We have two joint accounts, one for “keeping the roof over our heads” and one that we chuck some cash in now and then for general spending, things like meals out or coffees.
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Can come across that way.
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Been considering this actually! To use for certain events, meals or whatever
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This would just be extra work to check and spend etc.
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Joint account issues in my experience are not so much income-related, more down to needing a vaguely sensible approach on both sides to whatever the monthly discretionary spending is, whether that’s a few hundred or a few thousand after all bills. If someone decides willy-nilly to spuff 1/3 of whatever the entire monthly pot is on scented candles then someone will inevitably end up a bit miffed.
Nowadays absolutely everything not direct-debited goes on credit cards and paid off each month from the joint account, and most additional treat/gift spend is paid from sole > savings account which is then manually transferred into the joint account just before the credit card DDs are taken, so getting Amex/Avios spend on things we’d already be buying anyway, plus interest from the cash balance which festers in savings for up to 5 weeks.
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This is fascinating. It shows how varied views can be on something that is quite critical to day to day living and long term planning.
This article is worth reading. There has been lots of research on the topic.
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Makes sense to me. In my (admittedly biased) opinion, the two most important factors in having joint finances work for a couple are 1) trust and 2) a similar outlook on money. And I’d argue those are pretty important to a happy relationship too…
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I have trust and a similar outlook on money as my partner.
Our outlooks being we have our own money and bank accounts and merely share those things we split evenly.
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That’s what we do and it works. She gets a set amount each month, we agree if there any changes depending on bill rises periodically, and I trust that she pays off the bits on here side, the same as I do on mine.
Never really felt the need to bother with a joint account but each to their own
Researchers also found that couples who combined their money referred to those assets as “our money” rather than those who kept their money separate, who referred to it as “my money.”
People should obviously do what works for them, but this was the key line for me.
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Honestly yes.
Everything I split with my partner is something that is static; that is to say I’d be paying 100% of it (or splitting evenly if houseshare) regardless. My income doesn’t change the cost of a TV licence for example. So income matters little - I’m still saving money.
I’m definitely not one for thinking it’s unfair. It’s life. Some earn more, some earn less.
That being said I don’t think I know many folk in extreme income bracket differences.
If it comes to other expenditure then it’s more of an unwritten rule or way of doing things. If it’s something very expensive and you know the other party can’t afford it then you pay. If you know they have had an expensive outgoing recently you might grab that week’s shopping. It just works out without the need for any complex thinking, spreadsheet or percentage.
If I were earning less I wouldn’t want to have less of a contribution towards joint bills. It would be a matter of “well my love I can afford X only for now, so let’s look around that level” and be done with it.
Probably quite common with mothers working part time.
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Absolutely. It’s obviously becoming more common now for gay couples to have children but it’s relatively rare in my circles so I don’t know many in those positions.
The mothers I do know now work full time that their kids are a bit older.
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Out of interest, will opening and closing many current accounts over recent years ever look bad to financial companies, especially when considering a mortgage in the future? I look part in many switch offers, but never switched my oldest Santander account. Will have 3 current accounts at the moment make a difference when applying to anything?
No, just don’t do it 6 months or so prior to a mortgage application. Same goes for taking additional credit (cards, loans, finance) within that period as lenders can be hesitant.
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Is there a certain number of current accounts opened that one person has that would start to raise some eyebrows, or can people basically have as many as they want?
Just opened a Bank of Scotland account because why not 
I think I do need to have a better strategy to budget so will come up with a way to effectively use all my accounts
Also no.
I think @Anarchist has quite a few? Might be wrong.
I have 8 open, three used.
Mortgages are more bothered about your affordability than anything else, yes a poor credit file might make them hesitant, but if it shows you’re too keen for spending credit it could impact the application.
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I think if you don’t have credit with them then it doesn’t make any difference.
I did all the switches too. Barely touched my made-up score.
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Have a few credit cards and one of my current accounts has an overdraft from when it was a student account, but don’t use that. Never use that much credit on my credit cards. Total credit use is less than 25% acres my accounts at the moment
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