Do You Have a Joint Bank Account?
In the News
Are you ready to combine finances with your partner? Brits wait over five years on average
Brits wait an average of five-and-a-half years before combining finances with their partner, according to Marcus by Goldman Sachs.
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The bankβs research found that while couples typically wait five-and-a-half years to combine finances, almost one in 10 (8%) married couples said they waited 25 years or more before opening a joint account with their spouse.
The reasons given for combining finances were overwhelmingly practical. Just under half (49%) of those with a joint account did so to make sharing expenses easier, while 23% had joint ambitions to buy a house.
It appears that many people don't share their finances.
Mr Tumblespots and I trust each other with everything including our money. Do you?
I do not have a partner to worry about, so the answer would be no.
I am a free spirit. 
Could you ever imagine sharing your bank account and financial details with anyone else if that should change? 
tumblespots I suppose if I could really trust him and we are living together, then perhaps.
As soon as we got married I was added on to my husbands account, making it a joint one. We trust each other with money and always tell each other when we are going to buy something, especially if it is expensive.
My parents in law have separate accounts. They were both single for a long time before getting remarried. Although my mother in law says she doesn't want her husband seeing what she spends her money on as he would start questioning every spend!
Yes I suppose there could be questions. We find it easier as Mr Tumblespots rarely spends anything but he always knows how much we have/haven't got! 
tumblespots we are the same. I know exactly how much comes in and goes out. We don't tend to buy luxuries often as we save our money to pay off some extra on our mortgage, but this year it is going on a Christening.
MrsCraig I keep a running total in an excel document so we always know how much there is
tumblespots I know how much our Bill's are, how much we spend on the food shop, petrol and how much is left over, but an excel document is a good idea
MrsCraig I keep a running total and transfer the incomings/outgoings each month. I also check the credit card & bank accounts every day and tick things off as they happen (God, I need to get a life) my excuse is I used to work in a bank.
Yes we have a joint bank account and credit card. Also, we know each others various saving plans, investments and have access to passwords. Of course you have to trust your partner/husband. One of my friends has her own account plus shares her husbands bank account with the attitude what I earn is mine and what he earns is half mine!
I do believe that it should all be equal. What have you got if there is no trust?
Totally agree but some have bad past experiences with partners taking advantage of their well earned money so need to be courteous.
That made me laugh, did you mean cautious? You do need complete trust in order to do this.
tumblespots blessed spell check! Yes I meant cautious. It certainly makes people think twice about trusting, shame really.
I would suggest always keeping your own account but opening a separate joint one. Add up all your bills, including food, insurance, rent/mortgage and divide by two. Each put that amount in the joint account monthly to cover everything that is jointly used. You then keep your own balance for personal spending.
That's just it, I do all the spending and know whether we can afford it. If Mr Tumblespots wants something he just tells me that he needs it and because we are in the 'sticks' we order it for delivery. Everyone's happy.
tumblespots Even though I remember bygone days I had to laugh at an episode of Endeavour the other night when the wife had to go to her husband to sign a cheque for the butchers bill, he then muttered something about not trusting women with money. My, how times have changed lol.
Lynibis I didn't see it but would have laughed. Oh yes how times have changed. I can't imagine being in a relationship like that.
I think I would consider it if we were to be married however after 8 & a half years together and our won house we still have separate accounts but still pay for things fairly between the both of us.
I think you need to do whatever works for you, I was just curious how many did and how many didn't.
We dont have a joint account but we do have access to each others various accounts. We both know what we each have & pay for things jointly. I wouldn't be against having a joint account its more a case of weve just not got around to it.
So long as what you are doing works then it's fine isn't it. We prefer it but it's not for everyone anyway.
Yes, we've always had a joint account although I completely understand the risks that would scare people into keeping separate accounts. Same views and goals lessen the risk of being burned but there are no guarantees.
Nothing in life is guaranteed is it but without trust life would be a sadder place.
We have a joint account for bills but our own accounts for the rest of our money. My MIL tried to persuade me to have a joint account for everything but I like my independence and donβt want to be explaining why I want to spend my money and vice versa for my partner
My partner and I have been together for 12 years and he lives with me in a house that I own. We share the bills for utility and food etc. We have our own savings accounts, but also have some joint savings too. No secrets we both know what each other have and what it's spend on. Works great for us.
Pleased to hear it, you would be amazed at the amount of people who probably don't know anything at all about their other half's income let alone how much or whether they save.
In previous relationships Iβve had a joint bank account just for bills and kept my own account for my wages. This relationship both accounts are my own and he puts money into the account for the bills. Always have your own account!
As soon as we got married Mr Tumblespots suggested a joint account and so that is what happened, that was more years ago than I care to remember but it works well for us.
My wife and I have a joint bank account and we never argue over money. My parents have a joint account and never argue over money. My wifes parents have seperate money and they argue over money a lot 
Everyone is entitled to do as they please but i dont understand how people get married, buy a house, have children and still decide to have seperate money 
That's a really good point and I think you are right, the more that money is kept secret, the more you argue about it. When everything is above board there's nothing to argue about, you both know where you stand. We know a few couples who keep their money separate and also know that secretly, one of each couple, resent the others miserly ways. All you need is a good relationship and trust.
Hi We have a joint account no worries happy merried life lovely kids no need for seprate account or saving
I am quite surprised by the outcome of this chat, in that it seems more people do share their money than not. I thought it would be the other way around.
Whether you have a joint bank account will often depend on how long you and your partner have been together and whether you are both good with money.
Some of the risks of a joint account are:
YOUR CREDIT RATING
As soon as you open a joint bank account together you will be βco-scoredβ. If one of you has a poor credit history, itβs not normally a good idea to open a joint account. (Just living with someone, or being married to them, will not affect your credit rating)
ONE OF YOU EMPTIES THE ACCOUNT
If one of the account holders takes money out of the joint account, there arenβt many options for getting it back.
ONE OF YOU OVERDRAWS & THE OTHER BECOMES RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEBT
If the account becomes overdrawn, each joint account holder is responsible for the whole of the money owing; so you could become liable for repaying the other personβs debt.
That is very true, having worked in a bank I have seen all of these 'in action' and it isn't pretty when the other one finds out! Everything that has advantages also has disadvantages...
I think it is best to have both. We are second time around so have our own families to think of in the future. If you only have joint accounts, make sure you are able to access the funds if something happens to your partner. Some women of my age suddenly find they have to get both signatures to get cash which is not easy if the other is dead!
Very true, it is difficult to get signatures under those circumstances. If you have a joint account then all you do is present the necessary certificate and the account gets transferred to a sole account (at least that is what used to happen, I assume it is still the same). It is more difficult to access monies when you have sole accounts, especially if the estate goes to probate.
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