Shared bank account

Never, not under any cicumstances. Not without marriage.

I would not even think about doing this if you are not married. This is like giving access to a collection agency.

Shure its a big step but its one that should come naturaly as time passes. I feel that it is a must at some point! But i also agree that you should also have seperate bank accounts as well!

Doing something like this calls for a relationship where two people have been together a long time, and very successfully, I might add.  And I still think each person should have a separate account, in addition to the shared one for things like bills and such.

I have yet to explore this level .. and I've been married for over 3 years. There is committed and then there is behavior for which you should be committed. I prefer the former.

This shows EXTREME trust in eachother and bank accounts should we watched. It's a good idea to get one if you're married and a bad one if you're in the dating scene.

It just makes things so much easier on us.

I'm not so sure That I would be willing to share an account with anyone, but that's because I'd probably be OC when it came to the books. It's easier for me to maintain an account when I don't have to keep track of another person adding or withdrawing from the account.

Woah...Sharing your money is definitely a statement that you are ready for something ultra serious. I just started a joint account with my wife 6 months after we were married, and I still felt a little uncomfortable about it. We have had access to each other's accounts for several years now, but there is still some security for me in having my own personal account.

Would consider this in marriage or a business or investment in a house...pretty serious stuff. My mate had a girl who emptied all the money out of his account...

Sharing a bank account (in most cases) shows that said couple is bound closely eough to consider long term commitment. I've never heard of people joining accounts if it was just a fling or a one night stand. This is a sign that you'll be together for a long time, if not life.

Kind of a big deal, when we started sharing the same last name we started sharing our cash. Sure makes it easier to pay the bills, and there hasn't been a problem with it so far (partially since we're decided that the bill-paying is up to just me so that there's no conflict on who's job it is to do what, and we spend pretty much all our free time together so that we don't buy stuff that the other doesn't know about, anyhow. Not that we care that much.) Only good if you're SURE that you know what you're getting into, could be bad if you're not with someone you can trust.

If the next level is marriage, then it might be fine, and even then. Many married couples don't have shared bank accounts. Bottom line is that there are many different views of money management. Some couples have similar views on how to manage money and there's where you can have the shared bank account. One of the top reasons why people get divorced is money. If the both of you have disagree on the matter, then maybe it would be better to have separate accounts.

uhhh, no I don't think this is a good idea. What if you date a compulsive shopper? your skrewed.

I might be the oddball on this one, but I think when a person offers the freedom of their bank account with their partner...it is a good thing, it is a sign that your love is more important than materialistic things. Anyone who chooses money over me is dumped almost immediately...

I have a hard time sharing a bank account with myself... This is one step that, for me, will have to wait til marriage.

This could cause a lot of conflict. What if you break up? Then what happens? Wait until you're married to share a bank account. As another poster stated, some married couples have separate accounts, and I don't think that's a bad idea at all.

Won't do this until I'm married. Spending my money = conflict.

This is a big deal, it goes along the lines of moving in together. It definitely puts a new spin on things.