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Tag: personal finances

  • More couples are ditching joint bank accounts, and experts see a benefit

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    First comes love, then marriage, and then separate bank accounts.

    The days of “what’s yours is mine” may be behind us as more and more couples move toward keeping their personal finances personal.

    According to 2023 data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Survey of Income and Program Participation, the share of couples without any joint bank accounts rose by more than half, from 15% in 1996 to 23% in 2023. Meanwhile, the share of couples with joint bank accounts has declined, though the practice remains common.

    Marrying later in life, after finances have already been established, may be one reason fewer couples are combining accounts, the survey said.

    A more recent survey from Bankrate underscores this, finding that fewer than 2 in 5 American couples (38%) completely combine their finances, and about 1 in 4 (26%) keep their financial accounts completely separate. The remaining 36% have a mix of joint and separate accounts.

    Read more: Should unmarried couples have joint bank accounts?

    Experts say these kinds of boundaries aren’t necessarily about shutting your partner out. It’s more about protecting your personal security within your relationship.

    “Many couples choose to keep some or all of their finances separate to preserve autonomy or reduce conflict,” said Kimberly Miller, lawyer, marriage, and family therapist, CFP®, CDFA®, and founder of PartWise, a divorce education platform. “This approach can feel especially practical for partners who entered the relationship with assets or debts, substantially different incomes, or children.”

    Some couples may also choose to keep their finances separate if one or both partners have experienced financial control or instability.

    Miller notes that separate or hybrid financial arrangements are especially prominent among younger generations, who favor independence over shared finances, as well as among some older generations, who may be in their second or third marriages and tend to prioritize personal asset protection.

    However, keeping your finances separate can also come with emotional downsides — and potential tax implications.

    “Clarity, openness, and fewer financial disputes are some advantages. It can hold each partner responsible for spending habits and make budgeting easier,” said Jenny Bradley, a board-certified family law specialist, author, certified mediator, and the founder of Triangle Smart Divorce in North Carolina. “But if there is no mutual understanding, it can bring about suspicion or estrangement. If a couple is overly strict about their separation, they may also lose out on some of the monetary benefits of combining resources, such as pooled investments or tax breaks.”

    In 2025, Married Filing Separately taxpayers get a standard deduction of $15,750. However, couples who file jointly get a standard deduction of $31,500, which is up from $14,600 and $29,200, respectively, in 2024. Filing jointly also raises certain income thresholds so that you can still qualify for tax breaks you may not have qualified for as a single filer.

    Read more: Tax brackets and rates for 2025-2026

    Your finances don’t have to be completely joint or completely separate. In fact, most partners strike the perfect balance somewhere in the middle. However, in order to do that, you’ll need to have open and honest communication with your significant other about how you envision your financial relationship with them.

    As your relationship and your finances evolve over time, your decision to keep things joint or separate could change, which is why it’s important to keep the lines of communication open and check in with each other frequently to make sure that your current arrangement is still the best fit.

    If you tackle these conversations early on in your relationship, you can set clear boundaries and come up with an arrangement that you’ll both be happy with.

    “Money conversations should begin early, ideally before major commitments like living together, marriage, or having children,” said Miller. “Ongoing financial communication and goal setting also make sense. Setting financial parameters in a relationship works best when couples start with shared financial goals, agree on what expenses are joint versus individual, and document decisions in writing, even though that may not be protected in divorce.”

    As you’re approaching these conversations with your partner, it’s also important to keep in mind that your partner’s approach to money is rarely arbitrary. Their financial decisions and habits are likely influenced by a number of factors, including their upbringing and culture.

    “Seeing financial volatility as a child may make someone more cautious and want to keep money separate,” Bradley said. “Others may organically merge if they were raised in houses where money was shared. Knowing each partner’s past helps develop a strategy that benefits both parties.”

    If you’re embarking on this financial journey with your partner and aren’t sure how you want to proceed, there are a few steps you can take to come up with the right arrangement.

    • Come to the table with your financial facts: Knowing your partner’s financial situation, including debts, assets, spending habits, and financial values, can help you level set and pinpoint the areas where you are most aligned. This is also an opportunity to ask questions and better understand your partner and their money philosophy — and for them to do the same.

    • Be honest about any emotional feelings this process can stir up: As you’re having these conversations with your partner, be honest about how the process is making you feel. Not disclosing your feelings can create a barrier between the two of you and could lead you to make choices that aren’t necessarily aligned with what you want.

