Combining finances and getting a joint account

[Whoami24601]

Is it as complicated as I think? Me and DH have been together for 10 years, and married for 7. Up until now we've kept finances separate, and that's been fine for us.

However, I'm now expecting DC2, and we'd like to get a joint current account, with all the bills coming out of the one account (we currently each pay some of the bills).

Does anyone have any advice/ experience of how to go about this? We really don't know where to start!

What sort of set up do you have at the moment?

When we did it, I just closed my bank account and got my name added to DH's to make it joint. Got all direct debits etc transferred over. It was really straightforward, especially now you can use the switching service.

Oh, I should say, I do have another bank account just in my name that we currently use for savings (although we need to set up a joint savings account really). It means it comes in useful for Christmas presents etc!

We currently each have a current and savings account (we were advised to open 2 ISAs instead of a joint account).

I also have a HSBC current account, which I'd love to be rid of, but it's what my wage is paid into and the bills are nearly all tied to, so I'm a bit scared to actually close it!

Between us we have 8 accounts, which seems a little OTT? I'd like to streamline if at all possible.

Honestly, changing your current account is so easy now, it's really not scary! Especially if you switch to a bank that gives you a financial incentive.

The way the switching service works is that everything gets changed over within 7 days (all you do is fill out a form). Your old account gets closed automatically. Then for 13 months any payments sent to/taken from your old account get redirected, so that makes it much easier too.

The only thing you need to watch out for is anything you pay by card (like I had my Graze box subscription cancelled because I forgot I paid by card rather than direct debit).

Separate ISAs are a good idea but it really depends on interest rates. If you have a look on MoneySavingExpert there's some really good info on there about the best types of savings accounts to use

It's simple. We opened a joint house account and all bills etc paid from that. We both put 70 percent of our similar salaries in there by dd each month. The rest we keep in seperate original accounts which is where our salaries go to start.

I just got added to dh's existing account. I still have a sole account but there isn't much in it. Why not choose an account (or accounts) you want to keep and add the other person onto it. It means you can change the account your wages get paid into and direct debit details at your leisure

Keep on your own personal account, then have a joint account that you each pay a set amount into via . standing each month. Would not advise going totally joint account, friends tell me it leads to arguments over money (if that was an aspect you were concerned about)

me/dh don't argue over money in our joint account

Don't do it!

Current accounts are for the benefit of the banks not the customers.

Banks like current accounts because if there are ever any debts they can chase up either party.

We use my account as an virtual joint account, as in I know it's my responsibility to see everything from it is paid. Dp pays his wages in and what we have left can be jointly spent.

If anything goes wrong with either of your financs or you relationship it's much more problematic if you have a joint account. Despite what people think married people aren't responsible for each others' debts unless it's some kind of joint debt like a current account which has gone overdrawn or a joint loan/mortgage. If you do go overdrawn on this joint current account it will affect both your credit ratings rather than just that of the person who caused the debt.

The worst case scenario is if you split then one party can empty the account or go overdrawn and or/take the others wages and leave the other party with no money at all to pay the bills. Lots of serious debt problems start this way.

Always, always have your own pay (and tax credits etc) going into an account in just your name. If you really really want a joint account then set it up so your pay is transferred into it a few days after being paid into your own account. Never have your pay go directly into a joint account.

We just closed our separate accounts down and asked to open a joint one. Everything then goes in/out of that one account.

I think it really depends on the relationship you have as to whether a joint account works for you.

I always swore I'd never have a joint bank account but after faffing about so much trying to work out who paid for what it just worked out easier for us. All the bills go out of there and we each take an amount of spending money each week. It's just easier.

But obviously you do have to be cautious. For us I felt quite secure as a) we're not that well off, so we'll never build up a massive balance anuway; b) our savings go into an account that's in my name; c) we're quite close with family etc so if anything did go wrong and either of us cleared the other out we'd have family to answer to

We still have separate accounts, but also a joint household account. We agree how much each of us puts into it every month, and all the house and joint expenses, food bills etc come out of it.

Do it if you want but keep a separate one for yourself and salt away some savings. You never know when you might need them

We both have our own separate accounts that our wages go in to and then have a joint account for the mortgage and household bills. We both put 30% of our salary into the joint account, 20% into a joint savings account and then keep the other 50% ourselves which pays for our cars, clothes, luxuries etc. We are lucky that we both earn the same amount of money.

We have the virtual joint account too, it's in my name and all bills and joint household spending comes out of it, we both pay into it and both have separate personal current accounts for personal and cash spends. DH has access to the "joint" one via a credit card that is paid in full out of it by DD every month. Something deep inside me resists the idea of a proper joint account, all our savings sre separate too (ISAs and premium bonds). Everything is done by SO and DD, I rarely have to make a manual transsction.

All our income (including child benefit) goes into one account, all bills, credit card and general cash for spending come from this account. We have a joint credit card for all household extras, we totally trust eachother with this - DH knows I'm careful with food shopping and generally only buy things for DD she needs, so doesn't question me, he usually tells me if he wants to buy something for the house. DH earns a lot more than me, as I'm primarily at home working just a few hours. However, we both have exactly the same amount each month for our personal spending and never question the other about what they spend their money on. We find this easier rather than just buying what we want and then the other resenting the fact the other has just bought three items of clothing, when they haven't bought anything for ages. In 19 years we've never had an argument. We both have all passwords to everything, so can check what's happening with all accounts, bills.

Thanks for all the advice! I think the easiest thing would be to add DH to my current account, as most of the Direct debits come out of that account. We can then transfer the other few dd across to there. Would others recommend that? It would mean DH has access to my wage every month, but I don't have access to his. I trust him of course, but don't want to leave myself vulnerable! How do you go about changing the account your wage gets paid into? X

He might aswell just pay a regular amount into your account to cover his share of the bills, then your account is still under your control.

For your wages, just give your payroll department/accounts your new bank details and ask them to swop it over (they may have a form for this)