Interesting study on whether newlyweds should opt for separate or joint bank accounts. Apparently joint bank accounts are better for relationship quality:
I never even considered separate bank accounts when we got married.
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Sounds like research that occurred in the 1970s. More couples have longer relationships in general now than years ago and also live together often long before marriage. I even think the term “newlyweds” is passé!
What I would hope for is for a couple to understand finances and then find a money management solution that works for them as two individuals/one couple - period. There is much more for a successful marriage or a difficult marriage than where the money resides.
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“The mean age of participants was 28 years old. Three quarters were white, and 12 percent were Black. Thirty-six percent had a bachelor’s degree and a median household income of $50,000. Couples had known each other, on average, about five years and had been romantically involved for an average of three years. Ten percent had children.”
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Why can you not “manage your finances together” but have separate bank accounts? You can manage money with more than one pot to dig into.
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We did his, mine and ours. Worked great for us.
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We consider all our money shared, though we do have some account / investments in one name or the other. We’ve always had a joint checking account. In early years, it was under my husband’s credit union member# as primary. Since I do all the billpaying, when we moved to CO decades ago I talked him into switching that strategy. That made it simpler for me to deal with the tellers (which of course I do less these days with so much online).
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ditto us
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We also have shared accounts but I can see scenarios were today’s young professionals will keep them separately. Different spending habits, different financial position at the time of the marriage to name a few.
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As per the above, the median household (not per capita) income of participants was $50K and only 36% had a bachelor’s degree. I suspect that if money is scarce then keeping your funds separate may very well lead to mistrust (and resentment due to higher likelihood of overdraft fees and other bank charges).
Professionals with ample income may be better equipped to manage the inefficiencies of holding multiple accounts (each with minimum balances etc).
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My S has tons of different accts—some for his independent business and some for him for personally. I have no idea what he will do after he’s married and as he hasn’t consulted me I won’t offer an opinion. I suspect his fiancée also has a lot of accts — they’re both in their mid-30s and have retirement accts, savings, investments & more.
H has a bunch of accts in his name only and I have some as well but all assets are ours and managed as such.
There are so many banks that don’t charge fees that I don’t think it’s a big concern. Young people mostly use online banks with no physical location that normally don’t charge any fees and very few people still using checks so overdraft is not something that happens often
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I have never had an overdraft fee nor have H or my kids so for many of us, it’s a nonissue.
That Science Daily page mentions that the study asked one group to maintain separate accounts, one group to open a joint account, and one group to make their own choice on the matter, but does not mention what the latter group tended to do.
Also, it does not mention what the three-pot method that @Youdon_tsay mentions in post #6 is classified as.
The actual article may mention these details, but it appears to be behind a paywall.
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The abstract in the first post states that the no-intervention group experienced the same “normative decline” as those with separate accounts.
“Whereas couples assigned to keep their money in separate accounts or to a no-intervention condition exhibited the normative decline in relationship quality across the first 2 years of marriage, couples assigned to merge money in a joint account sustained strong relationship quality throughout”
We have always shared everything, but we were also married young and both had nothing. So while the concept of separate seems strange to me, I could see situations where it might make sense for other. If you married later and one partner has significantly more expensive spending habits than the other.
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Wondering if this is a chicken and egg type situation. Perhaps those more committed to the relationship tend to have joint accounts and those who aren’t as committed are more likely to keep them separate. Maybe it’s a symptom not a predictor.
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I think that it depends. If you don’t trust your partner, then you would have separate accounts. Trust may be an indicator of a marriage that might not work.
One kid. Joint account. His and her accounts. Separate health insurance. They have a rule that they discuss large purchases. Had this plan when they moved in with each other.
Other kid. Accounts are separate. They are resolute about a prenup. Bills are divided up. They transfer money to one another to pay bills. One partner is on an income based repayment plan. They will file married filing separately. Discuss large purchases.
Neither have vices where one might spend more than the other. All parties work and could support themselves if necessary.
I don’t see where one couple is more “devoted” to the other, they have different ways of paying the bills.
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It really depends on the couple, the circumstances, and what makes them comfortable. I don’t think how people choose to set up finances is a predictor of marriange longevity/happness.
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When we got married 40 years ago we kept separate checking accounts and still do. I was meticulous about the check amounts and recording them and figuring out the balance. H was not- he just kept a running amount in his head.
It may be that (D’s) millennials who had accounts prior to marriage and proceeded to keep them that way.