Joint accounts can provide many benefits but when pondering those benefits with the disadvantages, we would certainly rule against suggesting joint accounts for spouses.
As usual the dichotomy between joint or individual accounts is a false choice since it is possible to find a balance between sharing and independence.
However, it is important to understand why joint accounts are not a good idea on most situations and why keeping at least a minimum financial independence is important to protect yourself, your spouse and your family from unexpected events.
Drawbacks Of Sharing Everything Though sharing everything may sound romantic, truth is that it creates more problems than happiness.
It is an unnecessary source of tensions that should be avoided.
Having joint accounts can be especially problematic when both spouses work and receive income.
People can't agree on everything and the issue of what is necessary and what isn't in terms of spending can be a source of discussions.
Those discussions can be avoided by carrying separate accounts.
This doesn't mean that you have to hide what you spend from your spouse but not everything needs to be controlled.
You may want to lend money to a friend your spouse doesn't approve or you may want to purchase a present for your spouse and you want it to be a surprise.
With joint accounts, chances are that you won't be able to do it without being discovered.
A Single Joint Account is Enough Having a unique joint account is more than enough.
If you need an account to debit bills from and use it to pay for common expenses like purchasing groceries and goods you need for the house that you share with your spouse, a single joint or shared checking account is sufficient.
You can set all debt payments and bills to be debited from that account and you can both deposit each month an agreed amount on that account.
You can even have a shared line of credit like an unsecured credit card for the same purpose but only if you trust each other enough because credit card debt easily accumulate and some people have no control over their spending.
In any case, a single product is more than enough as all spending that needs to be shared can be done on that account while any other spending can be kept privative even if you choose to disclose its movements to your spouse at the end of the month or at the time of doing your taxes.
There Are Many Other Things To Be Shared As noted above, there is no reason to share everything and there are many other things to be shared and things that are by far more important.
And though material things are vital, working on your communication will do much more for your marriage than having joint accounts.
Therefore, we may conclude that for a regular financial situation of an average couple, a single joint account is sufficient to share what needs to be shared and keep for oneself the rest.
If both think it is important and trust each other that much, you can communicate your financial decisions to each other and even discuss them.
But you should always keep the power to use your money at your discretion in case anything happens.
As usual the dichotomy between joint or individual accounts is a false choice since it is possible to find a balance between sharing and independence.
However, it is important to understand why joint accounts are not a good idea on most situations and why keeping at least a minimum financial independence is important to protect yourself, your spouse and your family from unexpected events.
Drawbacks Of Sharing Everything Though sharing everything may sound romantic, truth is that it creates more problems than happiness.
It is an unnecessary source of tensions that should be avoided.
Having joint accounts can be especially problematic when both spouses work and receive income.
People can't agree on everything and the issue of what is necessary and what isn't in terms of spending can be a source of discussions.
Those discussions can be avoided by carrying separate accounts.
This doesn't mean that you have to hide what you spend from your spouse but not everything needs to be controlled.
You may want to lend money to a friend your spouse doesn't approve or you may want to purchase a present for your spouse and you want it to be a surprise.
With joint accounts, chances are that you won't be able to do it without being discovered.
A Single Joint Account is Enough Having a unique joint account is more than enough.
If you need an account to debit bills from and use it to pay for common expenses like purchasing groceries and goods you need for the house that you share with your spouse, a single joint or shared checking account is sufficient.
You can set all debt payments and bills to be debited from that account and you can both deposit each month an agreed amount on that account.
You can even have a shared line of credit like an unsecured credit card for the same purpose but only if you trust each other enough because credit card debt easily accumulate and some people have no control over their spending.
In any case, a single product is more than enough as all spending that needs to be shared can be done on that account while any other spending can be kept privative even if you choose to disclose its movements to your spouse at the end of the month or at the time of doing your taxes.
There Are Many Other Things To Be Shared As noted above, there is no reason to share everything and there are many other things to be shared and things that are by far more important.
And though material things are vital, working on your communication will do much more for your marriage than having joint accounts.
Therefore, we may conclude that for a regular financial situation of an average couple, a single joint account is sufficient to share what needs to be shared and keep for oneself the rest.
If both think it is important and trust each other that much, you can communicate your financial decisions to each other and even discuss them.
But you should always keep the power to use your money at your discretion in case anything happens.
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