Just Married - Separate and Joint Accounts

General
1

Hi! Thank you in advance to anyone who gives their thoughts.

My wife and I are one week into being married and we are starting to talk through who we want to move forward with our finances. If it makes any recommendations more right sizes, I can confidently say that I’m the person in the relationship who enjoys and spends more time with the financial side of things (budgeting, investing, etc.).

We’ve decided that we want to keep our current accounts separate, but also open up some joint accounts. Here’s what we currently have:

Wife

  • Checking account #1 @ credit union #1
  • Checking account #2 @ credit union #2
  • High Yield Savings Account @ Lending Club
  • Chase Credit Card

Me

  • Checking account #1 @ credit union #3
  • Chase Credit Card
  • Credit Union Credit Card

Joint

  • High Yield Savings Account @ Lending Club
  • Join Checking account @ credit union #1

We both like to use our credit cards for everything we can so that we can stack up points (we pay our statements in full every month). My wife only has the one Chase credit card and I have two, but really only use the Chase credit card and the Credit Union Credit card just has one automatic payment on it so that it stays open.

My first question is: how could we go about getting a credit card that we can both use for our joint purchases (any recurring bills, shared trip expenses, shared meals, groceries, etc.)…basically everything that isn’t a personal purchase (e.g., me splurging on something unnecessary for myself). Is the best choice to open a joint credit card or would it be one of us opening another personal credit card and just adding the other person as an authorized user? We would both be transferring a set amount of money each month to our joint checking account to pay this credit card off (and other things like our mortgage, utilities, etc.).

My second question is: any other random financial tips that you have for newlyweds in regards to separate/joint accounts? We aren’t tied to really anything yet. Just trying to figure out what the smartest thing to do is!

2

My husband and I kept our original accounts and opened 1 joint checking and multiple credit cards, referring each other to stack points. However, we also decided what’s his is mine and mine is his and changed our direct deposits to go into the joint checking account. We also decided on an amount of “fun money” we would each get per month to use on whatever we wanted without having to ask each other.

3

Use a joint checking for purchases, not the same card. Different accounts give different benefits.

4

We combined finances after a year of marriage for shared goals but keep fun money separate. We use YNAB, split guilt-free money into personal accounts, and cover shared expenses from joint accounts.

5

This isn’t just a budget issue, but a personal finance one. Create fixed/variable joint accounts, combine incomes for bills, and keep credit cards separate. Prioritize equality and flexibility in your plan

6

This is of course very personal to each couple, but me and my husband have a joint savings/checking at one bank, and a joint HYSA with another. I do manage most of the finances in the sense that I transfer the money to the HYSA and pay more attention to the budgeting. We both have our paychecks go to that checking every period. I personally feel like marriage makes you a team and we both feel like it’s us against the world so it no longer matters who’s money goes towards what. He needs new tires on his truck then we pay for them and if the house needs a new roof then we pay for it. I think that way bills are less about tracking who pays for what and how much-which can lead towards some animosity for each other especially if one person makes significantly more. This is of course a decision for every couple to make for themselves and different situations warrant different choices!