Fed Financial

Should a Christian husband and wife have separate checking accounts?

Some Christian financial experts say it is wrong for a husband and wife to have separate checking accounts. They cite the verse about "two shall become one," and claim that applies to checking accounts. I think it is healthy for each spouse to have a share in financial responsibility. I think on financial terms a husband and wife can be like a corporation that has various subsidiary operations. Each spouse has responsibility for certain bills, as decided jointly. I think this is more of a cooperative way, so that I am not a domineering husband doling out a weekly allowance to my wife. This is not a trust issue -- as her name is on my checking account and she has access to money as needed. .... Thanks for any insight

Public Comments

1. I think there's nothing wrong with maintaining separate checking accounts. Religion too should not have anything too do with it. I don't think God particularly cares where and how you keep your money.
2. Well, I think that if you don't marry someone you trust, then you're screwed either way.
3. My husband and I are christians and I have a seperate checking account from before we were married. We never got around to getting a joint account. I see no problem with a wife having her own account especially if she married the wrong guy.
4. The church has no business managing your personal finances. If you feel joint checking would help you and your spouse meet your needs and help you save for the future, then do joint accounts. If you feel joint checking will cause more squabbles and frustration than it's worth, then keep separate accounts. Do what you feel will be most harmonious for your relationship, and most beneficial for your financial futures. Keep the church out of it. GOD never said anything about personal finances. He just said for us to love one another and be faithful. Oh -- and I think both ways are equally good; the determining factors are the temperaments and money management habits of the individuals involved in the arrangement.
5. sure listen to the christian financial experts, but we are all human... and there is a slight possibility she will take everything and vice versa and she leave you... just saying, a slight possibility, a fight might break up, divorce then BAM you lose everything... non christian financial experts would say not to do that... oh and I do not know much about checking accounts but I do not recammend sharing, consult with her about this issue... and yeah >.>
6. I think it is whatever works best for the couple. We had joint checking accounts for years and would sometimes go under because one of us made a purchase and didn't write it in right away or forgot to tell the other. For us separate checking accounts works better. But if one of us needs money for something and the other one has it, we freely share with the other and we each have our designated bills that we pay. So for us, separate has worked better and has helped avoid arguments about who made the account go under. We don't go under anymore.
7. me and my husband are christians, but we still have our own accts. Our names are on everything together, but...i still have "my original acct." and he has his. we pay bills out of his acct and i use mine for miscellaneous needs. I've worked at a bank and learned that it is not a great idea to have 1 checking acct. You can't keep the check register in balance because you don't know what the other's spending. there were many people that came in and were negative and had no idea why they were negative and it ended up being their spouse. I would ignore the "experts" about this matter. My preacher has never referred to having separate accts as a sin.
8. As long as you're sharing your income, I don't see anything wrong with you each having separate spending money (for bills or leisure). My husband and I have an account for bills (where his check is deposited), and another account for spending (where my check is deposited). When he comes back from his deployment, we plan to use separate spending accounts so that we don't have to worry about what the actual account balance is. That way, all our money is still shared, but it just makes keeping track of purchases easier.
9. Yo Dude -- Christain has nothing to do with how you manage your income and bills. What they did not tell you is "What is yours is hers.... What is Hers is hers..."""" Just get a divorce and see how much is equally shared. Good idea is keep your cash separate and take the spouse name off the account. Make the accounts right of survivorship in case of death. Same with Credit Cards-- you have yours and she has hers...
10. This is the wrong place to ask for religious guidance.
11. Whatever your religion might be should have nothing to do with how you handle your finances. There's nothing wrong with having separate checking accounts. When I was married, we had separate checking accounts and a joint money market account that we both contributed to. We decided up front who was responsible for paying which bill, how much "fun" money we each would have and how much had to go into that joint money market fund which was our family savings. There was a good combination of responsibility and freedom in our method. And we both agreed to the system.
12. I am less concerned about separate ACCOUNTS, and more concerned about separate FINANCES. If both parties agree in advance on how ALL their money will be used, it matters little the mechanics of paying the bills. Note: I do NOT mean they agree his income covers X and hers covers Y. I mean they agree that $X will got to category Y for EVERY penny they both have. If either feels their vote does not count in the budget, money is the SYMPTOM, not the root problem.
13. I think that people manage there money how ever it works for them and if this involves two checking accounts then it must work for them to keep there bookkeeping so they can manage there finances.