Separate bank accounts for newlyweds

Joint bank accounts, which newlyweds used to open almost immediately after getting married, are losing their appeal as "most people like to have their 'own' money to spend without having to ­justify it to another person", a new study in Britain has revealed.

The survey by Tesco Bank found that modern couples do not take the plunge for at least two years and one in three couples don't do it at all, Daily Express reported.

Of those who do get married, 56 per cent like to maintain some kind of financial independence and don't pool their resources.

"This pooling of ­resources left some people feeling powerless or even exploited. Inequality remained an issue because many women did not - and still do not - earn as much as their male partners.

"So, the joint account needed ­careful negotiation. People aren't good at talking about money so it became an area where problems could lurk. Most people like to have their 'own' money to spend without having to ­justify it to another person," Karen Pine, co- author of the personal finance book Sheconomics, was quoted as saying.

While half of couples in Leeds, West Yorkshire, still pool their financial commitments, 70 per cent of couples in Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, prefer to keep their finances separate.

"Most of us still try to ­retain a modicum of f­inancial ­independence," said a Tesco Bank spokesperson.