Thinking of combining your finances? Here are reasons why you should and why you should not:

Pros
- Finances are easier and much simpler to record and track. Your money is located in a center pool, making your earnings and expenses easier to handle. This is also effective if either husband or wife earns more than the other.

- You get better interest rates because your balances are bigger and you also get better deals with investments . You also pay fewer fees because you maintain fewer accounts.

- Either husband or wife lacks the discipline to handle their money, making combined finances the better choice.

Cons
- A joint return may not only make you ineligible for certain credits, it also puts you at a tax bracket that is higher than you’re used to.

- If you’re filing separately for your federal income tax return, you might find it disadvantageous if one spouse is getting a refund and the other owes the IRS money. You might also have to pay more if either the husband or wife has big medical expenditures, losses and other deductions that need to meet an income threshold in order to be claimed.

- If bills are addressed to just one spouse, the other might have a problem building his or her credit history. Not a problem if divorce or separation is a non-issue, but if it happens, it could mean a lot of headache for the other spouse.

- In case one spouse dies, access to the funds might be controlled in probate. It’s common for joint accounts to be frozen until the estate is settled by the court