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According to recent research, couples who have joint bank accounts tend to end up with a higher level of marital satisfaction. They often learn to anticipate each other’s needs and work collaboratively as a result of getting used to sharing their finances.
That doesn’t mean this works out well for everyone, though. In some circumstances, opening up a shared account could end up damaging your relationship badly and could turn into a disaster for your personal life and your personal finances.
Before you move forward with opening a bank account together in 2024, be sure to ask yourself these key questions.
Are you in a serious, committed relationship?
Merging your money is a big deal and it’s not something you should do unless you are committed to each other. It can be hard to untangle your financial lives and split everything up once you’ve merged, so you should make sure you plan to stay with your partner for the long haul before moving forward. Otherwise, stick to separate checking accounts.
Do you trust your partner to manage money?
Opening a bank account with someone else can be risky. If it is a joint account, both people can take out the money in the account, so you could be left with too little. Your partner could also overdraft the account, leaving you with a negative balance you have to pay off.
For all these reasons, you don’t want to open up a joint account with someone you don’t trust completely. You need to know that your partner will be honest with you, which isn’t always easy since as many as 71% of people have committed some kind of financial infidelity, including hiding a purchase from their partner or lying about a purchase.
Watch how your partner manages their own money, see if you can exchange credit scores to get an idea of their history of financial responsibility, and make sure you’re confident that they will be responsible with your shared funds before moving forward.
Have you discussed some ground rules about the account?
When you have a joint checking account, for instance, the spending you each do can impact the other person. So you’ll want to set some ground rules before opening a joint account to ensure that you are on the same page.
You should address questions like how much you’ll keep in the account as a cushion against overdrafts, what expenses will be paid out of the account, and how much you can each withdraw without checking with the other person.
Do you have shared financial goals?
Finally, you should make sure there’s a reason to open a joint account. If you don’t have a shared goal you’re working toward, then there may be few benefits to merging your money and you could just be inviting a lot of potential problems for no reason.
You could be hoping to split your bills fairly and in a way that makes sense, for example, or you might decide to open a joint savings account to save for a house or car you’ll share. Just be sure there’s some shared purpose for merging your financial life in this way.
Be sure you and your partner are both on the same page financially, and that you’re putting your money together for the right reasons, before you make the choice to open a joint bank account in 2024.
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