I’ve mentioned here before that my husband and I don’t have a joint personal account together. What I probably didn’t mention is why we don’t have one together.
When we first got together I was in the midst of my over-spending and over-shopping (though I didn’t see it that way then). I saw it as a “I work hard. I earn it. I’m gonna do what I want with it and enjoy myself” thing. My husband- Aaron- is one of those rare people who are actually calm with their money and don’t get all crazy and worked up about it when they have it. He doesn’t feel the need/urge to go spend all of it- like me- sometimes. He’s a natural saver and to say that we have had different spending habits would be a major understatement.
So, when he mentioned that he didn’t think we should get a joint personal account together when we got married I was dissapointed but also honestly, a little relieved because that meant I could still spend the way I wanted to and not be stifled. If we didn’t have a joint account then I wouldn’t have to “ask” if I could get something and I didn’t have to get anyone’s approval but my own. It was my hard-earned money after all. Though, I couldn’t help but think that we should be sharing money. I mean, that’s what married people do right?
Share money. Share things. Share. Share. Share.
I guess through the whole spending Spending Fast/Spending Diet journey (sorry- cheesy word) I actually convinced my husband that I can be responsible with money. The Spending Fast/Diet proved to help me in yet another area.
On Saturday my husband and I went and opened a joint personal account together! This is so shockingly rewarding. To me it means that he believes I’ve truly changed regarding money. It shows me that he trusts me with money and that he doesn’t think I’m going to go blow our paychecks on office supplies and trinkets.
We will primarily use the account to pay for bills and for other joint living things like toothpaste and toilet paper. I can’t help but see this as a major breakthrough. I feel like the changes I have been making for the 15 months are paying off in more ways then I ever thought possible.
My relationships are truly being changed because I’m getting my finances in order, and it’s a very cool thing. The little things have added up to a very big thing. Getting my debt paid off is changing my everyday life in ways I never would’ve imagined.
P.S. Ready to get out of debt ASAP? Check out the Spending Fast Bootcamp! SpendingFastBootcamp.com
After All the Hard Work and Effort (So to Speak) The Greatest Payoff is often the Greatest Reward. Congratulations. May the Joint Account Bring You Much Combined Effort of Communication of Debt payoff for the both of you and Money for Fun for the both of you! :)
This post makes me so happy for you! It is so nice to hear how marriages can really be strengthened when two people trust each other enough to go all in. I am sure you will see your relationship grow and grow because of the hard work you have done! Congratulations!
That's really very rewarding and you deserved that. I know how it feels to be in that situation. Congratulations and I hope you and your hubby get to save more on that account. :)
Wow…..that's really exciting! Congrats girl. ;)
Rock on! I recently discovered your site and am loving it. Makes me inspired to make change in my life, too!
Congratulations! I hope your combined funds serve as inspriation to save even more.
I thought the same way as you. I am married but have my own job and own separate credit cards and I always assumed "I'm going to do whatever I want with my own money." Unfortunately, what I wanted to do with my money was spend frivolously and rack up credit card debt. I told myself that because it was my own money, it was my own problem and my husband didn't need to know about it and I would take care of it myself. Well, in the midst of myself trying to get my own debt under control, the subject came up with my husband. And even though it was my own debt, under my own name, he was very upset. He explained to me that even though I am carrying this under my name it affects both of us. Whether that means that our credit scores will be bad or large sums of my money will have to be used to pay off my credit cards rather than put in our future kids college savings. Just something to think about.
Hey, I just found your blog and love it. My soon to be husband and I also have split accounts. We opened a joint account for only shared bills, and have our own personal accounts for the fun stuff. It helps use with the stress that can happen to some couples, especially since I have a lot of debt from school loans. Its hard to control your debt, especially being a freelance artist. Congrats on the great reward!