We have joint and separate accounts. The joint is only for joint expenses such as rent, groceries and utilities. Then we each have our own accounts to spend however we want. It works out great and we've had no money arguments!

We have separate accounts and it works wonderfully for us. Part of the reason is because we both have direct deposit. My husband was also helping out some bills before we got married, so we just kept that arrangement. For anything fun, we usually end up alternating on who will pay. So far, we haven't had any fights about money.

this just came up yesterday. he wants joint. i want seperate and joint. i'm still going to keep mine. he wants me to deposit into a joint. I think we'll do both!

I feel as if we are in the minority on this one. We just have a joint account. This seemed like a natural choice for us. We wanted to make sure everything was out in the open. We both felt we would be hiding things if we didn't share an account. It also forces us to talk about everything we are spending. This was hard on me, I wanted to be able to have the freedom to buy what I want, when I want, but now there is accountability, and I have become much wiser with my money and spending habits. But I can definitely see the perks to both sides.

When we started living together, we did a joint account and separate accounts. We just got married in April and he has supposedly committed to helping me pay down my credit card debt. I would like to make it an equal effort and just have a joint account, but that is something I am slowly trying to convince my husband to do.

We have a yours/ mine/ ours set up, but we do it a little differently. My husband is salaried and I'm hourly, so sometimes my paycheck is much higher than his, and others it's not. So we have an equal amount going into our personal accounts ($100 every paycheck) and everything else goes into our joint. We pay all of the bills, debt, and everything we do together is out of the joint account. Our personal accounts are for the things that is "just for me" like video games or crafting supplies. It works out great!

we decided to do both - we kept our separate checking (debit card) accounts, and then we have a joint checking and a joint savings. we put a set amount into the joint savings each week, the majority of both our checks into the joint checking each week, and then each of us gets a little to play with. we use our separate accounts as more "fun money" then to pay our separate "old debt" with. we look at it like we adopted each other's debts when we got married. but if he wants to go get beers with the guys, or i want to buy lunch one day instead of making it, we can do that separately. it's just for little things like that. more social than serious finance.

We have joint and separate, checking and savings - that's 6 accounts, not even counting credit cards or loans! This was very tedious when we first moved in together, but we recently started using Quicken to keep track of everything. Seeing all the accounts in Quicken has made everything easier, and helped us be more organized in keeping track of our budget.

We have joint and separate. When planning for the wedding that we paid for ourselves, we created a joint savings account that we each put in a set amount each pay period, now that's become our vacation fund, and we've also created a debt account to pay-off my student loans, and his credit card debt that we both contribute a set percentage too. All the household bills, mtg, electric, heat, phone/internet/tv come out of my account since it was my house before and they are all auto-deduct payments anyway. My husband buys all the groceries, and pays whenever we go out and for any little things that pop up throughout the month. We also have each other listed on each others accounts as a just-in-case policy.

We have a "yours, mine, and ours". My husband NEVER balances his checking accound and prefers to throw away his receipts when he gets them whereas I balance my account religiously. We are both huge debit card users so having separate accounts was a must for us because otherwise I would have gone insane trying to keep up with what he was doing with his card. We have a joint checking and savings account that we put the major of our money into and a set amount that goes into our separate accounts each pay period. Both names are on all accounts in case we ever need to transfer money but I do what I want with the money in my account and he does the same with his. It has nothing to do with not wanting to be a team or wanting to hide things from each other, it's what works for us.

We have a joint account for the mortgage. Other than that we split. I pay the other bills (electric, gas water, etc) and he buys the food and anything else we might need. It works well because I don't have to worry about if he bought something and it hasn't come out of our account yet and vice versa

We have a mixed account. It works because it gives us our own checks but yet he is not dipping into my loan money from school and I am not "robbing" him blind of his independent funds so that we are not questioning each other about finances. With the mixed account the home bills are paid for.

My groom and I moved in together in August, or wedding is July 2010, and something that we discussed in great detail was how we planned on managing our income, as we would now be faced with mutual bills and accounts. We opted for a the mixed method- it's the best of both worlds. We have an account that handles our rent, car payments, bills, insurances, house needs. We still maintained our individual accounts for our personal expenses such as lunches, clothes, and other things we wanted or needed for ourselves. This works well for us, as we both bring in about the same into the household, and the other person doesnt have to feel like they are doing more or less for the finances of the home.

We're doing a mixed system at the moment - we've both always been savers, me slightly more than he is. When we bought our house we went 50:50 on the downpayment and usually share all our trips 50:50. We have a joint account that all of our mortgage and house related payments have been coming out of and we both contribute equally to that account. The rest of our $ was for us to spend/save how we chose. This worked really well when we had similar incomes however my income is now increasing and I will soon be making quite a bit more money. We're getting married in May and I'd like to transition into a bit more "ours" but if we both want to keep our own personal accounts its hard to know how to make that "fair" to him.

