Credit Cards for Married Couples
Should Spouses Have Separate Credit Cards?
Many financial experts suggest that married couples each have separate bank accounts and credit cards. I’m not going to debate whether that is good or bad advice here. However, if you are married and you and your spouse have separate credit cards and bank accounts, it is still important to keep the lines of communication open.
You May Be Responsible
In most states married couples are still equally responsible for their spouse’s credit card debt. So even if you have separate credit cards it’s a good idea to make sure that you regularly check each other’s credit card statements and stay informed about just how much money is owed on each credit card. It’s even more important to make an effort for each spouse to keep the other informed about his or her credit cards particularly if one spouse travels a lot for work. It can be too easy to let a few months pass without getting updated on any outstanding credit card balances or new debt. This can lead to financial difficulties rather easily.
Keep It Together
It’s still a good idea to store your credit card statements in the same location. Creating two separate filing systems can be inconvenient and an unnecessary expense. Retrieval will be much easier if you agree on one central storage location for all your bank and credit card statements.
Things to Consider
Keep in mind that if you and your spouse have separate credit cards you will be unable to call and speak to a customer service representative from your spouse’s credit card if there is a billing question or other issue. Credit card company representatives always ask whom they are speaking with and will only speak with the individual who was issued the credit card. This can be very inconvenient in families where one adult is an at-home parent and the other spends long hours at work.
For some individuals separate credit cards and bank accounts can help to keep things more organized. It can be very confusing to see many purchases on the same credit card. (There are also benefits of having established credit for both partners.) If having separate credit cards keeps you more organized and causes you to charge less, then stick with separate credit cards.