Question: My wife and I are selling our house. We have been through some tough financial times. I am a planner and want to take the profits from the house and keep them in a joint account where we can use the funds to start generating future wealth. My wife wants to split the profits and put half into an account for herself that she can spend anyway she sees fit. My argument is that when God said two should become one, that meant share everything. I think that having two separate accounts goes against biblical teaching. What is your opinion? Response: In my opinion, having separate/exclusive accounts/assets isn’t what God had in mind when He set up the marriage relationship. The Bible teaches that husbands and wives are to be one (see Genesis 2:24). Couples should pool their finances and their bills and have a common budget and common goals. A short-term goal would be a consolidated budget; long-term would be things like college education for your children, getting debt free, and ultimately retirement. You can’t achieve these goals as long as your function like two individuals living together–that’s not a picture of a biblical marriage. I believe the Lord would have you and your wife mutually agree on how to manage ALL of your funds/assets. If you can’t agree on how to handle the profits from the sale then I suggest you first agree to pray together about what you are to do, then discuss what the Lord gives each of you—look for a way to compromise to meet her goals yet keep the accounts joint. If you are still in disagreement I suggest you seek some professional help (not friends) in your area. Suggest your pastor or perhaps a Dave Ramsey (www.daveramsey.com) or Crown Financial Ministries (www.crown.org) representative in your area. You must merge your finances and make a commitment to doing this God’s way or it won’t work. You can’t make a partial commitment.