2. Set up three separate accounts

Setting up three separate accounts is a great way to know what money is going towards personal expenses and “couple” expenses. Make a complete list of all the things that you both agree are “couple” expenses so that there won’t be any arguments later when one of you uses your joint account for something that might not exactly be a “couple” expense.

You should definitely discuss the accounts at every month’s business meeting as your expenses, whether they are individual or joint, will change on a month to month basis. You will also have to decide the amount of money that will go into each account; based on your incomes this will be different for every couple.

3. Begin with an envelope system

If you are both visual people then try out the envelope system by labeling several envelopes with categories like food, savings, vacation, rent, electricity, bills and entertainment. If you are in need of a lot of help and really want to stick to a budget then put the amount of cash you can spend on each category into the envelopes.

But since most things are paid online or via checks or credit cards these days you might want to simply keep a list of what you have spent on each category in the envelopes.