How do you combine finances with your significant other?

Many different ways to skin a cat.

Usually find it will vary pending couples.

Also pending bank.

CBA offers multiple transactional offset accounts which makes it very easy, have as many accounts as you like, can be combination of single name accounts and joint. Whereas some will only offer single offset, which most cases works best having funds there.

Will also pending personal finances.
 
Don't combine your accounts that's my advice.

Not because I don't believe in marriage or for some sort of asset protection stand point.

The wife and I used to have a joint account when we got married, she was a spender I was a saver, it ended in credit card debt.

Now we run 2 different accounts:

I pay all the bills, rego, rent, internet, mobiles etc. from my account

We use her account for food and fun.

She can spend all of her money each week and that's ok, because I can now save ~60% of my wage each week and we are debt free and have a very good level of savings.

I suppose if you were both good savers and budgetors a joint account would work.
 
Wife and I share all our money - we don't think of it as my income or hers. We've always been a team, so it's not that hard to live with this mindset.
 
We each have a seperate bank account for our salary and rental income for properties only in that persons name. For properties in both names, we have a joint bank account for rental income and we split expenses by transferring money once a month into this account.
 
We're of similar mindsets - neither are frivolous spenders - hubby works outside the home and bring in a PAYE income and I run my own business and look after all the domestic stuff (including kids).

All goes in one account (well - several business accounts that make their way into the personal account) - all comes out of one account (ditto) - no questions asked by either side.
 
Have her salary and any other income deposited into your account so you manage all the finances and give her an allowance each week for grocery shopping.
 
Have her salary and any other income deposited into your account so you manage all the finances and give her an allowance each week for grocery shopping.

I like my physical well-being too much to even whisper that from a different state.
 
I pay all the bills, rego, rent, internet, mobiles etc. from my account

We use her account for food and fun.

She can spend all of her money each week and that's ok, because I can now save ~60% of my wage each week and we are debt free and have a very good level of savings.

So you do all the heavy lifting and she reaps the benefits.
 
What's mine is hers, but I spend more on fishing gear. I used to tell her about every little hobby purchase before I bought it, but now I tell her afterwards.
 
We keep our own accounts - what we each earn is ours to do what we want.

Have a joint account to pay mortgage/bills - we each put a set amount in each pay.
 
Wife and I share all our money - we don't think of it as my income or hers. We've always been a team, so it's not that hard to live with this mindset.
Same here! We work as a team. Hubby works, I run my Business, but all the money gets pooled. It's up to me to look after the finances, because, well, I always have, which stems from when we first got married. He was a spender & I was a saver, but he realised early on, that we'd have to work together. He is no longer a spender, but he does usually end up with more toys than me, because I don't really want much.

Not only that, we both had upbringings where the female of the family looked after the finances, so it was just a natural role to fall into. My MIL was a stay at home mother of 7 & my FIL would bring his pay home & give it to her. He would get a small allowance for himself, but the rest would pay for the household expenses.

My mother worked part-time, and my father would also give her the money, to run the household. She'd pay all the bills, look after the kids & save what they could to enjoy family holidays. She used to use the 'glass jar' budgeting system, where each week money would be put into various jars to pay for 'stuff'. Not my way of doing things, but it worked for them.

I like my physical well-being too much to even whisper that from a different state.

Haha, Good boy!
 
Before we were married we had one joint account that we were saving our house deposit in but our other accounts were separate.
Once the deed was done we amalgamated everything, as ALL money is for the benefit of our family. I manage the money, pay bills, buy houses, manage the PM, and run the paperwork side of our business. He works hard and is awesome at his job.
We always had very similar outlooks on life and wanted the same/similar things.
We talked a LOT while we were engaged about how to raise kids, how to live, what we want from life etc etc. I think that was crucial to our success as a couple as we have a mixed race/culture marriage and a few more hurdles than most to negotiate :cool:(although that doesn't seem as difficult now as it was 29 years ago when we started dating)
 
We have always had a joint account, probably easier when you marry fairly young before you have built up a significant asset base
 
We're of similar mindsets - neither are frivolous spenders - hubby works outside the home and bring in a PAYE income and I run my own business and look after all the domestic stuff (including kids).

All goes in one account (well - several business accounts that make their way into the personal account) - all comes out of one account (ditto) - no questions asked by either side.

Ditto for my Wife and I but roles reversed.

Im like you and wife is like your hubby.

I found it strange when we were maried that wifey wanted to keep her "own money" as she was a spender, yet share the rest, whereas I was happy to just pool my whole lot.

Long story short, it only took a year or so and we have 100% pooled ever since (20years).
I run all the accounts but we both make the financial decisions together. Including being naughty and buying toys.

Respect and trust, especially with the $$, must be established before your marriage will work "forever".

Its worked out well as we grew from absolutely nothing to speak of in equity or savings at marriage ($5k thats it !) to now being very comfortable and choosing to work as we please.

Thanks to Jans books that is !
 
We have separate accounts just because that's how we set up originally and don't see the point in having a joint account for regular cash savings.
We've simply shared everything from day 1, so 15 years now.
Then again, our PPOR offset is joint and where a large chunk of our savings sit.

I'm glad my wife is not a silly spender and I'm not either, so it works for us, never had a budget to work to.
 
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