Money and Marriage

Nat and I were at McD’s yesterday night and one of the things we talked about was managing money in a marriage. Should a couple have joint account, where income from both parties are shared? Or should they hold separate accounts – my money’s mine and vice versa? In a separate account, each person’s income remain solely theirs. Obviously there will be some mutual expenses like logging, food, kids, etc. Whether it’s a 50-50 split for common family expenses are nitty details of this school of thought. The good thing about this type of financial management is any party and enjoy the fruits of their labour at their own expense. If the girl’s earning more than the husband, she can indulge herself even if her husband goes absolutely crazy over her obsession with the $1000 Fendi handbag or “Chanel perfume, Nose shoes, MNG outfits, Beatrice Looi’s dresses, Clinique make up sets, A Cut Above’s hair pampering session, and some Tiffany’s & Co. jewelleries” [Excerpt from ‘girls-gotta-want-what-girls-gotta-want’]? Guys on the other hand may want a $10 mil yatch, buy a Lexus, sorry, make it a couple of Lexus, Harleys, Titanium golf sets and noted fine-art paintings.

Ever heard of other-halfs cheating on their other-halfs? Plenty. In that case, the girl who’s usually the victim can pack and leave her unfaithful husband without resorting to cutting up his “member”. She can instead cut their financial pie into half (or more) and start all over again.
Sadly, a separate account for married couples is like a unwritten guarantee that the till-death-do-us-part won’t work. Nat feels that couples who begin their union with separation in mind are not acting in trust towards each other. If both have already trusted their bodies to each other, why not money?

Marriage itself is an antithesis to a separate account. Both have vowed to join their lives together and that means their money too. Each must trust the other person with their body assets and real (financial) assets. A withdrawal from the account signifies that whatever is paid for are purchased by both. Instead of being bought by the wife or the husband, it’s being bought by them. Two person being one.

I told Nat I like this idea of joint account. I know that she trusts me with herself and her stuff and she knows that I trust her with myself and my stuff.