By Nsunjo Erica
These days, married couples are being advised to shift from having separate personal finance accounts to having a joint bank account in a perspective of contributing and monitoring day to day and their future finances together.
I would advise couples to have a joint account but still have personal accounts if they wish to, having a joint account is an easiest and most sensible way to manage day-to-day spending and saving, and it will save you trouble if your spouse dies before you.
Having separate accounts while in marriages isn’t bad either and it may satisfy a couple’s need for a degree of financial independence, but it gets difficult to access urgently needed funds from a spouse’s separate account anytime you need it.
A joint account is another form of setting aside a certain amount of money to be used in the running of a home, which money all partners have access to any time they need it, and below is the importance of this account.
A joint bank account promotes financial communication.
Like it or not but some married partners have no say in their partner’s financial section in their marriage. However, setting up a joint bank account immediately opens the lines of communication on financial topics between the married couple since both parties are now contributing towards the saving.
Finances actually have the ability to ruin marriages these days, especially if they are not properly managed, when a married couple financially communicates openly, it improves the foundations of their relationship.
A joint account eases household expense management.
In a marriage, it gets really tiring to always have to ask for money from your partner even for the easiest and cheapest of things like buying a matchbox. Having a joint bank account immediately allows both parties to access funds and purchases whatever any times of need.
This account allows couples to examine the overall finances in the family because both adults in the household know exactly what is going in and coming out of the household financial account and therefore spend according to budget.
A joint bank account promotes mutual financial responsibility.
In today’s marriages, it is no longer a must that the man is the overall contributor to a home in terms of finances, these days, women have ventured into business and it is as their responsibility as it is for a man to contribute financially in a home.
More importantly, the joint bank account drives homes to a point that both adults are financially responsible for the household. The married couple becomes more financially mature since they are both now obliged to contribute.
Evokes a sense of respect amongst couples
Some men have the tendency of disrespecting and imposing domestic violence on their wives because they feel they are to heart and the brain of the home since they solely contribute and dominate the financial part of it.
Creating a joint account earns respect to both partners in the marriage since no one is devaluing the other for being a financial burden, both parties and working and saving, it calls for respect towards each other.
A joint account helps to easily plan for the future of children.
That joint account is not meant for just home expenses, this is the same account spouses should use to save an equated amount of money to cater to their children’s future especially in case of any sudden happenings like death.
It makes a lot of sense to financially plan for your kids’ future jointly, where you both contribute and monitor your finances, to take your children through different stages of life, currently and in the future.