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Who is MrsDowJones, the Financial Popstar? When you’re loved up with a partner and looking towards the future with them, it’s natural to think about joining bank accounts at some point. While this most often happens when couples get married, these days, more and more pairs are opting for joint accounts once they start living together or get engaged.
If you’re ready to put all your money together, it pays to pause and think about it carefully for a little while before you take the plunge. Here’s what you need to consider before you combine finances.
Confidence in the relationship
Firstly, examine exactly how confident you are in the relationship. Once you have joint bank accounts, it can be much harder to extricate yourself from a relationship and especially to split your finances again. As such, you need to feel as confident as possible that the love is going to last and that you won’t regret giving up your financial separation in this way.
Also, pay attention to the way you and your partner talk about money – or don’t. You need to be comfortable delving into the subject and having open, frank discussions so you know you’re both on the same page.
However, do remember that you can create a joint bank account to pay for certain expenses, such as living costs, without having to have all your money lumped in together. Many couples now choose to have one joint account but still keep their own separate accounts, too. This makes it easier to retain some independence.
Income
A top reason why many couples join bank accounts is when one of the parties is going to be without income for a time or the foreseeable future, and they therefore need access to joint funds. For example, this often happens if a woman is pregnant and going on long, unpaid maternity leave or opting out of the workforce until the baby is a certain age.
Similarly, for older couples, one of the parties may decide to retire, leaving a couple to live on a single income. Another scenario is when one person in a couple is starting their own business and won’t be bringing in any salary for a while.
If you or your partner appear to be likely to lose or give up an income soon, it may be worth considering joining bank accounts, depending on your personal situation. Note, though, that in the event of a breakup, one person may end up doing better out of this financial arrangement long term, unless the party who is without an income contributes in other ways to the relationship, such as through child-rearing, other familial commitments, looking after the home, or through unpaid work in the partner’s business, etc.
Shared goals
Do you and your partner want to save up together for a property purchase, wedding, new car, big holiday, or to go into business together? Or do you have some other shared goal(s) that you’re working towards? If so, it’s often helpful to create a single account you can both put savings into to help you reach your goal(s).
