[Closed] Joint bank account

Consider Santander 123. Halved the interest rate a while a ago but still better than most plus cash back on some utilities.

We use NatWest. The premium accounts they have cash back on bills which pretty much covers the fees then you get various extras like phone and travel insurance, discounts on meals out. The travel insurance is actually pretty good. The app is OK.

Been looking at natwest and Santander. Currently have a Nationwide flexplus with travel insurance,breakdown etc and it's excellent. Missus gets nout off Lloyd's so would be good to get her covered also.

An I better off doing it before we complete or after as I don't want a credit search to ruin our mortgage being cancelled before we complete.

An I better off doing it before we complete or after as I don’t want a credit search to ruin our mortgage being cancelled before we complete

When I did something similar recently my mortgage advisor suggested waiting until after completion before opening a new bank account just in case there was any issue with the mortgage.

Bear in mind santander is £5 a month, maybe they all cost these days though. However if you keep a float of 20k in there that will earn about £22 + cashback from bills will nearly cover the fee.

This is not a criticism ..and please forgive this "advice " if it's not needed but you mentioned at the beginning of your post that both you and your girlfriend / partner were putting equal amounts of money into the account for the purpose of paying bills ..which is great if you are both earning equal amounts of salary ...(obviously if you are earning less then this does not apply ..as you are happy enough with the arrangement )

However this can lead to a certain amount of resentment  if for example you are earning a whole lot more than your partner ..( I'm using my daughter's situation as a reference point) ...if this is the case do the right thing and ensure you both have a similar amount of money to "play " with and you adjust your contribution to reflect this ..

Nosey Parker mode over ...sorry !

Have a great life together ..😁

As for banks ..Barclays Premier has a lot of good features and you can tailor your account to suit your needs ..their banking app is good and they also have a rewards app..

We have a joint account, it's a well balanced system I put lots in the other half takes lots out.

It certainly works

We are both on similar money, she is on ever so slightly more. Just gonna add up all the outgoings, we have over estimated to start with and then split it down the middle.

Santander do a £5 a month one and a £1 a month version, also tsb will have a look at Barclay's also.

Won't be withdrawing from it, might use it to put holiday money in though and withdraw it.

Bear in mind santander is £5 a month, maybe they all cost these days though. However if you keep a float of 20k in there that will earn about £22 + cashback from bills will nearly cover the fee.

Yep, sorry - I forgot that it had a fee. We have a couple of them as sort of saving accounts. £20K in each with £500 going in and out every month and a couple of standing orders in each for bills. Effectively the bills and the fee get paid by the interest.

We use santander 123 for our joint account.  We keep our emergency float in there to earn interest and have easy access.  We pay in fixed amounts, I pay in a lot more plus I cover all the food, eating etc.  Most months have to beg wife for a few hundred to keep out of the overdraft 🙁

Means no spare cash for shiny bike parts any more

Normally whichever one is offering you cash to join up. I think First Direct have an offer at the moment.

Not everyone has a couple of spare 20k piles laying around though to make that work 🙂

Going back to the equal fun money split the other way to do it is to both pay in everything you earn to the joint account. Then both take a fixed allowance each for whatever. If there is an excess in the joint account at month's end move this to savings. When the savings builds to a certain point make an overpayment on the mortgage. It's a good habit to get into, your unlikely to both earn the same for ever and having the discussion now avoids future arguements. Also covers off keeping things equal if either of you take unpaid parental leave in the future.

Two accounts for two different purposes, we have both

Nationwide flexplus for the package benefits you mention. Definitely make this one a joint account so that you're both covered (for breakdown etc)

Santander 123 for the interest/utility DD payments - where you put any spare cash.

You mentioned at the beginning of your post that both you and your girlfriend / partner were putting equal amounts of money into the account for the purpose of paying bills ..which is great if you are both earning equal amounts of salary …(obviously if you are earning less then this does not apply ..as you are happy enough with the arrangement )

However this can lead to a certain amount of resentment  if for example you are earning a whole lot more than your partner ..( I’m using my daughter’s situation as a reference point) …if this is the case do the right thing and ensure you both have a similar amount of money to “play ” with and you adjust your contribution to reflect this ..

To counter this, my wife earns substantially less then I do (half, or close to) and she point blank refuses to contribute less as in her eyes we both live in the same house, use the same amount of electricity and eat the same food. Don't assume that whoever earns less will want to contribute less. I do contribute more but have to be very subtle in how I do it, so she will almost never pay from drinks on a night out and I put petrol into her car more than she does, but only as I make sure I drive it when it's close to empty and so can drop the "it was running on fumes so I filled it up" line.

Just to counter the joint account thingy, they can be a bit tricky to get shot of if relationships go wrong & one partner isn't willing to play ball. Just be aware - joint liabilities and all that 😒

Co-op was pretty good when I had one.

just to correct a comment above - you can't use standing orders to earn interest for the Santander 123 requirements - it must be at least 2 active DIRECT DEBITS (best if possible to use 2 of the specified direct debits that also earns cash back).

This is not a criticism ..and please forgive this “advice ” if it’s not needed but you mentioned at the beginning of your post that both you and your girlfriend / partner were putting equal amounts of money into the account for the purpose of paying bills ..which is great if you are both earning equal amounts of salary …(obviously if you are earning less then this does not apply ..as you are happy enough with the arrangement )

However this can lead to a certain amount of resentment  if for example you are earning a whole lot more than your partner ..( I’m using my daughter’s situation as a reference point) …if this is the case do the right thing and ensure you both have a similar amount of money to “play ” with and you adjust your contribution to reflect this ..

I know alllll about this.

A few years ago I earned a lot more than my wife, we had separate accounts and a shared 'household' account for bills and stuff - I worked out a figure that meant we had the same disposable income after shared expenses which meant me putting in £400 more than her, which was fine.

I guess because we didn't settle down till our 30s we are both quite independent (hence the above) but as time goes one you slowly get used to it so now we've got a joint account, we still keep a separate account for bills.

I'm happy to say that since my Wife's career goes from strength to strength her income his risen a lot, but sadly as my career (semi-intentionally) has stalled for the last 5 years or so, my income remains unchanged so she's almost caught up.

We get paid different days, when she gets paid she transfers her old 'bill money' into the joint account' and when I'm paid a few days later transfers my 'bill money' in... it makes absolutely no difference, but it irks me a bit that we haven't equalised the amounts.

If we ever decide the joint account isn't working for us (shit the bed it comes close sometimes when I'm trying to save a few quid for something and she burns through £30 a week in starbucks ha ha) It'll be quite 'the chat' to unwind this.

(yes, I over-think everything).

Do you need a joint account now it's so quick and easy to transfer money between accounts?

The wife and I have been together for 27 years and never had a joint account.