- Blog
- Bios
- Boards
- Classifieds
- DIY
- Gallery
- Vendor Reviews
- Shop Weddingbee
Weddingbee Blog
Now sing that title along to the tune of the Apprentice, because that’s what I did when I wrote it. OK, it’s time to get to the point of this post—combining finances. Mr. Fro Yo and I talked about this several times, but it always seemed so far off that we didn’t think we really needed to make a decision. Then, things got closer and closer and now we are less than 80 days until the big day. It is time to get serious.
So, on one of our daily walks with the dogs when we like to reconnect and talk about our day, I brought up the issue of combining finances. I said issue, but it’s not really that—it’s more of an ordeal. Not to say that I’m old by any means, but I’ve been building a little nest egg of my own for a while now; I have checking, savings, timed accounts, retirement accounts, 401K, direct deposits, etc. and Mr. Fro Yo has the same. The thought of combining finances was really overwhelming, but at the same time, we write each other checks every month to even out our expenses, and that’s really silly.
After much consideration, we decided that we would each keep our own accounts, but then open a new, joint one. Each month we would transfer in a percentage of our paychecks to the joint account and keep a percentage for ourselves for “fun” money in our own accounts. This “fun” money wouldn’t need to be discussed before we spent it because it would be ours to do what we want with it. I think for us, this is a great solution because I like to be an independent lady and if I had to call to ask if I could use the joint account to go to lunch or dinner with my friends, I might go crazy. Who knows though, we haven’t done this yet, and we might find a solution that works better for us once we’ve actually tried it.
For the married ladies, what advice do you have about combining finances? If you’re not married, have you and your fiance discussed combining finances? What did you decide?
We are not married yet, but this is what FI and I did last January and it has worked out SOOO well. Like you stated above, it still allows you both a little independence, but also shows some financial accountability for your joint ventures.
We did the exact same thing—one joint for bills/expenses & other house stuff and we each kept our own account. So far this has been working out great for us.
We are planning on doing the same thing! We will have our own checking, transfer into a joint checking for expenses, and then also set up a joint savings account for vacations/future purchases. Right now we have separate savings accounts and we will just close one and combine them. We are doing automatic transfers into each account every two weeks.
I’m hoping this works too! As soon as we find somewhere to live and know our new address we are going to set up the joint checking account.
We are planning on doing the exact same thing! 
We aren’t married, but we live together, so each month we put a set amount into a joint account for combined expenses and then the rest is ours to spend how we wish. When we get married we will most likely go to putting all the money into a joint account and then splitting out portions for each from that (so we have the same spending money unlike now when we have as much as our income allows us to have)–
We’ve done pretty much the same but we did it when we bought a house together instead of waiting until after the wedding. Our direct deposits are split between a joint and a personal checking account. We have both names on big recent purchases (mortgage and a car) but we left all of our investments in our own names. It works well for us, especially because he helps to support his family in Colombia and his brother has access to his personal account.
We did that when we moved in together; it’s worked beautifully, except that while my paycheck is set up to direct deposit a set amount into the account every month, he is still doing it the “old fashioned” way of remembering to transfer money online. Make your men sign up for automatic transfers, ladies — otherwise you get to pay the bills when they “forget.”
We have done it for the last year or so, and it’s worked out great for us. Having a joint account with a Visa or other card each is really making it smooth for everyday purposes.
I think we’ll be doing something very similar to that. We’ll have most of our money in a join account, but we’ll keep our own for “fun” money!
This is such a tricky topic! We’re getting the hang of combining finances. We still need to open up a joint account. We’ll probably have an arrangement similar to yours–that sounds like a good deal for both of you!
We are halfway there to doing the same thing. All of my monthly bills were set up for online payment when he moved in with me, and since we will be buying a new house, it seemed like a hassle to change all that. So we opened a joint account and he’s just been transferring money into that to get things rolling. Once we sell & buy, the joint account will become our main account. Sometimes it seems a little overwhelming to have so many accounts between the two of us, but I wouldn’t give up my own fun money stashes!
We did this a few years ago (not married, but we’ve been together 8 years and bought a house together several years ago). We have a joint savings and a joint checking account, the bills are paid through there. With the exception of maybe getting a joint credit card, we’re planning on continuing this way since it works well for us.
Since we both have direct deposit, we each have a portion of our paychecks go into the joint savings. And we have our own accounts for our other expenses.
eventually we’re doing to do something like you’re doing, but we actually have to DO it, you know? we’re writing each other checks and managing, but yes, it gets silly after a while.
We’re slowly combining everything. It just made more sense for us, but sounds like separate accounts make sense for a lot of couples.
That’s exactly what we’re doing - a monthly allowance for “fun”. We have the joint account set up (we’re keeping my bank, so i just added him to my account), but I’m currently the only one using it. And he’s looking forward to getting in on my great credit union account. So, I’m hoping we’ve hit on the major points, but we’ll see come September!
We do something similar. Though we are not married we have been together 3 1/2 years and have lived together for 2 of those years. We have a joint account and we each have separate accounts as well. My boyfriend is in sales, so his income varies some month to month, so we decided the best way to make it ‘fair’ was to give us each the same ‘allowance’ each month. We both get paid semi-monthly, so from each paycheck we get 1/2 of our monthly allowance directly deposited into our separate accounts and the remainder goes into the joint account for rent, bills, saving for the wedding, ect. It has worked very well for us and I imagine that we will keep up this system for a long time to come.
Good plan! We are going to have $XXX direct deposited into our join account for bills and extras then the balance of our paychecks sent to our personal accounts.
We’re doing the same. We’ve already set up the joint account with money which we’re using for the wedding and where we’re saving money for our first home. In the meantime we can spend whatever we want out of our personal accounts.
So far we doing what you two are doing. I manage the joint account because I (ahem) pay the bills on time, unlike someone who shall remain nameless. We pay rent, groceries, and miscellaneous expenses from that account. We put into it 50/50 right now because we make exactly the same amount, but I am looking at taking a pay cut for a new career, so we will then work out relevant percentages.
Thanks for all the advice girls! It sounds like a lot of people are relying on a similar plan. It’s good to hear that it’s working! Now to start that joint account…
| Visit our sister sites | eHarmony Online Dating |
eHarmony Advice Dating Advice |
Project Wedding Wedding Songs |
JustMommies Pregnancy Calendar |
Mrs. Frozen Yogurt, Dallas Age and Occupation: 28, Special Projects Coordinator Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Equity Trader Engagement Date: March 19, 2009 Wedding Date: April 2010 Venue: Marie Gabrielle, Dallas About Me: I was born and raised in Texas, and have lived in several of the cities across the state, but I currently reside in Austin. I went to college in Boston and have a special place in my heart for the Northeast. I love reading, shopping, wine, reuniting with college friends that are scattered across the country, reality TV, trying out new recipes, and attempting all the DIY projects that come along with wedding planning. I'm a "bleeding heart, save the world type" and thankfully my job allows me to work on legislation and policy to help out those in need. I met Mr. Frozen Yogurt in a bar, though he doesn't even drink! And now we are planning a modern yet vintage wedding in Dallas while dealing with the trials and tribulations of first time homeownership.
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 30 | 31 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 |
Latest Gallery Pics