Do you and your husband/SO have one checking account to pay the bills or do you each have separate accounts of "your own money" and each put in $$ to the checking account to pay the household bills?? We've always had one account, but am curious how people do it with separate accounts, and having your own "money account". How is it decided who pays what and what % you place in the household fund??

We've always had one checking account and one savings account that we both share. This was even when we were both making money (which is almost not the case now - I bring in little $$)

We had read about different scenarios before we got married (what worked best for married couples), and based on our particular saving/spending style, having joint accounts was the best.

We each have one and also a joint checking. We only use the joint one during tax time for our refund. Also DD's SSI money goes to this bank into her savings account then I transfer it into our checking to pay for her stuff. I keep meaning to switch all of them to my bank but I'm paranoid about the SSI getting messed up.
I opened an account at another bank myself when they offered $25 extra if you used their bank- plus they have real time accounts-also no matter what time you deposit, it counts in that day- no cutoff.
DH has his own so he can get direct deposit - his work would only do direct into same bank as theirs so he opened one at that bank. He gives me a check out of his account every week for bills and groceries. I pay regular bills- he pays mortgage out of his.

Before DH had his own account- our account kept getting overdrawn. He would go to the ATM- do a balance check and if it said there was money he would think we had that much and spend it- I got tired of having to deal with that all the time - I just couldn't get him to understand that that money was already accounted for.

Heck we only use the joint at tax time and he managed to screw it up again last week. He couldn't get his check card for his account to work so he just decided to use our joint- it shouldn't have gone through- but it did- so another overdraft. I took his card away from him last week.

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Mom to Katie 1/95 and Sara 5/97

We each have our own and then we have a joint one. The joint one pays all the bills. The separate ones are to buy what we please.

We have separate ones, i have access to his but usually just use my own money. All the bills come from his. My sons SSI goes into a savings account with his and my name on it, since his money comes from death benefits we are saving it for college.

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"Never loan your car to someone you have given birth too"

We've been married 30 years in July and we have one joint checking and one joint savings account -- works for us.

I handle ALL the money

We have a joint checking account and a joint savings account. I have an ING account in just my name that we transfer funds over to every payday. Even though that account is in just my name we still consider it to be our account.

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DH & I have quite a few accounts, both joint and individually. We pay all our bills out of two joint accounts where DH's paycheck & reimbursement checks are deposited. At some point we are going to consolidate down to one joint checking account, but we've had trouble switching DH's direct deposit, so for now it's just easier to have two.

I handle all the day-to-day money (paying bills, writing checks, etc.) and DH handles all of our inventments (stocks, mutual funds, etc.).

Sarah.........mom to Jason & Devin

same here.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

we have a joint checking and joint savings and then I have a ebay savings account that my ebay stuff goes into.

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I have mine and he has his, pay the bills separate,I have the house note, and food,and he used to have paper products and washing powder,but he did not have to buy on sale so i took that over .He has the cars note and car insurance and maintaince.I have the house insurance and house taxes.Big stuuff for the house we go half,One acccount for emerency which it takes both of us to go into.he has the light and phone cable and internt one bill.

I guess I am terribly old fashioned. We have one checking, one savings, we pool our money and I pay the bills. I've always thought that what was mine was mine and what was his was mine.....lol. We have no real budget, we get to spend small amounts on things we each like. Big purchases of any kind must be agreed upon. We look at our life and bills as a joint "adventure". (but we have been married for 33 years)

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When we were 1st married we had separate accounts, simply because we never closed our ones from before we were married. He paid the house payment and other non-monthly things like insurance and Christmas. I paid everything else.

Then 13 years ago when we moved out of state, he never reopened one. When we moved back, he didn't either, and I became a SAHM and I handle all the money, so we just have the 1 checking account. We have 1 small savings account and then our main one. All accounts are joint and we have access, but don't spend other than small things without telling the other. We've been married 18 1/2 years and it's worked both ways for us.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
they just make the best of everything they have."

For those who have joint accounts, as do DH and myself, be aware of the wording on your accounts. We specifically set up ours as "Mr." OR "Mrs." on the imprint. So many people have "Mr." AND "Mrs." imprinted. If one of the spouses dies, that account will be frozen if it says "and" rather than "or". The "or" will allow you to keep writing checks after your spouse dies.

