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Original poster

Do you and your partner have a joint account?

87 replies

EverythingButNotNow · 25/04/2019 22:54

Hi guys

I’m thinking of setting up a joint account with DH but wanted to see how many people do this?

If you don’t mind me asking, do you both earn the same amount or does it vary a lot

Thank you

OP posts:
RedRiverShore · 26/04/2019 09:28

No, we have always had separate accounts but we share all the money and bills and if one of us runs short we just transfer some over to the other.

Don't really like the idea of all the money being in the same bank, we have different banks then at least if one bank has problems money is available from the other. There is more flexibility with two separate accounts

Backseatonthebus · 26/04/2019 10:45

Finding it really weird that people are married and yet have such separate finances. All our money is OUR money and we trust each other!!

You might find it weird, but it works perfectly well for many couples. DH and I trust each other and I like having my own bank account. The two aren't mutually exclusive. As for 'our money', we both pay for things for us, which account it comes from is irrelevant. We've never argued about money, we never really discuss it either.

Megan2018 · 26/04/2019 10:50

Not quite. We can't have a proper joint account as DH was bankrupt so we can't have joint finances without him destroying my credit rating!

But we have a current account that is in my name but is used solely for all the joint bills - we both pay a set amount in when we get paid which covers mortgage, all utilities etc. And DH can access it online. So it is the same as a joint account really but it doesn't have his name on it. Off of this we have a savings account which we pay in to too. Then we have our own accounts for our own expenditure.

I have a very expensive hobby (circa £600/month) that I don't expect DH to contribute to, plus a BTL and I am also the high earner.

DowntonCrabby · 26/04/2019 10:54

Everything in and out of the same account here, we do have separate accounts also for making the most of tiny savings rates.

I earn probably 45% to DH 55% now but over the years I’ve earned a bit more then he earned a lot more.

I often think this comes down to having similar attitudes to spending/money than whether someone massively out earns their partner. Our approach to the joint finances works because we are both fairly laid back, large purchases are discussed but we trust each other to spend otherwise, neither of us are frivolous, we have the same expectations for things like eating out/holidays and we work toward the same savings goals.

NaomifromMilkshake · 26/04/2019 11:09

The best piece of advice I ever received on here was always have two bank accounts.

We have the joint one and DH's salary goes in there, and then we have mine, I work part time and stayed at home for while felt like forever
did small gigs but not always in my field of expertise. I now earn a quarter of what he earns, used to be 50%

Anyhoo I digress, we moved North/South and we were broke for years, when ever we looked like we were going to dip into the joint overdraft, we had back up funds and another line of credit. IYKWIM

CabbageHippy · 26/04/2019 11:30

We have a joint account that all house bills come out of except for the food shopping. We transfer the same amount each month (slightly over what's needed) from our personal accounts into this & the extra goes into over payment on the mortgage

Lazypuppy · 26/04/2019 13:37

Joint account for bills but seperate accounts for personal

Pyjamaface · 26/04/2019 13:43

Separate accounts. Some bills come out of my account, the majority from DPs as he earns 3x what I do.

What's left over is shared anyway between one of us having cash on us/whoever's card is closest egg or DP will transfer me money over

RomanyQueen1 · 26/04/2019 13:43

No, because it was one more account to worry about/ manage.
I have cb tc and small wage in mine, dh has his earnings in his.
He pays some bills I pay others. The money is joint though and we regularly swop money between accounts, there's no mine and his, all family money. Two were enough for us and kept it simple.

elQuintoConyo · 26/04/2019 13:53

No.
We share bills.
DH earns more.
We both transfer the same % of our wage into a savings account every month.

Together 20 years, it works for us.

supadupapupascupa · 26/04/2019 15:34

What I don't understand is separate savings. How do you plan for the future, holidays, big spends etc if you have no idea how much the other is saving? I like the transparency of joint savings do that we have a joint plan of what to do with every spare penny

Decormad38 · 26/04/2019 15:36

Yes joint everything. All our money just goes into the same pot and if we need something we buy it. He’s not a big spender and he never minds me spending so it works.

Decormad38 · 26/04/2019 15:37

We earn the same about £ 2500 each.

WhoAteMyNuts · 26/04/2019 15:41

What I don't understand is separate savings. How do you plan for the future, holidays, big spends etc if you have no idea how much the other is saving?

