Can Two Really Be One When it Comes to Money?

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The issue of joint accounts is a touchy one for most married couples; there are horror stories and unpleasant results. Yet when you get married, you have to re-evaluate your finances. Whether you prepare for it or not, your spending becomes joint. BusinessDay columnist Iheanyi Nwachukwu gives a very good insight into the workings of a joint account for married couples. Here are excerpts below:

Managing a family is different from managing a business. Various strategies for various people, but what matters is which one works for you.

Because income is a relevant factor to consider in family financial management, the strategy that works for Mr A might not work for Mr B. As far as every family is concerned, their approaches in managing finances differ.

Opening a joint account with your partner is a huge commitment and one of the biggest decisions you will make in your relationship. Only do it if you completely trust each other, to enable easy assessment of the money in good and in bad times.

The simply law of equilibrium does not function in family income because it is always difficult to get two couples earning the same amount as income –there must be someone making it big. It could be from the man or the woman.

Though, many religious counselors believe that in every family, joint account is ideal, but many couples can testify which one that works for them, considering their personal lifestyle and social demands.

What does Obi Nwankwo, a man who is 10 years in marriage have to say about this, “When I got married to my wife, we followed what the priest counseled us before our wedding? We decided to keep joint account. It is good but I leant a lot from it. My wife spends a lot for wear because she likes looking good.”

“She has more people demanding money from her family. I have less people demanding money from me from my family. I like hanging out with my friend weekend. With this varied lifestyles, having a joint account became difficult to manage. I opted out and asked her (my wife) to manage her income but bearing in mind the need to save for capital projects and children’s education,”

You can read the rest of this article on BusinessDay.com. Meanwhile, we would really like to know your own experience with keeping a joint account. How did it go?