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I want to keep ALL of my paycheck and eliminate the pyramid scheme known as Social Security (there is no lockbox ). Do you want the same thing? www.fairtax.org

We have several checking and savings accounts. (All jointly)
I do not work, so all the money comes from his paycheck and our firewood business.
Some bills I pay with the company account. Regular household bills are paid from the other (DH and mine) 2 checking accounts.

I also have joint checking and savings accounts with my (4) older children that live at home. So, that I deposit their paychecks, pay bills etc. from their accounts.

In total I keep up with 8 checking accounts. 7 savings accounts.
At least there is no service charge on any of the accounts. We use a credit union ..only have to keep $25 in savings and no service charge. Also use a small local owned bank..keep $200 in checking and no fee for the month.

Holy cow-how do you keep up w/ all of that? I have enough trouble w/ ONE checking acct. Just wondering how old your kids are that you are handling their accts.-not flaming, just way curious. Anyway, DH and I are very boring. We have one checking acct., one savings acct., a savings acct. for each boy (all at the same credit union since I was 16), one ATM card, and one credit card. Of course, for the most part, DH has been the only one working, so we are only working w/ one paycheck. Since I just started a home-party business, I think I would like to start a business only acct., but will do that at the same bank.

My 4 oldest are 24, 22, 20, and 17. The 17 year-old works part time the others fulltime 40+hrs.
The boys get paid once a week. They are not usually off when the banks are open, so I make their deposits.
They are free to do what they want with their money.
I usually check all the accounts online every week. Plus the boys do not write many checks, they usually pay cash.
I have just been the one in the house for years that takes care of the checkbooks, bill paying, keep the receipts, etc for our firewood business. They do the hard work... I do the paperwork.

I know it sounds strange my name on the boys accounts..but it works for us.
DH and I are trying to give the kids a headstart by letting them live at home and save most of their money. They have been able to buy their vehicles with cash (no loans) So, low insurance.

But it is not easy..instead of rent they have to help cut the firewood, do work around here (almost 10 acres) that has to be kept mowed down, etc. Also we are adding 2 additions unto the house..so they help their dad with that. They also help buy food, etc.

Hopefully they will be able to stay out of debt, except buying a house. But they will have a very good down payment on that. When you are able to keep most of the money you make, and have almost no bills. It adds up quickly.

I guess I do not think twice about doing the paperwork for everyone. But DH and the boys know how to do it whn they have to.

Ww have 4 accounts

Dh has one with only his name
I have one with only my name
We have one together
and we have a Money Market account

Out of DH's account the bills are paid, Mortage, Electric, Cell Phones, CC bills etc.
Out of mine I pay the Van Payment, Food, Clothing, Anything doing with the schools, Extras for the househole, clothing for the kids, Etc.
Out of the joint account this is more or less used as our Christmas Fund, Or fun night outs.
The Money Market Account is not touched, Only time we have used the Money in this accoutn was when our 8 year old son was in the hospital in Jan for 32 days. We pulled about 200.00 out for traveling ( Gas, Food, Things for him while in the hospital)

We have always done this since we have been Married. (13 years ) It works for us.
WTA
We don't have any charges for balances Nor checking cost ( we order our checks form a online service )The only account that has a service charge is of course the Money Market Acoount, But thats only if the balance drops below 2500.00 Which it has never. it also a earnign account, Its never that much, but every little bit adds up. I believe it's 3%.

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MyCoupons Is #1 for Holiday Shopping

Same here, too. Works great!

DS1 is 18 and has his own checking acct that he has started to use more over the last year. Can't imagine managing that for him; instead have been trying to help learn to take care of himself (not just money management but laundry, cooking, etc) since he will be off to college soon. Where did the time go?

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I think it's always a good thing for a woman to have her own bank account and credit card that her husband is not on. I don't plan on getting divorced in my lifetime but I am a realist. We have joint accounts for checking and savings (which household expenses come out of). He has his stock and 401K (in his name) and my business account is in my name only. I also have 2 credit cards in my name only (one business and one personal) as well as a checking account and savings account that is mine.

