Very confused - banking

Ok ladies, I need some help with this please. I haven't really seen anything posted about this, or if there was i must have missed it.

FI and I both have separate savings and checking accounts. WHEN and DO we combine the accounts. Or do we keep accounts separate and just open one jointly?
Help i'm very confused about this. And also if we have separate accounts how do we cash the checks we receive at the wedding. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Pattili

Re: Very confused - banking

You should both have individual accounts, but also one joint account which you can pay household bills out of.

If you have separate accounts, cash the checks to whichever acount they were written and then put the money into a join account.

Re: Very confused - banking

FH and I are going to open a joint account and keep our own accounts (at least for the first year). It's all really a matter of personal preference.

Re: Very confused - banking

It's really up to you. You should discuss with FI if you want to maintain some independence financially after you are married.

Since we bought our house already, we already combined our accounts, but we have separate investment (CDs, 401Ks, Mutual Funds, stocks, etc.) accounts where we list each other as beneficiary.

At the very least, it's better to have at least one joint account before the wedding for depositing the wedding gifts. But you will both have to endorse the checks since most likely people will write Mr. & Mrs. Xxxxx

Re: Very confused - banking

Actually it is definately a matter of personal preference - what do you feel comfortable with? Brad and I will be living together for 2 years when we tie the knot. We joined our accounts last year right before we got engaged, because that is what worked for us. We have one checking acct that pays all of our bills together and seperate savings/portfolios.

Re: Very confused - banking

It is up to you and FH. It may be easier to open a joint account and keep the individual ones you have now too. At some point, if you choose to transfer all of the funds into the joint account, it will be no problem I'm sure.

Re: Very confused - banking

Just like everyone else said - it's a matter of personal choice and what you feel comfortable with. FH and I have joint savings and checking accounts. We combined everything three years ago when we bought our co-op. For us it was the right decision and we are happy with it but that's us. Each person is different. Either way - having a joint checking account might be helpful for you both.

Re: Very confused - banking

I think having a joint account is a matter of personal preference that you and your fiance need to decide. We plan to open a joint account to pay household bills and save for household/joint items. We also plan to keep our own separate accounts.

When you can open the joint account may depend on whether you take on your husband's last name or not. You can open a joint account with maiden name and fiance's name. I don't think the bank will allow you to open a joint account with your new name before it's official. I would ask the bank about that.

Re: Very confused - banking

FH and I have individual and joint accounts. This weekend we deposited all the gifts we recieved so far into our joint savings and had no problems.

This is really a decision for you and your FH to make. What works for one couple may not work for another.

Re: Very confused - banking

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Posted by fashionhag

You should both have individual accounts, but also one joint account which you can pay household bills out of.

If you have separate accounts, cash the checks to whichever acount they were written and then put the money into a join account.

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I did the exact same thing as fashionhag - we both have individual accounts, and then we opened up one joint account to save for the wedding and the house

Re: Very confused - banking

In preperation for the wedding FH and I just opened up one account together. It is our primary account. We figured we should get used to sharing the expenses.