<prompt> Human: My girlfriend and I recently moved in together and were considering getting a joint checking account to pay bills, buy groceries, etc. We both bank at different institutions and thought establishing a line of credit somewhere else could be useful in the future for instance buying a home. I was wondering if the smart people of rpersonalfinance had any useful advise to offer on the subject of joint accounts or how to choose a bank.  <response>: Im not a financial expert, far from it. But please take my advice, unless you are planning to get married just dont do it, you dont need to and the ramifications can destroy either one of you if the relationship fails for whatever reason, trust me on this. 