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Mumsnet has not checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you need help urgently or expert advice, please see our domestic violence webguide and/or relationships webguide. Many Mumsnetters experiencing domestic abuse have found this thread helpful: Listen up, everybody

Financially secretive?

144 replies

Polecat03 · 25/11/2021 10:19

Not sure if I'm being the odd one here, or controlling, inappropriate etc so would appreciate an outsiders perspective.
Have been married 2 years, and raised getting a joint bank account a few times. It's never happened, neither of us have been very proactive about it. More recently I pushed for it a bit more, felt quite insecure just transferring my contribution to DH for savings each month and never seeing the pot.
He's always been reluctant to actually just go to the bank together and sort it out, I thought we'd just have his accounts (a savings and current) made joint and I would close mine.
He doesn't want that. He wants to open another completely separate joint account and keep his current ones as they are. He applied for another account with his bank, didn't mention it to me, and when the paperwork came through my surname was wrong (his mistake) so we couldn't proceed with that. I didn't want to do it that way anyway, I have this feeling hes still trying to keep me at arms length financially and doesn't want me to see his day to day transactions or access the savings or something?
Posting this because today a letter arrived from Monzo - again he hadn't talked to me about this, just said "oh yeah we'll both open one of those and you can link them. That's what everyone does."

What are your thoughts, am I being unreasonable or weird?
I have been stung before in past relationships like this, left with nothing etc and maybe I'm being paranoid and insecure about it. I know being married brings a degree of assurance about this stuff anyway but I can't help but feel off about his insistance on doing it this way.

OP posts:
Totalwasteofpaper · 25/11/2021 19:18

I intend to do this tonight when he gets home from work - laptop in front of him and ask to see, at least, the savings account.

How did it go???

tarasmalatarocks · 25/11/2021 23:03

I think OP you need to keep savings separate and certainly get back what you have given so far— you never know when you might need it— life has made me a bit cynical these days. Just to say though we’ve never had a joint account — but I do get to see my Ha statements as I do his tax returns

Polecat03 · 26/11/2021 20:39

@Totalwasteofpaper

I intend to do this tonight when he gets home from work - laptop in front of him and ask to see, at least, the savings account.

How did it go???

I think it went okay, we looked at banking online, direct debits etc and everything seems to tally. Making accounts joint on Monday.
OP posts:
billy1966 · 26/11/2021 21:10

Good job OP.

Learn from this.

Never put your money in a place you have no access to.

grapewine · 26/11/2021 22:01

I think it went okay, we looked at banking online, direct debits etc and everything seems to tally. Making accounts joint on Monday.

That's a good result.

Theturnofthepoo · 26/11/2021 22:44

Gosh, nothing wrong with a shared account but always keep some degree of financial independence. Anyone an do anything.

Polecat03 · 27/11/2021 12:15

Had hoped there wouldn't be any need to update this further, but here I am again.

So we had agreed to a way forward, I liked the method that a previous poster upthread had suggested, pitched it to him and we were in agreement thats what we would organise with the bank on Monday.

This arrangement seemed simplest and went as follows - we make savings and his current account joint.
All income goes into the current account, all bills go out from there (as they do already anyway) and we would have a standing order into savings from this account.
Then we could have a standing order of an agreed amount for personal spending leave that joint current account and enter our two separate accounts (he can use the monzo he just opened and I'd use the current account I do now).

So all sorted, no need to open any new accounts, we can have a degree of independence still but have savings joint and a day to day household spending and bills account joint.

Husband came to me this morning and said "you're not going to like this, but I don't want to make that account joint".
His current account, the one we'd agreed to add me to for shared expenses and household bills.

I don't understand this, and to me there can be no reason for this other than that he doesn't want me to be able to see previous transactions on that account- presumably from Monday I would have been able to.

Financial independence isn't a reason, he would still have his privacy with his personal day to day spending from the allowance we agreed to in the monzo account.

He can't give any good reason. Said that he'd had that account since childhood, he just didn't want to change it. But nothing would change other than allowing me access to it? This path forward is the one with least change, his salary goes in there and bills already leave that account. No-one has sentimental value attached to a bank account meaning they can't show their wife.

I'm at a loss. There is nothing to indicate any addictions, infidelity or things like that.

He's never been an open book, like I am, but I know that is not a given or expectation everyone should have.

I'm easy breezy about my passwords with him, my mobile phone etc - he is not, keeps phone on do not disturb and I would never know the password.

I was comfortable with this until now, as I've been in very controlling and jealous relationships in the past and believed in showing trust until you're given reason not to. Very sad and scared that I may have reached that point?

Appreciate anyone having read this far, I know it's quite convoluted and boring but I don't know what to do next.

OP posts:
Capferret · 27/11/2021 12:22

Oh dear. Will he let you even look at his bank statements on that account?
If it was me I would open my own savings account. And demand to see the savings account, if you haven’t already. Get him to transfer half of savings to you.
Open a new joint current account and pay in as usual for bills.
And then have a long, hard think about why this is happening. Especially if you want dc.

grapewine · 27/11/2021 12:23

I'd be wondering and asking what exactly he's hiding. There would be no other reason. I'm sorry. But I wouldn't let it go.

Gladioli23 · 27/11/2021 12:23

I totally agree with you that you should have a joint current account and joint savings. But I also understand not wanting to have my bank account (and presumably therefore all the historical financial transactions) turned into a joint account. Is there a reason you can't have a normal joint account that isn't his account?

Helpstopthepain · 27/11/2021 12:26

Why not make yours the joint account? Or open a new one?

GoodnightGrandma · 27/11/2021 12:26

Oh dear, he’s hiding something.
Stop giving him any savings, keep all money in your own account and DD half the bills.
Then get your ducks in a row, and prepare should you need to leave.

heckwreak · 27/11/2021 12:29

It's the savings I'd be concerned about.