We have a joint account, he has a business account, and I have my own checking account (that I rarely use). Truthfully, he makes a lot more money than me but he figures I do all the laundry and most of the cooking and cleaning as well as all the financial management, budgeting, shopping etc. so he doesn't care that we share all expenses. Although we know what each individual purchases, neither cares because we do both work.

We take the hybrid approach, our main savings account is a joint account, so we budget monthly for our regular savings, vacation savings and any big joint expenses (i.e. Insurance Premiums, Taxes, etc..) get paid out of that joint account. From there we have our own checking accounts and split up the bills that get paid each month. I think its a good approach, and we talked about our finances but so far (7 months in) no arguing over it! Hope to keep that going.

We each have our own individual accounts and then we have a joint checking/savings account. We made a budget for bills, gas, groceries, and date/fun nights and that all comes out of our joint account. We each just put in a certain amount of money per month to cover our budget and a little extra that counts towards savings. Whatever is left over from our checks after that we get to put into our own individual accounts. It works REALLY great for us...I don't feel guilty when I go on a shopping spree or something since I spend it out of my own account. I didn't like when we had just seperate accounts because we always seemed to be talking about who owes what on the bills, who is paying for dinner this time? Sharing a joint banking account also brings you closer and intesifies your trust towards your partner.

We have both. We use our joint account for almost everything; both our paychecks are deposited in it. We only have our separate accounts until the money runs out in them. I like whats mine is his and his is mine. I also like knowing where the money is going at all times.

I think joint accounts are really important. Marriage is meant to be two people joining into one team, a unit. I can't imagine us having seperate accounts at all.

We have a joint savings and checking account with a set budget by direct deposit for our mutual expenses like rent, internet, groceries, meals/movies out together, and miscellaneous expenses etc. Anything over $50 we ask the other about. Whatever we don't use for monthly expenses by the end of the month goes into our mutual savings account. We use that for vacations, emergencies, etc. and we expect this joint account to expand as our mutual life grows and we eventually get a house, car, have kids, etc. We also have separate accounts and we love this! They are all at the same bank so we each have a joint account credit/debit card and can move money between accounts easily. My parents argue about money constantly and that's my worst fear. With the mixed way, we are each equally contributing to our life together and have our own money too. It's not that we don't approve of the other's purchases, but that we trust the other and want the other to have the freedom to save to purchase anything – unmonitored and guilt-free. I like that I don’t know how much his purchases cost –this way we can enjoy that the other is happy with a purchase without thinking about how it affects OUR finances at all. Finances have become a non-issue. We believe that marriage is strongest when two people keep their individual identities that attracted them to each other in the first place. We are more than two people becoming one, it’s a synergy and new commitment but not a merging into each other - and I think our finances mirror that. Plus, this way we can treat each other with our “own money” and surprise each other with unexpected thoughtfulness too! oof this is long - sorry!

my husband and i lived together before marriage, and i wanted to have separate accounts in case things didnt work out. we waited til around 8 months after we were married, and debated on having separate and a joint, we finally decided it was easier for us to have a joint. i was tired of having to give him money to put in his account for the rent and utilities. weve had a joint checking for the past 4 months, i was worried at first since we neither one keep a check book, but doing it all online has worked out just fine for us. its especially easier on me, seeing as how i take care of all the bills.

living together for over a year, we have always been seperate. he pays me his half of the bills and we each take care of our own stuff. soon we will open a joint account because we are both going to contribute to the wedding and it will be much easier. other than that, i see no reason to mix all finances. nothing wrong with "double work" if you had joint accounts, both has to work on it anyway,

My fiance and I want to have a mixed account, but we use different banks. We both like our banks so we don't know where to set up our joint account.

We have separate accounts. He has debts that he has set up to pay with automatic bill pay and I am debt free. We split rent, bills, groceries, kitty food, etc down the middle and so far, so good. He is more of a "go to the store every single day for groceries" kind of guy and I say, "stock up while it is on sale." In that respect, we differ, but I will stop by the store and get some stuff to get us through the week then he might take us out to dinner one night. It evens out.

I work at a bank and it is a GREAT idea to have at least one joint account. Makes it so much easier to deposit or cash checks made to the spouse only or both parties--specifically TAX checks they cause lots of issues when couples only have single accts. but I would advise everyone to have if they feel comfortable their own personal account. FI and I have mixed accounts savings and checking.