We had separate checking accounts for years. Both of us had been married before, and it worked best for us for a while.

Rick used to take care of house payments and other expenses. I took care of food and expenses for myself, our son and house "stuff." It worked well for years. Any big purchases were discussed. He made quite a bit more money than I did so he handled the bigger ticket stuff. The savings account was joint.

At one point he changed jobs and didn't have the time to deal with bill paying and check book balancing. At that point we combined the accounts as I didn't want to deal with two checkbooks.

I still have one small savings account I call my "mad money." It's a joint account but I look at it as "mine." I generally use that account to save for certain things I want to do around the house, or a shopping spree now and again...

If Rick mentions he has no account to call his own, I tell him to use the credit card.

 

Val,

Please don't take this the wrong way, but your problem is the "B" word (Bank).
You need to join and set up your accounts with a local credit union who offers on-line bill-pay. Our on-line bills are paid immediately through our credit union, and we have the same set-up as you: One for me, one for Bea, and a joint account where all the household bills are paid, plus we are able to move money at will between accounts. You should also consider direct-debit, which requires no input on your part. We have our electric, gas, and cable bills all paid automatically on their due date.

Credit unions are member owned, and all profits go back to the members, not to some unidentified stock-holders. Jonas can back me up on this. (Besides, Bea was the CEO of a credit union before she had her stroke, so I am well versed in the benefits!)

Thanks for listening!

 

100%

 

We make do with one account. All bills are paid by autopay or via internet electronic payments. We only rarely write checks. What ever happened to "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine too?"

 

I tend to use the credit card or cash for most stuff I do.
If I write a check, which is really, really rare these days, we have the auto-copy back on the checks.
I just pull it off and stick it in my wallet and leave it on her keyboard to get recorded.
The checks I write aren't going to ding the checking acct that bad.
If it's a big check, like my golf league or something like that, we have a discussion in advance of the check.

Same with ATM slips.

Of course I'm back to working as a hobby.
I never see a paycheck, just an email telling me money was put in and a visa receipt telling me it was taken out

 

i really think i forgot how to write a check seriously!

 

I'm a little surprised to hear so many of you have his, hers, and ours accounts..... we too have this and I highly recommend it. That's part of why we just past 40 years. I also support the Credit Union recommendation.

 

Do any of your problems stem from the FDIC-mandated takeover of your bank?

Back in the S&L debacle of the early 80's ( recently replicated by the recent insolvency of major banks ), we decided to keep some money in different banks. Deja vu all over again. No matter how badly the reckless clowns in charge of our banks screw up, it is likely that the money in the other bank will allow us to survive until the FDIC can bail the clowns out.

 

We consider our marriage to be an equal partnership. All the money goes into joint accounts. Has worked well for 18 years.

Seems like having separate accounts is for people that have something to hide, or have trust issues.

 

It may seem that way to you but in fact it's just the opposite.

PS- I guess I should add that we don't hide the check books or statements from one another.

Personally I don't want to know how much she's spending on her horse; and she probably doesn't want to know either.