Sharing your life with your long-term partner is a huge commitment that will be full of ups and downs. It’s important to discuss your financial preferences about how to manage your money to avoid unwanted misunderstandings. Here are some of the common ways couples handle their finances together.

Joint Finances: 

Some couples choose to combine their funds into one account. This option may provide a clean slate where each person contributes 50/50 to the household. If this strategy appeals to you, be sure to have an understanding of how much they each bring home in a pay period and that each person has a say about how the shared cash is spent. 

Separate Accounts: 

It may be easier to keep your finances separate, so you don’t have to change too much. While this option is convenient, you’ll need to put your heads together to break down which expenses each partner is responsible for. While this may seem easy, there can be challenges when the number of expenses is divided up but isn’t truly equal when you consider the amount each person earns, how much debt they have, and the amount their expenses total up to. 

Hybrid Funds: 

This approach allows each partner to have both a separate and joint account with the idea that mutually agreed upon expenses are paid out of a joint account. It’s still important to communicate with one another about both the joint and separate accounts in this situation to ensure transparency.

No matter what approach you think is best for your situation, here are some additional tips to help you.

  • Make time to create and check-in with a realistic budget, so you and your loved one have a road map about how you handle your money.
  • Set up automatic payments so no one can play the blame game when it comes to who forgot to pay what bill. 
  • Communication is key whether it’s saving for a vacation, planning for retirement, or planning to grow your family, each next adventure will require some money, and you both  need to be on the same page.

AFFCU members have access to a wide range of savings, checking, and loan products to help you manage your joint and separate finances.