To my mom, it seems complicated but to us, it works. DH would FREAK if he saw my business credit card for the month. I pay it off,...no big deal but just seeing that kind of number would freak him out. That's why it's mine. He is not obligated to pay for debt my business incurs....it's my baby...not his

You have to find what works for your relationship.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

If this comment was somehow directed toward my post, no problem.
I do want to point that I manage their accounts just like I have done in the past for my grandmother before she died.
My children are very responsible. They know how to do the stuff..because I homeschooled them.

Edited to add: We have been through some rough financial times (job loss, credit card debt) so I have been extremely watching the children so that they do not make the same mistakes. Explaining and guiding them on how to make good financial decisions.

This is us. We have been married for 17 years and we have never done it any differently. I dont understand relationships where people have his money and her money. I guess it happens more and more these days, heck even my Dad and stepmom are like that.

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

I really enjoyed all the posts and seeing how others handle their household finances.

DH and I have 1 joint savings, 1 money market and 2 joint checking accounts - his paycheck goes into one checking and my paycheck goes into the other checking. I handle all the money and pay the bills according to their due date and align them to our paychecks. Usually it works out that DH paycheck pays for all the household bills and my paycheck pays for the "extras" such as clothes, cell phones, home repairs, teenagers, etc. We have auto deposit for both paychecks and a portion goes into the savings account. I transfer a portion into the money market account and we use that for major home projects every year.

we have 1 we mainly use for bills
we share paying bills and he keeps cash(doesnt like/trust banks to keep money in)and i use my ebay money
then we put money in 2 savings accounts 1 for each child

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i'M THE TYPE

OF GIRL WHO WILL BUST OUT

LAUGHING ABOUT SOMETHING

THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

like i said earlier we have 1 but but brotherinlaw learned the hard way that he propbably should have had another on his own.He and his wife werre having problems and she completely cleaned out thier joint account left him with nothing and she did it on a day when his check was deposited into the account.she was gone when he got home (after going to the bank and trying to get money out to get the car repaired!)what a way to find out your wife is leaving!

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i'M THE TYPE

OF GIRL WHO WILL BUST OUT

LAUGHING ABOUT SOMETHING

THAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY

Yes, I was responding to that part of the discussion with my own (different) thoughts on the subject of managing adult children's finances. Nothing personal....this is just a relevant subject to me as a mom right now.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

WOW, this post made me think.....we have MANY accounts, including the children's accounts. They all have savings accounts, and DS recently opened his own checking acct.

DH and I have joint and separate account. He uses his for lunches at work, and once it's gone, that's supposed to be it. Helps keep the spending in check when all goes accordingly. My account basically just accumulates money, more like a savings, I guess, and if need be we'll pay something from it. Otherwise, the bills get paid from the joint account.

This is what works for us, and that is what I think is important.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

We have one joint checking account and one joint savings account.
Our retirement account is also joint.

When we were both working, his paycheck went directly to the checking account and I would pay all of the bills from there and transfer some into savings.
I would cash my (considerably smaller) paycheck and would use it for groceries and spending money.

Now both of our SS checks go directly into the checking account and with his small paycheck (part time work) and 2 small pensions, we try to pay all the bills and hope to have a bit left over for spending.

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Square dancing is friendship set to music!

[/quote]
Edited to add: We have been through some rough financial times (job loss, credit card debt) so I have been extremely watching the children so that they do not make the same mistakes. Explaining and guiding them on how to make good financial decisions.[/quote]


I'm trying to do the same thing with my grown son. Topic on hand - we have 1 checking account and 1 savings but I am thinking of opening a second savings for our er fund. That one would not be tied to my checking and iw ould have to go into the bank to use the money.

I pay the bills, all money comes to me and SO tells me how much he needs for personal spending and the rest goes to bills. For smaller hosehold needs I don't usually ask him but for the major stuff (the new frig and stove) I investigate, show him the options and we agree on them.

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Laura
Please visit my blog
http://mylifeinlaurasworld.blogspot.com/

Both!!! Single & joint.

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Eat Chinese food you'll be hungry in half an hour. Eat Italian food you'll be hungry in two weeks!