Separate Bank Accounts The Secret Of Long, Happy Marriage –Report

Forget love and romance, the real secret of a long and happy
marriage is separate bank accounts, according to a report.

More than a quarter of cohabiting and married Britons blamed
divorce-inducing quarrels on outdated monetary ties.

Although the majority of couples still accepted that a joint
bank account has the potential of building trust and openness, one
in four claimed that amalgamating income — and especially savings —
was likely to cause irreversible rifts that could end in break-up
or divorce.

The poll of more than 2,000 adults was commissioned by the
consumer finance website MoneyMagpie.com as part of a wider study
by Opinium Research into Britain’s spending habits.

Founder and consumer affairs expert Jasmine Birtles said the
findings reflect positively on newlyweds who are taking proactive
steps to reduce the risk of unnecessary conflict before it
arises.

She said: ‘The results of this research appear to suggest that
more people than ever before are choosing to keep their finances
separate after getting married or moving in together.

‘For a considerable number of people, it seems, the decision to
retain financial autonomy is not based upon money at all but rather
upon on the long-term health of their relationship.’

While joint bank accounts could be a simple way of managing
household spending for newlyweds, the survey suggested that couples
were increasingly reluctant to lose their financial
independence.

Of the 2,005 adults polled, 34 per cent of married and
living-as-married couples opted to keep their bank accounts
separate.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, older couples who had been together for
more than 30 years were by far the most likely to have a joint
account — 80 per cent.

But the number of joint accounts dropped markedly among those in
relationships of less than six years, 52 per cent, while fewer
still were shared by those in relationships of less than three
years — 40 per cent.

Of those without joint accounts, the overwhelming majority, 81
per cent, said the primary driver was financial independence.

Some 24 per cent of those with joint accounts admitted to
feeling ‘guilty’ using combined funds for their own personal use or
enjoyment and more than a third, 34 per cent, of all respondents
agreed that having individual accounts was fairer on their partner,
in that it reduced the risk of excessive spending.

Ms Birtles said a joint account is far easier to manage – and
access – in the event of a partner’s death.

However, she added: ‘There has clearly been a trend among
younger couples, or couples in young relationships, to move away
from joint bank accounts. In the view of some respondents, doing so
will prevent the inevitable rows — which in some extreme cases may
be divorce-inducing – that excessive spending will cause.’

(DailyMail)

Forget love and romance, the real secret of a long and happy
marriage is separate bank accounts, according to a report.

More than a quarter of cohabiting and married Britons blamed
divorce-inducing quarrels on outdated monetary ties.

Although the majority of couples still accepted that a joint
bank account has the potential of building trust and openness, one
in four claimed that amalgamating income — and especially savings —
was likely to cause irreversible rifts that could end in break-up
or divorce.

The poll of more than 2,000 adults was commissioned by the
consumer finance website MoneyMagpie.com as part of a wider study
by Opinium Research into Britain’s spending habits.

Founder and consumer affairs expert Jasmine Birtles said the
findings reflect positively on newlyweds who are taking proactive
steps to reduce the risk of unnecessary conflict before it
arises.

She said: ‘The results of this research appear to suggest that
more people than ever before are choosing to keep their finances
separate after getting married or moving in together.

‘For a considerable number of people, it seems, the decision to
retain financial autonomy is not based upon money at all but rather
upon on the long-term health of their relationship.’

While joint bank accounts could be a simple way of managing
household spending for newlyweds, the survey suggested that couples
were increasingly reluctant to lose their financial
independence.

Of the 2,005 adults polled, 34 per cent of married and
living-as-married couples opted to keep their bank accounts
separate.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, older couples who had been together for
more than 30 years were by far the most likely to have a joint
account — 80 per cent.

But the number of joint accounts dropped markedly among those in
relationships of less than six years, 52 per cent, while fewer
still were shared by those in relationships of less than three
years — 40 per cent.

Of those without joint accounts, the overwhelming majority, 81
per cent, said the primary driver was financial independence.

Some 24 per cent of those with joint accounts admitted to
feeling ‘guilty’ using combined funds for their own personal use or
enjoyment and more than a third, 34 per cent, of all respondents
agreed that having individual accounts was fairer on their partner,
in that it reduced the risk of excessive spending.

Ms Birtles said a joint account is far easier to manage – and
access – in the event of a partner’s death.

However, she added: ‘There has clearly been a trend among
younger couples, or couples in young relationships, to move away
from joint bank accounts. In the view of some respondents, doing so
will prevent the inevitable rows — which in some extreme cases may
be divorce-inducing – that excessive spending will cause.’

(DailyMail)