Joint Bank Accounts: Are You Ready to Combine Your Finances?
Getting married comes with lots of big steps and decisions. Check out this advice from Zeta to help you tackle one big question: Are You Ready to Combine Your Finances?
You’re ready to join your lives, your hearts, your households. But are you ready to combine your finances?
In previous generations, when a couple got married, it was normal to assume that all the family money would be combined into one bank account. That shared bank account would then be used to pay bills, manage the household, and to save and spend for goals.
In 2023, the face of joint banking is very different.
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How should couples join their finances?
Modern couples are doing things a bit differently. While many millennials are happy with the “all in” approach, more and more modern couples are choosing to keep all or part of their money separate when they decide to get married.
When the couples finance app Zeta examined data around combining finances from over 20,000 couples to see how modern American couples are (and aren’t) merging their finances, they found that 39% of couples chose to keep separate finances, 39% preferred to merge their money, and 22% preferred to partially merge their money.
What does that mean? Your joint money management system can and should be tailored and unique to the way you like to spend and save a couple and as individuals.
Zeta’s Guide to Combining Your Finances
Check out Zeta’s Guide to Combining Finances below!
Frequently Asked Questions by Couples about Combining their Finances
Feeling unsure of how to proceed with managing your finances as a couple once you’re married? Many couples have questions when they decide to start thinking about joint bank accounts and combining finances. Here are some commonly asked questions about joining bank accounts and combining finances as a couple:
“Why do we even need a joint account?”
A joint account can streamline your finances, clarify what you’re spending on and offer transparency into your shared expenses. You can stop asking each other “did you pay that bill?” or having to Venmo or PayPal money back and forth. You can automate your rent or mortgage payments from your shared account and not have to worry about it.
“Can I still be financially independent?”
The desire for financial independence is a top concern for modern couples. With a joint account, you can merge some or all of your finances but also keep your own separate personal accounts so you both can spend and save freely as individuals.
“What if we have incompatible spending and saving habits?”
That’s totally okay! It’s a total myth that you both have to be similarly money-minded to insure that financial happiness in a relationship. No matter what your money personality is, you can find common ground when it comes to your shared expenses and making sure that you’re getting to your goals (and paying your bills) on time. A joint account can help you automate bill payments and keep fights to a minimum.
Find Out Your Money Personality
Take this quiz (and have your partner take it, too!)
“Can’t we just keep things the way they are?”
Of course you can, if it’s working for you both! But if you’re choosing not to talk about combined money as an excuse not to talk about money in general, that’s something to think about. Even if you decide to keep your money separate, it’s always a good idea to talk about your shared expenses and how you’re both contributing to your goals.
Joint bank accounts and conversations about money are essential for building trust and staying on the same page about everything you want to do together. You can merge your finances according to how you want to live your lives – you just need to decide how to do it together.
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