They've been together for 5 years but not married. She suggests a joint account but…….
John and Emma had been together for five years, and although they had talked about marriage, it just never seemed to happen. One day, while they were discussing their finances, Emma suggested they start a joint account. John hesitated, worried that she might spend all his money on new purses.
"Are you serious right now?" Emma asked incredulously. "We've been together for five years, and you think I'm going to just start splurging on purses with your money?" “What about my money?” The nerve of you.
John shook his head. "I just don't want to end up like my parents. They had a joint account, and my dad suffered for it."
Emma raised her eyebrows. "What do you mean, suffered?"
John sighed. "My mom was always buying things she didn't need, and my dad thought they were saving and she was spending like crazy. It caused a lot of arguments and stress."
Emma looked at John with understanding in her eyes. "I get it. But we don't have to be like them. We can set limits and be responsible with our spending."
John thought about it for a moment and looked at Emma. "No, I don’t think so."
That night, John slept on the couch, and for the rest of week because of the argument, but because his back was hurting from sleeping on the couch. The next day, he surprised Emma by setting up a joint Amazon account. She was thrilled at first, thinking it was their joint bank account.
But when she found out what it really was, she was livid. "Are you kidding me, John? This is not what we talked about!"
John tried to explain, but Emma wouldn't listen. For the next few weeks, they barely spoke, and John slept on the living room floor because the couch hurt his back and to avoid further conflict.
Eventually, they talked it out and didn’t come to an agreement and the still weren't married, they both knew that it was going to take baby steps towards a more committed future.