Four Tips for Merging Finances When Getting Married

Video Transcript

I remember when I was getting married! All of the emotions and feelings that I was going through while planning, during the day of the actual wedding, and afterwards.

One important issue you may find yourself going through is merging finances with your spouse. There are four different ways to accomplishing this.

1. One Joint Account

This option involves simply merging everything into one joint account. For couples with similar amount of assets and salaries, this is a really great option. You will simply merge your accounts and pay bills out accordingly from that one account.

2. Joint + Separate Accounts

The second one is how my wife and I operate. We do have a joint account, however we also have our own individual accounts. This allows you to pay all important bills, such as family expenses, out of the joint account, while giving you the freedom to use your separate account for personal use. This is highly recommended for a couple who have unique differing hobbies.

3. Joint Account with Disparity

Let’s say there is a situation where one member of the couple brings home 70% of the shared income, and the other member brings home 30%. For this disparity in income situation, they would want to go with a joint account. The member who brings home 70% would put 70% of that take home into the joint account, and the member bringing home the lower 30% would put in 30% of their income. The trick to this is providing to the joint account proportionally.

4. Two Separate Accounts

Lastly is keeping everything separate with two accounts. No merging any accounts or incomes. Not all joint account situations work for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with keeping your accounts separate if that’s what works for your marriage.

There is a lot of information in our new survival guide, ‘You’re married! What to say before and after you say “I do”‘, downloadable below, with tips and tricks for the entire marriage process.

The RJ Patterson Group is dedicated to helping you figure out all the details of the marriage process. Please fill out the form below to receive the survival guide. And remember, live for today and save for tomorrow.