It’s no secret how I feel about my bank. I’ve been a customer of Bank of America since 2006 and over the past couple of years, my trust in them has diminished. I will continue to go on the record saying Bank of America is awful, and I even mentioned moving to virtual banks. I’ll admit, I haven’t taken the initiative on it yet, and maybe for good reason. I’m now considering going from a hybrid version of combining our finances and going all in. It might be time to completely combine our finances.
Even when we were dating, hubby and I shared a joint checking and savings account. We used the account to buy groceries for cooking and going out on dates. When we had our temporary breakup, I took the money out of the accounts (because the money left in it was mine) and closed them. We opened an account together when we got our first place, to take care of rent and household expenses. This account is at Chase since this is now hubby’s primary bank.
I hate the limitations at Bank of America. It’s always something. You have to deposit your money before 8pm. If you deposit a check, only $200 will post immediately. So on and so forth. Chase gives you more flexibility, and they even allow you to deposit checks using your smartphone (if you do this, I warn you, make note of it on the check, otherwise you’ll try to deposit it more than once, like I did). This could also help us with a revised budget, having all of our money go into one pot, and use that one account for all of our expenses.
I don’t really know why we were reluctant to do it in the beginning. Maybe because when we moved in together, we were still boyfriend and girlfriend. Now that we’re married, it makes sense, since most of our expenses benefit the both of us. It would foster more communication about our finances, as we would always have to stay on top of it. We wouldn’t have to worry about transferring this and moving around that. It just seems like a convenience with no real cons.
One of the reasons I was reluctant to leave Bank of America was because I had memorized my debit card number by heart. Well, I have since lost that debit card, and have a new one, and will probably get another one once I do my name change on all my information. Not good enough of an excuse anymore, and wasn’t really good enough then. Hubby’s been telling me to switch to Chase forever, but I’ve been too hard headed. Maybe it just makes sense to combine our finances and work as a real team.
Have you combined your finances with your spouse? What system works best for you guys?
My hubby and I combined finances when we got married… and its so much better. Its simpiler. We do a quick once a month meeting to see what our goals are for the month and any known irregular expenses that are filing in. Once we agree, thats the budget and I monitor and add in and check off the spending as it happens.
We each get $40 every two weeks for “blow/fun” money that we don’t have to tell the other person about… but everything else is joint.
See, that’s just enough for me too. Most of my expenses outside of bills are trying to build an online empire. So $40 can buy me books or music.
Yep, I think combined finances gives a married couple to be joined in every sense of the word. I’ve blogged about the subject alot because its really important for spouses to get on the same page about money b/c finances one of the Top Three Reasons for divorce. The “your $ vs. My $” and “your acct vs my acct” can lead to lots of confusion, so I’m an advocate of combined accounts. My hubby and I did it right away.
Briana: I’d love to get your reaction to my thoughts on the subject….”Your Money and Your Honey: Financial Management for Couples” http://bit.ly/qip0Zz
-Desiree