Considering joining up your finances with a partner? This could be a great idea that makes day-to-day life easier and more easily manageable. At the same time, joint finances could prove to be a poor idea, drawing down your credit score and resulting in all sorts of disagreements.
Only you can know what the most sensible decision is when it comes to this subject because it’s so dependent on individual and personal factors. Here are some areas to consider before diving into the deep end and signing up to any joint accounts.
Should You Consider Joint Finances?
Joint finances can prove extremely beneficial to those who are in a serious relationship and living together. By opening a joint bank account, you can place finances in one place where you can then create direct debits and other payment plans to ensure that your bills are paid on time.
This is useful if you are both contributing to things like rent, energy bills, broadband, insurance policies, and more. However, whether joint finances will benefit you and your partner will depend entirely on your individual circumstances, joint circumstances, and your attitudes to money.
Reaching a Compromise
Remember, this isn’t a black and white area. It doesn’t have to be that you completely share finances or are completely financially independent.
You may find that you need to reach an agreement somewhere in between, deciding what you want to financially joint and where you want to be financially independent. It’s best to have a discussion where both of you talk things out and reach a compromise.
Make Sure Your Values Are Aligned
Before even getting started with joint finances, you need to understand each other’s approach and attitude to money, as well as truly trust one another. Too many partners are not open about their financial history or spending habits and this results in the other party using Private Investigators to understand where their funds are going.
When Joint Bank Accounts Might Not Be For You
Remember that when you open a joint bank account, you’ll both be responsible for any debt or overdrafts. While living with, or even being married to someone with a bad credit score won’t affect yours, you need to be aware that when you open a joint bank account or take out a mortgage together, your credit rating could be affected by the other’s bad credit. This might not be an ideal situation for couples where one has a good credit score and the other has a poor score.
As you can see, you should think long and hard about joining your finances with someone before signing up for it. It’s a big life decision and you should do what you can to ensure you don’t rush it and to make sure that it’s the right path for you. If you’re unsure, there’s plenty of professional advice out there, ranging from personal financial advisors to wealth management agencies too!