In our 15 years together, my wife and I have achieved some major financial milestones together.
We bought – and paid off – a car.
We bought a condo.
We brought a son into the world and navigated the uncertainty of the pandemic.
And we did it all while keeping our money separate.
By maintaining separate bank accounts, we managed to avoid themoney stress that plagues many relationships.
But in 2025, we’re finally making our finances a shared journey.
Read more:More Couples Should Have the Money Talk.
And when you have a 3-year-old who enjoys running, a condo is a nightmare.
We won’t just be setting upautomatic transfers, either.
We plan to take an everything-adds-up approach to growing the account.
Neither of us has been all that sensitive to the increases, though.
We’ve already started shopping around for newauto insurance.
There’s no reason to stop comparing prices, even with a fixed expense.
We will be opening a joint spending account – also with Ally – to manage these expenses.
With a shared eye on these charges, one of us is likely to spot increases.
We’ll maintain our ownchecking accounts, too, though.
It’s also about trying to find the fun side of life.
We simply booked flights, made hotel reservations and had a blast.
What we’re doing to plan ahead
Again, we’re puttingAlly’s savings buckets featureto work.
Seeing a bucket labeled “beach vacation” encourages us to put more money in our account.
Should you combine finances with your partner?
I’m not a financial advisor, and I’m definitely not a relationship counselor.
What I can tell you is that the data indicates it’s worth considering.
And couples that use only separate accounts are much more likely to argue about money on a regular basis.
Keeping our finances separate worked when my wife and I were first married because everything felt easy.
But life gets harder – and a lot more expensive.