Our individual savings pay for larger purchases and we just discuss what might be coming up and if we agree we need to purchase something we both pay half each.

We also occasionally discuss what we both have in our individual accounts and what we are planning on spending if it's big.

It really doesn't matter if you have joint or individual as long as you communicate. You can plan for the future in the same manner.

sugarbum · 26/04/2019 15:42

We have a joint account. DH earns four times more than me, but its hopeless with finances (he's a management accountant!!) I deal with all bills.

I have a set amount going out into my old account every month, and I pay for my stuff with that (dresses, stuff for my hobby (fabric mostly) and going out etc) I do this so I can keep track more than anything.

He just uses our joint account for that stuff. His spends are mostly books, beer and wine.

Megan2018 · 26/04/2019 15:43

@supadupapupascupa
We have joint savings and individual.

I have a BTL property from before I met DH. It has a savings account for repairs etc and for my tax bill. It is nothing to do with DH. We also have a legal agreement that it is not a marital asset.

Equally I also have a savings account for my horse - again I had her before DH and he does not (and nor would I expect him to) contribute to her considerable costs.
But for ourselves and for our home we have joint savings.

Thesnobbymiddleclassone · 26/04/2019 15:46

Only for savings.

ThereIsIron · 26/04/2019 15:49

Both working. Salaries go into personal accounts. Monthly transfers into joint account for mortgage, childcare, home insurance, etc. Other bills are split, not necessarily evenly but relatively equitable.

RedSheep73 · 26/04/2019 15:55

Yes, we have several accounts but they are all joint. We pool our resources - that's what you do in a family isn't it? It does help in a way that neither of us had anything much when we met, so everything we have has been got together.

NoWayNoHow · 26/04/2019 16:12

DH and I have always had a joint account and, when I was SAHM, it was the only account either of us had. When I went back to work, it was for a bank and I therefore got an account in my name for my salary.

As the years have gone by, DH's salary has continued to go into the joint account, and we both use this for "un-fun" things like mortgage/weekly shop/bills etc etc. The account in my name has now morphed into the "fun" account which we use for meals out/movies etc.

In terms of salaries, DH is a much higher earner which is why the bulk of our money goes into the joint.

Backseatonthebus · 26/04/2019 16:55

What I don't understand is separate savings. How do you plan for the future, holidays, big spends etc if you have no idea how much the other is saving?

Separate doesn't mean secret Confused and it brings other benefits. We each have our own annual ISA allowance that way for a start as we'd be over the tax free savings limit. I like to invest in equities, he doesn't. There was a really long thread about this recently, there are many ways couples arrange their finances, as long as it works for them, that's all that matters surely

notacooldad · 26/04/2019 17:10

What I don't understand is separate savings. How do you plan for the future, holidays, big spends etc if you have no idea how much the other is saving?

We have joint account for every house hold bill from mortgage to Spotify, Netflix to everyones car Bill's.
We have our own separate savings account each and then a joint savings.
To be honest we don't use the joint savings much and holidays, afternoon teas, gig tickets, Starbucks, a pint on the way home. birthday presents etc. come out of the joint account
I tend to ho on holiday more than Dp and do something each month, sometimes it comes out of joint sometimes it comes out of savings, sometimes I just put it on y credit card and deal with it at the end of the month!

Ginseng1 · 26/04/2019 17:58

Everything joint except i have a apt from when I met Dh which I rent out in my name & kept personal bank a/c for the rent income, mortgage n tax & other outgoings related to the apt. I need to top it up from the joint to cover the tax bill usually. Dh earns about 25% more than me at the mo.

Rando42 · 26/04/2019 18:02

Yes, we have one joint account. We both get paid into it, pay bills from it, and spend what we want from it. Transferring from that to savings (also joint) is a joint decision. How we do it isn’t for everyone, but we find that it works best to both know what’s happening to all the money at any time. We’re open about our personal spending so there’s no need to transfer a personal “allowance” for ourselves.

We’ve had this since we started saving for our wedding and house. I earn around double what DH does. No kids yet.

GlitterPixie · 26/04/2019 19:42

No I don’t and I never would my DH is so unbelievably rubbish with money that I have control of his account - bank card and online banking and I give him a set amount of money each week from it. If he has access to it even just to go withdraw his weekly amount himself he just takes more out and fritters it