By Rachel Bowie

Before I got married, I was adamant about one thing: separate bank accounts. My parents advised me otherwise. So did a few friends. But my now-husband and I had lived together for a few years pre-marriage and never had an issue relying on apps like Venmo to square up on joint expenses like my half of the rent or his half of the cable bill. Plus, IMO, it meant that we could continue to maintain some semblance of our independence. (He doesnt really need to know how much I spend at J.Crew, right?) Wrong. After a financial planner overhauled our spending habits , we found ourselves changing tactics. First step: Setting up a joint checking account (one thats fee-free), followed by a joint savings account (yep, we had previously kept those separate, too). We also opened a joint credit card for almost all incidental purchases. Heres how our relationship improved .

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