Why Millennial and Gen Z couples aren’t putting all their money in joint bank accounts
Erin McCarthy | The Philadelphia Inquirer (TNS)
Reema Malhotra-Phillips never considered giving up her bank account when she got married last year.
“As a woman I think it’s important to have financial independence,” she said, even though “I am planning on being with my husband until the day I die.”
When they bought their home in Philadelphia’s Fishtown neighborhood, the Phillipses did open a joint account to pay the mortgage and bills. They also take money out of that pot for vacations and other shared experiences.
But they keep the rest of their finances separate.
“I use my personal bank account for anything that doesn’t involve our home or something that my husband would be partaking in,” said Malhotra-Phillips, who works in sexual violence prevention education at the University of Pennsylvania. The personal card is swiped “when I’m out with my friends, when I’m at lunch at work, when I’m buying him gifts or other people gifts.”
Millennials like Malhotra-Phillips, 31, are more likely than other generations to keep at least some finances separate from their partners.