Advice for Couples on How to Handle Money如何管錢——給伴侶們的建議

卡拉·杜克沃特

Picking the right money-handling strategy for your family—separate finances， a joint account or something in between？—can make a big difference on how well you function and how well you get along.選擇合適的家庭財務管理方式——財務分開，開設共同賬戶或采取介于兩者之間的方式——會對家庭財務狀況和兩人關系產生重大影響。

What is the “right” way to manage finances with a partner or in a family？ As financial advisers， we are asked this question all the time. The answer is that there isnt just one right way—only the way that works best for your situation.

How to handle money effectively as a blended family1

Before you even consider what might be the best approach， you need to first understand each others priorities and attitudes about money. This will help you figure out how you are similar and， importantly， how you are different so that you can identify potential problems before they arise. Additionally， you may find that one approach works now， but you would like to have a different arrangement in the future—for example， if both partners are working now， you may choose one approach but would like to change tacks if one parent steps out of the workforce to focus on raising children in the future. Before you decide whether you want to keep your finances separate or combine them， you need to consider some important factors：

Run both of your credit scores

If one partner has a poor credit score， being married wont necessarily affect the other spouses score. However， if you open joint accounts or apply for credit （such as a mortgage） together， both partners credit scores may be considered， and this could make a difference on the approved loan amount or interest rate you are offered.

Check your individual credit scores and share them with each other so that you have an idea of where you stand. If one spouse has a poor credit history stemming from bankruptcy or foreclosure， the couple might not even qualify at all for a joint loan—even if the other spouse has excellent credit.

Forge an equal and clear partnership

Be clear with your expectations. Maybe that means that you agree that any purchase above a certain dollar amount needs a joint decision before the money is spent. Perhaps that means you have a monthly “The Business of Us” meeting to discuss your budget， your progress toward joint financial goals and discussions about who is responsible for handling what part of your financial responsibilities.

To combine or not： pick your best strategy

There are many factors to consider when deciding how you want to approach handling finances， but in general， there are four main ways to proceed：

Keep your finances separate. You dont have any joint accounts， and bills are split by agreed arrangement. The keys to making this approach work are that you communicate regularly and directly on how you will be splitting the bills—a 50/50 split may work when both partners have similar incomes， but a 70/30 split may make more sense if one partner makes significantly more than the other. You can also decide that the electric bill and the cable bill are about the same amount each month， so one of you pays the electric bill in full and your partner takes care of the cable bill. When you keep finances separate， you also need to decide the mechanics of how the payments are made. Do you each want to write a check/online bill pay for your portion， or does one person pay the whole amount and the other reimburses？

Joint finances. You combine all your income into a joint account and use it for all expenses， whether they are bigger bills， such as rent/mortgage， or smaller things， such as groceries， entertainment and personal expenses， including clothing and haircuts. This method makes understanding your budget easier， because you both can see where all your money is coming in and going out， but you want to make sure you have established what you each think is reasonable to avoid disagreements about money. This scenario is one where a pre-established spending limit above which discussion is required is helpful to avoid possible arguments.

Establish an “allowance”. If one of you is not earning an income （for example， a stay-at-home parent）， the main breadwinner can transfer an agreed-upon amount to the others account each week or month to cover household bill management or personal spending money. With this approach， it is important to make sure you are comfortable with this idea—the allowance isnt a gift or favor， but an understanding that raising children or caring for an aging parent is a job too， even if it is unpaid work. You should regularly discuss whether the allowance amount is enough to cover the agreed-upon expenses， as well.

Share some funds/expenses， but keep others separate. Totally separate or fully shared not feeling right for your situation？ You can do a compromise approach of “yours， mine and ours，” wherein you have a joint account to pay shared expenses but keep your own individual accounts to pay for your personal needs. This method makes it easy to budget for combined expenses while keeping some independence and privacy. You should open an account for payment of shared bills where each partner contributes a specified amount toward those expenses， and the balance goes to your separate accounts. You can decide if you are going to split the amount needed to cover the monthly joint expenses evenly or come up with a contribution amount that is proportional to your incomes.

