Should You Merge Finances with Your Spouse?

Marriage comes with a lot of changes. One important consideration is what to do with your finances—should you combine them, or keep them separate?

There’s no one-size-fits-all plan in how a married couple should manage their finances. Keep in mind your personal situation, such as differences in how each of you would save and spend money as an individual, or if one partner makes significantly more money than the other. Below are some thoughts to consider.

Agree on a financial plan

Having a conversation about money can sometimes be the hardest step. It can be uncomfortable and is a sensitive topic for some people.

Take some time to come to an initial agreement on how you and your spouse will manage your finances going forward. Different backgrounds and different attitudes on spending can cause friction that can make these discussions more difficult. How much to save, how much to spend, and how much to invest are all things on which a couple might disagree, stressing the importance of discussing these topics early if you intend to merge finances.

An important step is to determine what your financial goals are as a couple. Do you want to spend your youth traveling? Do you want to start a family? Do you want to save money for an early retirement? If you and your spouse do not agree on these things, do not panic. Compromise is possible. Take into consideration what is most important to both of you financially and what you might be willing to concede on to create a unified plan.

Open a joint bank account

For many couples, combining finances means opening a joint bank account, which is a checking or savings account owned by two or more people. Each person has the same level of access to the account, their own debit card and may even have their own unique online and mobile banking login information.

A joint bank account can offer many advantages. One of the biggest draws is its simplicity. You and your spouse can both treat the joint account the same as you would an individual one, but with a shared pool of money. Another benefit is the ability to keep a record of where your finances are going. By keeping track of one another’s purchases, you can ensure that neither of you are accidentally going beyond the scope of your shared budget.

You can also have a joint bank account without all of your money being shared. If you each keep your individual bank accounts and open one or multiple joint accounts for shared expenses or savings, you can keep track of all of the money you plan to share as well as your own separate funds. This can be an option should you or your spouse wish to keep some level of autonomy in your finances, or if having a sole joint account might complicate your money situation more than it would help. Make sure that you and your partner discuss how much each of you will contribute to the shared account and exactly how that money will be spent.

Keep separate accounts

If you have separate bank accounts, that does not mean you cannot share financial information with each other. If you and your spouse have certain agreed upon expenses that each of you is responsible for paying, having separate accounts can be a method to make sure both of you are paying your part. It might be useful for maintaining scheduled automatic payments, like a student loan payment, that you may have had before marriage.

Even with separate bank accounts, you can establish similar budgets for personal expenses every month and agree how much money you should put in your savings accounts. Communication is key in a financial plan to make sure both of you are on the same page.

Develop a monthly spending plan

Aside from fixed monthly expenses, you and your spouse should decide how much money you are willing to spend each month and budget accordingly. Agree on an amount that is reasonable to be spent on groceries, how often you can dine out or order in and how many date nights you can have. You can also agree on how much each person should be spending individually, particularly if you have a joint account together. A smart idea could be for each person to have a personal fund for smaller, individual expenses. That way, impulse purchases or “treat yourself” gifts do not hurt your joint budget.

Where to begin

Trustmark offers a variety of checking and saving accounts for every budget and stage of life. Whether your finances are combined or separate, we can provide advice that can help you build a secure financial future. Explore checking options and compare account types by visiting our Personal Checking accounts page.