When two people get married, they automatically become ‘one’ and are supposed to share each and every thing together. This includes sharing your finances and what better way than to have a joint account?
Staying financially in sync, ‘Till death do you part’ is the best way to go for couple
I believe for one to allow to get married to a person, they should trust each other enough to openly discuss their approaches to money and financial goals. This helps them plan for their family/marriage better and even get ways on how to develop their investments.
Finances are a very important element in one’s life. So when ‘two become one’ it is advisable to devise means on how to manage your finances appropriately so that the relationship can be stable.
You need to plan for your children by considering all options, such as in-times of sickness, if one of the partners loses a job, vacation, rent, college bills and other emergency cases. All this will in one way or the other require money. So every couple especially the married should have a joint account where they deposit money east once a month.
According to Suze Orman, an American author and financial advisor, “Money is front and center in our lives. So if you and your partner aren’t in financial sync, your marriage is going to be in deep trouble.”
She stresses that staying financially in sync, ‘Till death do you part’ is the best way to go for couple. “For my money, not being on the same page financially is a sure ticket to marital discord, if not divorce,” says Orman.
It is even advisable for partners to agree on the amount of money they will be depositing on the account. You can agree on the same amount or if one of you earns substantially more than the other, it’s more fair to contribute on a percentage basis, maybe ten percentage of one’s salary. With that, you will be able to budget and know that at a point in time, we will be having this amount of money on the account and able to sustain the family through a vacation, or pay university tuition for your children.
However, you can set up a joint but still retain your old separate accounts. This makes each person to retains his or her own autonomy and financial independence, which helps avoid the use of money as power in the relationship.
Some people fear that having a joint account might create arguments about money which can eventually lead to divorce. Some need separate accounts because it gives both spouses a feeling of fairness and independence, says Kelley Long, a CPA at Shepard Schwartz & Harris LLP in Chicago.
“Separate checking accounts allow two people who were previously financially independent to maintain a sense of autonomy as they adjust to the interdependent life of coupledom,” Long says.
A financial commitment to each other and in marriage is one way to success. You discuss together the important issues that affect earning, managing and spending money.
This will help solve all the issues that affect your relationship financially.
Ginita Wall, Co-founder of WIFE.org and a financial expert and columnist for Turbotax, Divorce Magazine, encourages couples not to shy away from discussing the power and freedom that money brings.
“Discussing money matters openly will help foster a healthy relationship you both can cherish,” she adds.
Couples should be encouraged to create a joint bank account in order to manage their finances and develop their investments.
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