My husband and I have pooled our resources ever since we moved in together. I’ve never earned anywhere near what he does so keeping things separate never made sense. For us, it’s worked out, for the most part, for over 40 years. I manage the money.

Since my husband is much more of a spender than I am, I transfer money that’s direct deposited in our credit union account from which we pay bills into a second joint account that he knows about but doesn’t want the details. That’s where I make sure we have emergency funds and save up for trips and things. He limits himself to one credit card that we pay off each month.

I read once that a couple should have three accounts. One is a joint account from which you pay for fixed and ordinary expenses. What’s left over is split equally into each partner’s personal account to be spent on whatever they wish. This, theoretically, would eliminate arguing about how discretionary income is spent. I liked the idea but we were never able to stick to it.

We both came into the relationship with no money (we met in college). If, however, we both had a lot of our own money when we met, we might have done things differently. First Lady Ladybird Johnson once said she wouldn’t have a joint bank account with the Angel Gabriel. She had inherited wealth and, when she married, she intended to keep control of it.