Articles / Blogs

Congratulations! Since you are landing here, it is either you just got married or you are about to get married.

I believe whether to combine money or finances after marriage is a question to many of us now. This was not a question in the past when there was only single breadwinner in the family especially in the baby boomer generation. However, this is an important consideration for current generation where both partners are now working in the family.

Pro & Cons of Combining Money / Merging Finances after Marriage.

Pros

1. Easier – Managing one set of finances will definitely be easier and is less time consuming than managing two sets.
2. Greater resources to achieve financial goal – by combining income, we have greater resources that we can leverage on to achieve our financial goal.
3. Better ability to obtain loan – This is common in Malaysia as most couples jointly borrow money especially to qualify for housing loan.

CONS

1. Arguments – It is common for couple to argue over financial matters. When both combine their earnings and spending, one may not agree with another expenses.
2. No privacy – Honestly, most couples will still want to have certain level of privacy about one’s finances . It may also lead to suspicion if the partner does not completely share his or her finances.
3. Harder separation – Things are unpredictable. It will be hard to separate the money if unfortunately the couple decide to separate later or any other unfortunate events.

Actually there are few articles found about the pros and cons of combining money or merging finances after marriage. So, my intention is not to do further comparisons here. But, what I would actually like to draw attention to is another option, which is creating a 3rd account.

How about 3rd Account?

Instead of combining or separating money, maybe couple can think of creating a 3rd account. When we create this 3rd account, we must first:

1. Agree how each person contributes to this 3rd account.
2. Agree what spending can this 3rd account being used for.
3. Agree what is the financial goal that this 3rd account want to achieve together.
4. Agree that this account is jointly owned by both husband and wife.

Or, another way of managing 3rd account will be – fully combining our finances but each person is given a personal allowance.

Hope by now, you have an idea which may suit you better. Or, if you have other options, feel free to share with us.