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Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

DjPiLL Posted:

Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

I ripped this from a thread on fatwallet.com. All you girls with joint accounts or considering might want to read this. Brings up some excellent points.

You can find the original thread here...

Why joint accounts and joint bills are BAD

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Joint credit accounts are really nothing more than COSIGNED loans (and by now we all know that cosigning is generally bad!)

Disadvantages of Joint Credit Accounts
1. A Late payment dings both credit reports
2. Both individual's debt/income ratios affected by balances reporting to the bureaus
3. Get only 1 credit card signup promo/ 1/2 the rewards cap of 2 separate accounts
4. If CC stolen, can affect both credit reports until corrected
5. Problematic if going through divorce/separation
6. If accounts closed, you may have no individual credit under your own name

etc etc etc.

It is generally best to keep ALL credit accounts (auto, credit card, home loans) separate and individual, whether before, during or after marriage. There are some instances where a joint account will be required (ie to qualify for a home loan of a certain size), but if a debt can be placed in 1 persons name alone, choose that option!

Joint bank/deposit accounts also share many of the same negative characteristics:

Disadvantages of Joint Bank/Deposit Accounts
1. A bounced check dings both people on Chex Systems
2. Get only 1 bank account signup promo, whereas you could get 2 if have individual accounts
3. If ATM stolen, can affect both people until corrected. With 2 separate accounts, the funds in other other account wont be affected
4. Problematic if going through divorce/separation (commingling of assets, etc).

Like Nancy Reagan said, Joints are bad - JUST SAY NO!
tourist Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

I completely agree with the part about credit.

Our mortgage will be in both names though.
(has to be. . .too poor)

I disagree about the checking savings part. Those reasons aren't that compelling to me.
Just don't bounce checks! The atm card thing is a good point, but I recently had a problem, but banks are very aware of fraud & you can get this things fixed quickly usually.

Having 2 joint accounts would serve the same purpose.
Sassyz75 Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

But can't that work the other way? I manage my $ like I always have except DH is on my CC and account now and I've pulled HIS credit rating up.

Also- what if you have the debt in your name and you get a divorce. will you get saddled w. the debt b/c it isn't jointly held?
DjPiLL Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

Posted by Sassyz75

But can't that work the other way? I manage my $ like I always have except DH is on my CC and account now and I've pulled HIS credit rating up.




He would have pulled his credit score higher if he would have kept the credit in his own name. You do not see near the benefit of 'pulling someone's credit up' by co-signing as you do by managing your own credit.
DMAG Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

I'll jump in.

Credit cards in more then one name is generally a bad practice in most instances.

Late payments effect both person's credit. Available credit effect both person's credit.
Each time your credit is checked, it brings down both credit scores.

I would say keep things seperate except for a mortgage.

DJPill is correct in advising that joined credit accounts (ie. loans, credit cards) are similar to co-signing. If one person can get the credit themselves, it will build their credit if they make the payments on time.

Bank accounts are another one. My FW likes to write checks, I like to use my Visa check card. There is no way I could keep track of what she writes and what I use on the check card. We'd end up bouncing something eventually. But, that's just us. If there is one person who controls the bills in the family and there could be no mishaps, getting a joint account wouldn't adversely effect much.
marymoon Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

Does having me on FH's accounts raise my credit? I wish it did. He has awesome credit. Mine is SO bad. We ahve mostly separate accounts, but one joint savings acct for the wedding. I think everything should be joint in terms of savings/checking. I don't see those reasons as so compelling.

tinkerb30 Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

Both our names are on the mortgage and that's it. We plan on keeping all of our bank/cc accounts individual.

cocoa Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

okay, i'm gonna keep my checking account for my c/c bills and school loan. fh will keep his for his c/c bills. then we will have a joint checking for household and savings. i will be in charge of th ehousehold stuff and look over him with his checking account.

Ang&Rich Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

I think that the points made are excellent and valid - however I do have everything in joint accounts with FH. Our savings and checking are joint, our mortgage is under both names and we both have a major credit card under our own name but have added the other as a secondary user.

Now whether anyone agrees or disagrees with doing this is besides the point. For US this works. We both have excellent credit - no bad debt and we own everything 50/50. We both come from families where the income from both parents may not have been equal but the assets were equally shared. KWIM? With that said - we both make a decent salary and again have no debt. We've been together for almost 8 years and our lives are very co-mingled. So we are very comfortable sharing this responsibility. There is no more my money or his money between us. It's our money and we accept what comes from that. Now - that's easy to say because we are both really good about money and we share the same views so we haven't run into any problems in the four years we've been doing this. Our priorities are on the same track.

Again - just wanted to share a different point of view...BUT I do understand and RESPECT the concern.
prncssrachel Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

It's too late for us. Everything's joint. I take care of all the bills, though, so there will be no problems with late payments that I wouldn't know about. We were stupid to do it this way, but we were all of 21, and well, STUPID. Now that we're older, we are back on track with everything and our credit is good and never bounce a check, so it's ok, but had we known then what we know now, we would have had all separate accounts.

palebride Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

we have everything joint - and i take care of the bills.
it's easier that way
that's just the way we like it!!
Xelindrya Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

Posted by DjPiLL
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Joint bank/deposit accounts also share many of the same negative characteristics:

Disadvantages of Joint Bank/Deposit Accounts
1. A bounced check dings both people on Chex Systems
2. Get only 1 bank account signup promo, whereas you could get 2 if have individual accounts
3. If ATM stolen, can affect both people until corrected. With 2 separate accounts, the funds in other other account wont be affected
4. Problematic if going through divorce/separation (commingling of assets, etc).



I disagree with this.
1. Bouncing checks. Well honestly even without joint accounts you could bounce checks so being married means what? … I’m not inheriting your problems? News Flash: You do anyway. We both take extra effort with our joint account to specifically NOT bounce checks because of the effects. You shouldn’t be bouncing checks anyway and you should both be (hopefully) able to work together to a financial goal regardless if you’re joint or not in the bank.
2. We got two promos. Free checking because my office has relationship with the bank and we both got debit/credit cards that earn 2 miles per dollar and only had to pay for one card. Both cards are individual.
3. ATM card is stolen ? We’ll be both have our own private accounts as well so this doesn’t matter. Secondly we both know the bank is open on Sundays and we never rely THAT much on the ATM to begin with.
4. Everything is problematic when you divorce, we just hope not to.
bridzilla Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

We are getting a joint account for shared expenses, but I am keeping my own account as well.

Karen H Posted:

Re: Spinoff of Bills... why JOINT ACCOUNTS are BAD !!!!!

DH and I have a joint checking, and when he lost his ATM they were able to put a stop on his, and issue a new one, and in the interim mine was not affected - in fact, I was joking with the person from the bank about how DH was now at my mercy until his new card came through, because I held the access to $$$ for the weekend!

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