<prompt> Human: Hi, all:Ive been with my girlfriend for 6.5 years, and were going to be getting married in the next year. Weve lived together for 5.5 years. I think that we could be better off financially if we pooled our paychecks, and had a household budget rather than his and hers.Im not sure how to go about this. Ive read online that some couples have a primary account that both paychecks go into, and any spending from that account is agreed on by both parties. Then, the couple each has their own separate account that a small allowance is deposited into periodically for gas, lunch, incidentals.I would prefer not to use cash for the allowance, as I like to use mint.com to track spending and trends, but Im open to all suggestions.Does this seem smart, or does it seem like a nightmare? What account setup do you use in your relationship?Thanks in advance for your input.  <response>: My wife and I figured out our monthly expenses and then opened a new account under both of our names. We each diverted enough money from each paycheck into that account to cover all normal monthly expenditures, and paid all bills from that account. The rest went into our personal accounts. 