DH transfers me x amount each week for bills as I'm better with money and will ensure they are paid. I like to have separate accounts so I can spend as much as I like on clothes and shoes without thinking about it and DH buys tools 🙄

We have a joint savings account for holidays, Christmas etc which we can both access but then both discuss how it's spent.

FlowerFlour · 27/11/2021 12:32

I would not want to make my own private current account a joint account. There are no big secrets, it's just my own personal account that I have used for years. Can you open a joint account and both pay your joint money into there, keeping your own accounts for discretionary spending?

Definitely have the savings made joint.

It sounds like there are other trust issues though. He might be a private person who doesn't want his every past financial transaction to be seen, or he may have bigger secrets. Only you know your husband and know what is more likely.

Nanny0gg · 27/11/2021 12:37

To be fair, I can see his point. If he's had it for years then the history is none of your business.

Just open a new joint one. He can have the aggro of setting up all the direct debits and standing orders.
Also the shared savings.

Then if he wants to have two current accounts himself that's up to him

Totalwasteofpaper · 27/11/2021 12:40

He can't give any good reason.
🚩🚩🚩🚩
Like I said before something is very wrong here.
I don't think there are any easy answers... but I read this to my husband and he thinks there is something weird here too.

You (very understandably!) probably aren't ready to end things over this as it seems such a non event, it is it a massive issue and you do need to take firm steps now to protect yourself.

Given what he is doing as an interim solution I would insist:

  • you pay your salary into your own account
  • he needs to transfer you 50% of the savings (as verified by you) into your own savings account in your name
  • he sets up a brand new joint account and he transfers all the bill payments over to there so you have full visibility on everything. (Make him do the legwork and admin)
  • you pay for bills proportional to your salary (he earns 60k and you earn 40k then he pays £1200 you pay £800)

I'd tell him this is non negotiable and you will as a couple need to sit down and review transparently every year.

Polecat03 · 27/11/2021 12:40

@Helpstopthepain

Why not make yours the joint account? Or open a new one?
There wouldn't have been any benefit to 'moving into' my account and he wouldn't want to. It's with a different bank, not great terms and is a graduate account that I'm still chipping away at a student overdraft in. His current account is the one that all our direct debits leave already and I could just be added to very simply. That seemed the best option. Same bank that the savings are with, one appointment to get it all sorted.

@gladioli23 I don't understand why anyone would be so cagey about it or have things in their transactions they'd be so keen to hide from their partner of years?
My account might not be in the best shape but I've nothing I'm that ashamed of or want kept secret?? A few Costas too many?
Would you really protect your past transactions to such a degree that is causes a rift in your marriage because you can provide no real reason and insist you have nothing to hide?

OP posts:
AllInTentsWithPorpoises · 27/11/2021 12:46

I can't believe how many red flags I can see here.
You need to get hm to transfer back everything you have sent to him for 'savings' today. While you stand over him doing it if necessary. There should be zero reasons why he cannot do this.
You need open a joint account, he needs to transfer all direct debits corresponding to bills and house to it and pay in your amounts each to there.
You need to get yourself named on all the bills.
However else you work out your money is up to you but this would be the bare minimum for me.
He sounds spectacularly untrustworthy - is he secretive about anything else?

AllInTentsWithPorpoises · 27/11/2021 12:50

Sorry, I totally missed page. OP this doesn't sound great.

Polecat03 · 27/11/2021 12:50

@FlowerFlour

I would not want to make my own private current account a joint account. There are no big secrets, it's just my own personal account that I have used for years. Can you open a joint account and both pay your joint money into there, keeping your own accounts for discretionary spending?

Definitely have the savings made joint.

It sounds like there are other trust issues though. He might be a private person who doesn't want his every past financial transaction to be seen, or he may have bigger secrets. Only you know your husband and know what is more likely.

He has another account that he can use for discretionary spending, as do I, that I can accept if he so needs to keep his spending private.

So why cling to a current account like a first born child, there would be no hassle using the other one for discretionary spending. I can only reason that he has a need to prevent me from seeing the activity of the current account, which makes me deeply uncomfortable and suspicious. I can't get on board with "I'm just weird like that and very attached to this bank account for reasons unknown"

OP posts:
Chloemol · 27/11/2021 12:56

Well for a start I would stop sending money over for savings

Save them in your name, and i would ask for all the savings already sent to be given back and put in your name

Then ask for all bills etc to be changed to a joint bills account. Then look at said bills and make sure you only pay your portion

Gladioli23 · 27/11/2021 12:56

I wouldn't want to cause any rift at all, but my instinct wouldn't be to repurpose my main current account and the more insistent someone got that I had to, the less happy I would get about it. No good reason really, but there's also no real reason the joint account has to be his account.

My account has really nothing interesting in it, it's just a personal effect. I don't keep a diary but if I did it would be reasonable to keep it private even if I had a partner - obviously current accounts aren't the same thing, but I guess it illustrates the principle that you can have things that just feel private and personal even if there's nothing wrong with what's in them.

doublemonkey · 27/11/2021 12:59

Fucking hell OP! Get a grip ASAP. Why would you close your own bank account?

You need to stop transferring money into a black hole and put your foot down about finances.

You can have a joint bank account and personal savings too you know...

doublemonkey · 27/11/2021 13:01

And he's probably not protecting his account because of his spending . He's protecting his account because he doesn't want you to know how much money he has or to have access to it.

Gladioli23 · 27/11/2021 13:03

PS: to be clear I would be totally happy to share how much money I had, and show the sums in savings etc, I just wouldn't want to convert my current account. Agreed with others on here that it's odd that the savings etc have been vanishing and you can't see them.

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