    • Decide what’s absolutely a joint expense or goal: Splitting up your goals and expenses into “yours, mine, ours” columns can help you see your shared financial picture from an aerial view and understand how your money works together. This can help you determine if a joint financial situation is appropriate or if keeping things separate — or at least partially separate — makes the most sense. For example, if one partner has student loans on an income-driven repayment plan, maintaining some financial separation — particularly around tax filing and income reporting — can help protect the other partner from taking on that debt and may prevent monthly payments from increasing due to a higher combined household income.

    • Set up regular check-ins: Your finances can and will change. As such, you’ll want to keep things flexible, check in with your partner periodically, and be open to your arrangement changing to better accommodate your finances and goals.

    Read more: 4 common mistakes couples make that lead to divorce (and how to avoid them)

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  • Klarna goes public as 3 in 4 Americans rely on buy-now, pay-later. Experts worry it’s snowballing ‘quickly into a serious financial burden’ | Fortune

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    Swedish fintech firm Klarna just made its highly anticipated debut on the New York Stock Exchange, raising $1.37 billion and locking in a $15 billion valuation. But finance and legal experts are becoming wary of the growing risks associated with the ballooning buy-now, pay later (BNPL) industry. 

    Klarna, known for its short-term, interest-free financing solutions for consumers, has rapidly expanded its user base to more than 100 million globally, partnering with more than 720,000 retailers. The Wednesday IPO is a signal of how large and influential BNPL options have become. According to a survey published Wednesday by LegalShield of more than 2,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 80, a whopping three-fourths of people rely on BNPL services, which also include products like Affirm, Afterpay, and Sezzle. Even PayPal has a BNPL option.

    Although Klarna and other BNPL services are growing increasingly popular—often replacing credit cards for some younger generations—that doesn’t mean they’re without risks. While the service can allow for consumers to break up large purchases into more digestible payments, if they have too many of these in place, the costs can easily rack up.

    “We’re hearing story after story of people overextending themselves, juggling payments from various loan companies and banks,” Rebecca A. Carter, a LegalShield provider lawyer with Friedman, Framme & Thrush, said in a statement. “What many don’t realize is that if you aren’t disciplined about managing the payment schedules and budgeting, it can snowball quickly into a serious financial burden.”

    Analysts have coined this shift from flexible financing to a “bandage for basics” ahead of the FICO pilot, according to Storyful Intelligence. 

    And what many people—nearly 40% of consumers, according to LegalShield—also don’t realize is that BNPL will soon impact credit scores for people who use it to buy things like clothing, furniture, concert tickets, takeout food, or even an Airbnb stay. Starting this fall, FICO scores will include BNPL data from consumers.

    “Buy Now, Pay Later loans are playing an increasingly important role in consumers’ financial lives,” Julie May, vice president and general manager of B2B Scores at FICO, said in a statement. “We’re enabling lenders to more accurately evaluate credit readiness, especially for consumers whose first credit experience is through BNPL products.”

    Complex financial tool

    LegalShield also warns 45% of BNPL users have faced legal or contractual disputes from using the financing service, with 62% of those reporting billing errors and 60% forced to pay even after returning items. But many of these customers just give up, LegalShield found, and just pay incorrect charges or don’t know they have the legal right to dispute them.

    “BNPL has evolved from a simple payment option into a complex financial tool that, without proper understanding and legal guidance, can gradually become overwhelming for families,” Carter said. 

    To be sure, not all aspects of BNPL services are bad. They’ve given consumers more purchasing power, an interest-free option for paying off major purchases, and instant gratification for customers who would otherwise have to save up for a long time to make a high-ticket purchase. It’s also been positive for merchants in that they can have increased sales volume and expand to new customer demographics. 

    Personal finance experts have also offered advice to consumers for not getting overwhelmed by BNPL payments—chiefly not spending more than you make. 

    “Credit card debt is a terrible place to be. Interest rates are unbelievable, and if you find yourself in that trap, it can be so hard to get out of,” Allyson Kiel, a private wealth advisor at Synovus Bank, previously told Fortune’s Preston Fore. “If it’s a want and not a need, you should wait.”

    Consumers can also expect more BNPL innovations in the future—particularly in light of Klarna’s IPO.

    “This isn’t the finish line. It’s fuel,” Klarna CEO and cofounder Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in a statement about the IPO. “Fuel for us to keep disrupting, keep innovating, and keep making life easier for millions of people out there.

    Fortune Global Forum returns Oct. 26–27, 2025 in Riyadh. CEOs and global leaders will gather for a dynamic, invitation-only event shaping the future of business. Apply for an invitation.

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