Joint Accounts and Debt Payoff.

Combining finances as a couple is not always easy, different couples, use different systems. We (dh and I) use the three account system; two personal accounts and one bill account, which we both pay into. I think we will always do this as I can never see a time when either of us doesn't want our own account. Having said that, as time moves on and my debt freedom day gets nearer we are combining more and more things and it feels right.

I've always viewed my debt as a separate entity* and mine to pay off, so we've kept everything apart. We allocate a certain amount of money to fund our bills and our goals, the rest is our personal money to do with as we wish. I use mine mainly to pay down my debt, but once it's gone, we will need to rethink how we do things. When we move to Portugal, in 2012, we will need another rethink, our system needs to be constantly evolving.

* The reason I run two blogs is for this reason; I see this as my debt, 'turn my life around' blog and Move To Portugal as a joint blog about how we plan to move abroad. I hope this makes sense! Once my debt is paid off though, I see this blog continuing as a place to plot our progress towards our financial goals.