Separate Accounts
This may be a no-brainer for some of y’all out there, but my wife and I finally got individual checking accounts. No worries, marriage is going well … I just got tired of parsing through a bunch of ~$1.31 transactions for small stuff we put on debit. On top of that, I was stupid enough to sign up for “Saved The Change” or whatever roundup matching program the Bank of America is doing. Consequentially, I am now buried in dozens or really small amount transactions, and the big (important) ones get visually buried once posted.
We opened two individual checking accounts, routed equal percentages of our paychecks to them, and voila!
(1) No more garbage in the main expense account
(2) No more spying on who’s buying what
(3) Ability to plan individually and purchase personal big-ticket items
(4) Ability to audit the main account in seconds
I strongly recommend.
I’m glad you found a situation that works for you and your spouse, but I am wondering how having multiple checking accounts to balance is simplifying your finances? It seems to me, it would be easier to just use a cash allowance for those little tiny purchases and to remove the “save the change” feature on your checking.
Personally, I think keeping our finances merged has made our marriage work better. But to each his own.
Comment by Christina @ Northern Cheapskate — October 18, 2009 @ 5:04 pm
She’s a spender, I’m a saver … it’s a constant tug of war to communicate properly. Sometimes it’s frustrating to see the $100 grocery budget turn into $200 just because “we needed everything anyway”, so we decided on one account for together bills and purchases. Overdraw it, and pay the fees.
Plus, being a saver, I would rarely buy something for myself, but when I did, I’d use the “together” money, which is kind of a bad policy since she has her separate account for those purchases.
Comment by How To Be Poor — November 25, 2009 @ 1:02 pm
I think separate accounts are a great idea. All the financial gurus say the money should be together…but I think that’s just asking for bank fees. There is always one person in the relationship who is terrible at keeping receipts and writing stuff down. :)
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