Figuring out how to handle the money thing is one of the biggest decisions Chris and I will have to make before we attach the ball and chain. Not surprisingly, most of the couples we’ve met up with have combined all of their duckets, preferring to work on a budget and all that shizat as a team. And while I don’t disdain this approach, I must say it’s not where we’re leaning.

Let’s just get something out in the open right now: neither Chris nor I are high-rolling, house-owning, swimming-in-money kinda kids. While we like to stay in hotels like the W and travel to exotic locations like Ephrata, Washington, we’re counting our cash like everyone else. Even if we become the Gatsbys of 2009, we don’t really feel like dropping all of our coin in the same money pot. It just doesn’t sound like a hell of a lot of fun. For example, I imagine the following conversation happening soon after bank account co-mingling:

Chris: Jaime, I bought you this lovely platinum bracelet from Tiffany!
Jaime: Why thank you darling! I couldn’t help but notice that $1,000 deduction on our online banking account yesterday! How thoughtful of you!
Chris: Smooches, did you really spend $4.50 on tampons yesterday? I saw they were two for one at Walgreen’s on Sunday. Tsk, tsk!

So instead of going the traditional route, we’re going to keep our own accounts and have financial summits on a quarterly basis. We’ll chat about how the past quarter has been, going over where we’re at with our current paychecks, and agree on how much we’ll each pay into the common pot for the next quarter. We’ll score a joint account to cover everyday/rent expenses and we’ll both sign up for a percentage that we’ll donate to a team savings account. The rest is ours to play with and spend on each other as we please.

Of course, we’re open to suggestions. Have at it- I’m sure you’ve got your own thing going on that works for you. Feel free to share it!