal with retirement or having children in this scenario but those are always my questions. What if your partner is broke in their twilight years? You leave them home while you vacation?
When we opened accounts in the UK a few weeks ago we asked for a checking, savings and savings for our son. I would actually like to do the ING money pots accounts but it looks like ING does not offer accounts for Isle of Man. We still want a separate savings account for travel.
We will be getting my husband’s Canadian Amex switched to a UK one but other than that won’t have a charge card over here. I like the Visa debit cards you have here. They have them in the US too but I haven’t seen them in Canada yet.
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:31 pm
@Rachel. I couldn’t imagine having totally separate finances and do wonder, like you said, how that would work later on in life.
[Reply]
We have the fewest possible. I just can’t stand having lots of accounts – it’s the minimalist in me! We each have a personal account and one for household bills. Then ONE savings account. Yes, we forego a bit of (pitiful) interest, but the upside is that it’s all SO simple.
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:22 pm
@Anna yes, I’m starting to want that myself: minimalist banking! We also decided that for the amount of interest gained on some of the savings accounts, it’s not worth the effort of managing them.
[Reply]
Hi Laura! I have been loving my ING savings “pots.” I am trying to think (based on how I’ve seen you budget) about how having a streamlined savings account(s) works or will work for you. Do you keep it in theoretical pots on paper, knowing you have X amount for a certain savings goal, or do you let it all stay in there and just spend as needed, knowing that you’ve contributed enough to allow for each expense? I’ve been trying to keep “pots” from my checking account on a little piece of paper in my wallet, so I’m curious how you’ll keep pots for separate purposes once they’re lumped together. (I’m sure it can be done, and I’m also sure you’ve probably got a good idea as to how to do it!)
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Hi Listful! We haven’t decided on a perfect system yet, but for now will transfer the amount for each purpose to one account and keep a breakdown on paper. I’m not sure if this is the solution for us but will try working it for a while and then decide.
[Reply]
We’ve always had joint savings/accounts. It works for us, it all goes for the same stuff anyways. So we never did the mine – yours thing… It was always “ours”.
[Reply]
We currently have our money in 4 different banks and I recently decided that we needed to simplify our banking. I’m on a mission to close unwanted credit cards and consolidate to 2 banks, one regular and one online.
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:16 pm
@ND I’m on a mission too…I just want the least amount of accounts possible.
[Reply]
We have always done joint accounts which usually make our lives easier. We sit down at the beginning of every month and decide which “buckets” we are putting our money in (kind of like the pots idea you use Laura). We get each get a little “blow” money each week to spend on ourselves (sometimes it only covers smoothies for me and the kids). We also removed all unwanted credit cards this year and keep only two of them (hidden in my file cabinet!). We do have over 10 different savings accounts (does anyone else do this?).
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:41 pm
Hi Jamie and thanks for stopping by. We had so many savings accounts and it was getting a little confusing, hence the major overhaul. We have monthly budget meetings too and I love them. It really helps us to stay focused on our goals.
[Reply]
Thanks for visiting me today over at my new blog! I love your blog and look forward to following now.
amy
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 15th, 2011 at 8:11 pm
Hi Amy! Thank you
[Reply]
Hi Laura! Let us know how this works out for you.
My husband and I have always had joint accounts, and it works out great for us. Right now, we have two checking accounts, five savings accounts (two are for our sons), and six investment accounts (401k (husband’s), SEP IRA (mine), Roth IRA (mine), Annuity (mine from former 401k) and two 529 college savings plans (one for each son).
Sometimes it feels like a lot to manage, but I love the ING savings buckets we can create for different needs. I wouldn’t mind consolidating some of our investment accounts, but I believe there are some fees and/or penalties for converting either of the two I would be interested in consolidating (the SEP IRA and Annuity).
[Reply]
Laura Reply:
June 17th, 2011 at 5:39 am
@Jenny I think more than anything we’re getting (banking) ready for our move. When we’re in Portugal it makes sense to just have one checking account etc. The pension system is a little different over here in the UK and our company pensions require no handling on our part….they just need money deposits!
[Reply]
We have ONE credit card between us — and wouldn’t have that but for internet purchases.
[Reply]
Husband and I have a joint account which we both pay into on pay day and which covers all of our household bills. It also includes a small sum that we then transfer into a joint savings account to use for things for the house. All of our other finances are kept seperate because I like to budget out what I’m going to do with the rest – Husband doesn’t! We’ll probably change this once we’ve settled somewhere, Baby is at school and we start looking to the future beyond that. Until then, the system seems to work!
[Reply]
I’ve been married for almost 10 years and we still have separate accounts. My husband and I lived together for a couple of years before we got married and we just have been too lazy to change our system. Plus, we both work, so we really haven’t had a need to share money. We both just talk about our savings goals and investment amounts and who pays for what. We only have 2 main accounts and I was thinking of going the other way and doing a 3rd that’s strictly set aside for non retirement savings. Sadly, we haven’t had much of that until recently, but now that we do, I don’t quite know how to manage it.
[Reply]
We share all our money- and we have a joint account that we pay our bills from. Hubby has a separate savings account- but every month this gets deposited into our House Account. I have a separate checking account that ALL my money gets deposited into. I have specific things I spend money on- part of which is the 6 month insurance premiums, property taxes, union dues, and such.
If this money were sitting around gathering dust in our joint account, Hubby would have the need to spend it. With him not being able to see it in my checking account the need is not there and it can be more easily saved for our big bills that we need to pay with it.
PS He doesn’t know what I make. He trusts that anything extra gets put into our House Account. I am NOT a spender. I would go without, just to save a buck. Seriously.
[Reply]
We have a joint checking and savings, but then he has his own personal checking (which is empty 9 yimes out of 10) but it helps him feel like he hasn’t lost total control.
[Reply]