Different Accounts For Husband and Wife ??

[jmillerky]

Is it a good idea for a husband and wife to have seperate spending accounts, each having specific responsibilities with their account ?

For example, my account would pay the fixed expenses, and hers would pay for groceries and other flexible items.

I have heard this works for most people who try it. Any sugestions ???

Thanks...

[strife]

Opinions on this matter vary... some are for seperate accounts, some are for joint accounts.

What really matters, seems to be that you have a joint spending plan-- one that accounts for all the household expenses, regardless of which account the payment comes out of.

If you aren't accountable to each other and yourselves for what each of you are spending, you will run into problems of overspending, etc. Plus, putting together a joint spending plan helps both of you to discuss financial issues more comfortably, and helps you to define your shared financial goals, and seperate goals if you have them.

Jeff Opdyke, author of Love & Money (and columnist for the Wall Street Journal), is a strong advocate of the joint account so that there is no hidden spending.

Steven B Smith, author of Money for Life, simply states that you need to work together, discuss your finances openly, and have a shared spending plan that you jointly use each and every month. If you work on your financial fitness together, you will be far more successful than if you live seperate financial lives.

[Guest]

Hi, thanks for replying. We do have a joint spending plan/budget, which we have been working on and refining for the past few months. I just think seperate accounts would give us a little more "role seperation" . I'm not ---, but I really think that the husband and wife should have specific roles. If we both have our hands in the same checkbook then it most certainly leads to confusion.

[Lorren]

If you're using the envelope system than it's easy to have a joint account together. You KNOW what's going to go where and when it is funded. It helps if you are both on the same page with the same account so you both know what's going on.

For example, we have a grocery envelope. I do most of the grocery shopping, but if my husband goes to the grocery store to pick something up, than he can do it, we'll just take the money he spends out of the grocery envelope. It allows us both to work on it. The most important thing is to know how much is in the envelope before you go spend it.

It helps if you know who is going to write the checks for the bills. If you don't than that's when bills don't get paid. But if you're using the envelope system and a joint account, at least the other person can look at the account to see what is going on.