Joint accounts without a hitch
How to divide your income and pay the bills
GETTING married? Do you need a joint bank account? It’s the age-old question. Will it make for a smooth life, or will it cause strife?
Is that money from the joint account she is going down to the bookies with? Is he using the electricity money to buy all those new shirts? You can see where it may cause tension in a relationship. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, as every couple is different. They have different income, spending needs and backgrounds. Some couples come from other marriages or relationships and have had good or bad experiences with joint accounts or otherwise and either want to change or not. If you do decide on a joint account, it is important to discuss what the cost of running the house is, who has responsibility for what and how much to contribute to the account. I have laid out some options below. A. Each contribute a different amount to the joint account (there
Couples have different income, spending needs and backgrounds
are lots of different ways to organise this) 1. Same percentage split: each contributes the same percentage of their net pay to the joint account. 2. Different percentage split: each contributes a different percentage of their net pay to the joint account. 3. Leftovers split: contribution level so that each person has the same “leftover” money in their own bank account. 4. One account: both contribute all their income to one account and work jointly from this. 5. One contributor: one contributes to a joint bank account for the benefit of both. B: Each contribute the same amount to the joint account 6. 50:50 split. After an analysis of household expenses, both agree to contribute 50% towards these.
As you can see there are different ways to look at this.
Which approach gives the fairest and most practical solution? Hmmm, well that’s for you to decide.
It very much depends on the individual couple and their financial circumstances.