We have a one joint checking, one joint savings, and a checking account in my name only.

The joint checking is his account. He knows that he can spend the money in there. Since he is extremely bad with checks, he doesn't have to worry about that. It is also better if he knows exactly how much he has, and how long he has to go on that amount.

His pay gets directly deposited into my account. I transfer his money over to his account. Our accounts are with the same online bank, so transfering money from one account to the other takes a second after I do the transfer. I give him his money for the week, and use the rest to pay the tithe and bills and put some back in the savings.

Of course, we both agreed with this before I set up an account in my name only. Some of our bills need to be paid by check like our gas and rent. Yes, our gas company is behind the times. He is extremely bad with checks. He finally got the the point that he asks what my check book says we have in the account.

If he asks where the money went, I tell him to read the check book. I use two line entry, and try to put down as much as possible. When he sees all the transfers to his account and what they were for, he usually doesn't say anything. He is usually happy when I keep all the bills paid up to current.

 

Separate works best for us. Hubby's pay gets direct deposited to his comdata card. He keeps a portion for his expenses and then transfers the rest to our checking account and I pay the bills. It helps him to keep a budget. He knows exactly how much money he has and he can stretch it out as needed and I don't have to worry about him taking money out of the checking account and forgetting to tell me.

He also has a credit card with him for emergencies.

His company changed policy and we can now have his check direct deposited to our bank account, but we've decided to leave it the way it is.

It's kind of nice because neither one of us feels like the other is in "charge" of the money.