與伴侶共同管理家庭財務的“正確”方式是什么？作為財務顧問，我們經常被問到這個問題。答案是：沒有所謂的正確方法，只有最適合你的方法。

混合型家庭如何有效管理財務

在考慮最佳方法之前，首先需要了解雙方的優(yōu)先考慮事項和金錢觀。這有助于明確彼此的相似之處，更重要的是，明確彼此的不同之處，這樣才可以發(fā)現潛在問題。此外，某種方式也許現在適用，但是將來可能會做出調整。例如，如果雙方現在都有工作，會選擇一種財務管理方式，但是如果將來有一方退出職場，全職在家?guī)Ш⒆樱瑒t可能改弦更張。在決定財務分開還是合并之前，需要考慮一些重要因素。

查看雙方信用分數

如果一方信用分數較低，結婚不一定會影響配偶的分數。但是，如果開設共同賬戶或者共同申請貸款（比如按揭），則需要考慮雙方的信用分數。一方信用分數過低可能會影響獲批的貸款額度或利率。

核實各自的信用分數并告知彼此，搞清所處的信用等級。如果夫妻一方由于破產或喪失抵押品贖回權有了不良信用記錄，那么即使另一方信用很好，這對夫妻也可能根本無法獲得聯合貸款資格。

建立平等、明確的伴侶關系

明確彼此的期待。這也許意味著雙方達成一致：超出一定金額的消費，需要雙方共同決定。這也許意味著每月召開一次“家庭財務”例會，討論家庭預算，了解共同財務目標進展，明確財務責任分配。

是否合并：選擇最佳策略

決定如何管理財務，需要考慮許多因素，但是通常有四種主要方式：

財務分開。沒有開設任何共同賬戶，按約定方式分攤賬單。這種方法可行的關鍵在于，定期直接溝通賬單分攤方式。如果雙方收入相當，可以采用五五開的分攤比例，但是如果一方收入顯著高于另一方，三七開的分攤比例更為合理。如果每月電費和有線電視費大致相同，可以商定一方全額支付電費，另一方負擔有線電視費。在財務分開的情況下，還需確定付款方式。雙方是希望通過支票或網上銀行各自繳費，還是一方先全額墊付，另一方稍后付還？

賬目合并。將所有收入合并到一個共同賬戶，用于所有開支，無論是大額賬單（如房租或者抵押貸款），還是小額開銷（如食品雜貨，娛樂和包括服裝、理發(fā)費用在內的個人開支）。使用這種方式更容易掌握預算狀況，因為雙方都能清楚地了解家庭資金的收支流向。但是要確定雙方都接受的合理開銷，以避免財務分歧。在這種方案中，預先設定支出限額（超出限額，需要協商）有助于避免可能出現的爭論。

商定“生活費”。如果一方沒有收入（例如全職父母），掙錢養(yǎng)家的一方按月或者按周將商定的金額轉到對方賬戶，用以支付家庭賬單或個人開銷。對于這種方式，重要的是確保雙方能坦然接受以下觀點：即生活費不是贈予或恩惠，而是表示認同養(yǎng)育子女或照顧年邁的父母也是工作，即使這是一份無償的工作。此外，還應定期討論生活費是否滿足商定的開銷。

共用部分資金或者分擔部分開支，其他方面則分開管理。財務完全分開或全部共同分擔不適合你們的情況？那么可以采取“你的、我的和我們的”這一折衷的方法：使用共同賬戶支付共同開銷，同時保留個人賬戶用以支付個人花銷。這種方法易于為共同開支制定預算，同時保持一定的獨立性和私密性。開設一個賬戶，用于支付共同賬單。雙方分別向此賬戶存入特定金額，用于共同開銷，余額存入個人賬戶。你們還可以商定，是打算均攤每月共同開銷，還是按照收入確定出資比例。

（譯者為“《英語世界》杯”翻譯大賽獲獎選手;單位：南京師范大學中北學院）