checking accounts

[ChristyB]

here too
We have a joint, Dh has his and I have mine. (and I don't ever balance it )

[jdrhope]

We have only one checking account, I guess we're old fashioned too. He keeps plenty of cash on his hip and uses a CC for anything else. I like to use a CC and just pay it off regularly, we don't have to pay any finance charges and it beats writing tons of checks for everything. I write two check every month, thats it. I also use Quickbooks, which is a huge help, and do a lot of online banking.

[Debbie J]

We have only 1 joint checking account, but we have several different accounts. The joint is where we pay all the bills, etc. The other is for "vacations", rental account, stuff like that.

[Jenni Benni]

We only have one. It works well for us.

[julierealtor]

His, mine, ours and we each have a business acct. Nuts huh?

[jfugina]

We had separate accounts for a very long time, and just divided up the bills. It worked until we wanted to buy our current house. At the time, neither of us could cover the mortgage alone. So we got a joint account then, but maintained our own accounts also.

So we each have most of our paychecks direct depositing in the joint account, where all of the bills are paid from, and we each have separate "don't ask don't tell" accounts. There are snags occasionally, but overall it works pretty well.

[dehlers43]

Gosh no . . . then I would have two checking accounts to balance every month!

Whoa! You mean we're supposed to balance our accounts????
DH and I had 2 accounts, both joint. One was mine for bills and whatnot. I transfered a set amount into his account each month so he could have spending money. Worked well for us.
Now I write so few checks, maybe 4 or 5 a month, that I just check my balance online. If there is money, then I spend it.....

[jfugina]

I balance our joint account, but I don't touch any of Rob's accounts and I don't bother balancing my personal one either. I just go online and check how much is in there before I go to buy something else. Stuff from the past two days generally hasn't posted yet, but if I can't remember what I used my debit card for just for two days, then I have bigger issues than remembering to reconcile.

The joint account though - that's another story. That thing gets reconciled every month against the statement, and has several times a month that I check it against the online account listing. I guess I figure having my debit card denied at Michael's is embarassing, but doesn't ultimately cause a disaster - not like bouncing the mortgage payment.

[Dani Larcom]

We have a joint checking which is "his" that his paycheck goes into. we each have a debit card to this account. He pays all bills that don't have a major impact on our credit (utilities except for electric), groceries and most incidentals. I have my own checking where my check goes and I pay the important bills: mortgage, car payment, my credit cards and anything the kids need clothing-wise. Then we have a joint checking and I have my business account.

We bank online and can easily transfer money from one account to the next if needed so he does have some access to my accounts but he's not allowed to challenge any of my purchases as long as the bills are paid and vice versa.

We've had it this way for several years (when I got sick of him spazzing every time I spent a penny) and it works for us.

[ChrisR]

We have his, hers, and our checking accounts. I am the financial one though, so I rarely use mine any more. It only has $10 in it and use it to transfer funds to my various IRAs. DH doesn't use his all that much either. He keeps a couple of hundred so if he needs to splurge he doesn't worry about a check bouncing since he doesn't know the state of our account usually.

[gwenj]

We have "our" account that almost everything gets paid out of. I have "my" account, that I mostly use for travel, crafting supplies and other personal items... It just works out best that way--I don't have to worry about whether there is enough "left" to do my thing.

[Paula]

Only one account. We both will balance it, depends on who has the most time. And we both will pay the bills, too. Works for us and is easier for us this way. Life should be simple

Paula
ps-that does not mean I will tell him how much *stash* I have in my billfold! Bwahahahaha

[nancine]

we have a joint acct. We both put our money in and I take care of the rest - he's got his CC and I give him cash to keep in his wallet!

[Yoli]

Gosh no . . . then I would have two checking accounts to balance every month!

I know I'm weird but I love balancing my checking accounts... When I was first divorced a long time ago, I used to balance my ex's account for him for the first couple of years... and while I was working, I helped one of women who worked for me to budget her money and balance her checkbook...

And about a grillion years ago, when I took Bookkeeping in high school, I LOVED doing practice sets.. I would ask for additional ones to do..

Oh, dear,

Clar

Wish we lived nearby. I would love to do a better job with the books and the budget as a whole.

[paddlegal]

We just have the one acct and I take care of it, pay all the bills etc. But I rarely actually write any checks since all monthly bills are taken care of automatically. If DH needs a check he asks me to write one. We tend to use the CC for everything and then pay one bill. We don't like to carry much cash on us either.