Should You Have a Joint or Separate Account with Your Spouse?

Are you one of those couples who have recently “tied the knot” and are struggling to decide whether you should have a joint bank account or a separate one?

Well, in order to make the right decision, you have to consider the advantages and the disadvantages of both sides.

While a joint account can give you the advantage of conveniently paying your bills and can strengthen your relationship, it can also create misunderstandings. On the other hand, a separate account can benefit you by giving you freedom however; it can also become hard to manage various accounts.

Advantages of a Joint Account
Having a joint account allows you to conveniently pay the bills. With a joint account you don’t have to worry about splitting up bills or accessing various accounts to make monthly payments. Instead, both spouses can easily pay their bills through one account.

Another advantage of a joint account is that it can strengthen your relationship with your spouse. Not only does sharing an account build trust but it also provides transparency. Since both of you have access to a single account you know that your spouse isn’t keeping any money hidden from you and you also know exactly where he/she is spending.

Disadvantages of a Joint Account
Having to share an account can cause misunderstandings. Since both the wife and the husband have equal access to the account, either one of them can withdraw money without informing the other which can spark arguments and can also cause chaos and confusion.

Advantages of a Separate Account
I think most people would agree without a doubt that having a separate account gives you freedom. With a separate account you can spend wherever you want to and however much you want to without having to tell your spouse.

Disadvantages of a Separate Account
One big disadvantage of having a separate account is that it gets hard to manage. Handling multiple bank accounts can be a task of its own and having money in different accounts can make it hard to budget. With both of your income coming in to different accounts, it becomes hard to figure out exactly how much cash you both have coming in each month, how much of It will go into monthly expenses, and how much of it will be left over at the end of each monthly cycle.

To sum it up, just like everything else in the world, both joint accounts and separate accounts have their advantages and disadvantages Some reasons why you should consider joint accounts is because it makes it easy for you to pay your bills and builds trust between a couple. One reason why you shouldn’t consider joint account is because it can cause misunderstandings.

On the other hand, a separate account is known to give you freedom but it can be a disadvantage because its hard to manage more than one account.

So, now that you’ve taken a deep look at the advantages and disadvantages of joint accounts and separate accounts, what do you think? Should You Have a Joint or Separate Account with Your Spouse?

Courtesy of CreditCardshoppe.com