Jessie Gaynor, 34, and Robbie Mackey, 36, of Brooklyn, who married last May, have not merged their finances yet, either. “I mean, we’re planning to open a joint bank account but it’s always the last thing on the list,” said Ms. Gaynor, a writer and audience editor at Lit Hub in New York City.
Faiz Osman and Justin Goodemoot, both 35, say their wedding last year in Brooklyn didn’t inspire them to change anything else about their financial situation. They adopted a dog together, but “we don’t have joint accounts,” said Mr. Osman, a coordinator at an investment firm. “He is on my health insurance now, because I have better health insurance through work. But that’s really been the only big change.”
Other couples have found creative ways to share expenses without making much of a change in their financial lives.
Seth Dager, 32, and Eric Ball, 35, got married in upstate New York last year after dating for six years. They also do not share a bank account, but they do share expenses evenly. “We have a joint credit card that we use for our purchases,” said Mr. Dager, the head of creative at Mars Wrigley. “So like groceries or when we go out to dinner, and then we just split that bill, which has really helped alleviate financial pressures.”
In the current economic environment, some couples are feeling more anxious about their finances in general, even if they feel comfortable with the arrangements they have made with their partners. Ms. Lester and Mr. Henderson are both working from home but worried about the future. Mr. Henderson, who manages production at a distillery, has so far kept his job but said “the floor could drop out at any moment.”
“We had just started to save money with the goal of maybe one day purchasing a place, and all of a sudden that money became more of a teeny tiny safety net,” Ms. Lester said.