The trend used to be once you got married you combined your households, women took the husband’s last name, and the couples merged their bank accounts. What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is mine the saying went.  A new generation is saying not so fast! According to a study from Bank of America, millennials are saying “thanks but no thanks” to this conventional norm. And they seem to be happier for it.

What’s the big deal with combining your accounts?

Vast numbers of millennials are products of divorced homes. They witnessed what their parents went through when they split and the headache that ensues when you uncouple everything, including your finances. The millennial generation has decided to take a pass on dealing with that burden should they get married and then divorce. 

Millennials also enjoy the autonomy that comes with separate accounts. Should they choose to buy their spouse a present or splurge on a purchase, they don’t have to worry about what their spouse will say about the expenditure. They are free to make their own financial decisions as long as they make their contributions to the joint household bills. And, quite frankly, they like it that way.

Millennials are also marrying later than previous generations. Studies show that the average age for someone getting married for the first time in the US has risen to 28 for men and 26 for women. By that age, an individual has a lengthy bank and credit history. The bank account they maintain could be at least ten years old, if not more. The person has held loans and purchased vehicles and perhaps even property. Unlike in the past, both parties have a financial history.

What’s the advantage of keeping separate accounts?

It makes less sense for a couple to combine financially now compared to past generations. Couples had to combine finances in the '80s and even '90s. Fewer women worked, so they relied on the income of their husbands for any type of money. Until 1974, it wasn’t even a guarantee that a bank would open a bank account for a woman without a male co-signer. Now, women make up close to 50% of the workforce and have no issues opening an account without male assistance. They don’t “need” access to their husband’s money. They make their own now and can manage it as well.

No one wants to think about anything negative when it comes to their relationship, but there may come a time when you are no longer married to your current spouse. It may not even be that your marriage dissolved. Your spouse could, sadly, pass away. For those reasons alone, it’s prudent to have your own financial accounts.

This does not mean that you shouldn’t create a joint account for joint household expenses. Nor does this mean you should be honest with your partner about money issues. But you can do those things and keep a level of autonomy. Even in a marriage, financial independence is still essential.