Spyke
lemmy.world

Here's a better tip: Find a partner you don't feel the need to keep huge secrets from.

181
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

Impossible. That perfect partner could turn darkside on you years into marriage.

Most people who marry think they found the perfect partner, but the divorce rates say otherwise.

12
brodrobereply
lemmy.world

You've clearly never been married and have no idea what you're talking about. Hiding secrets and saying it's impossible not to is the most destructive thing you could do to your marriage. On top of all, hiding assets from a spouse during a divorce amounts to contempt of court and carries a penalty and additional legal battles and expenses. Please don't recommend anyone to do it.

77

I'm just going to assume you (as I am) are a man. For women, this is a very real concern, and is still a somewhat common issue. I know two women if my family who were married for 10+ years before their partners had a sudden, violent change. For one of them their partner managed to empty all of their savings, and leave the country. She literally had to couch surf at 50 because she had nothing, and hadn't kept her own savings.

21
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

Sure but it's always good to keep a backup/bug out plan.

I would absolutely keep enough money set aside to at least get an apartment and furnish the necessities immediately. That's smart.

-9
lemmy.world

Then find a partner who is okay with having separate bank accounts that you can keep your own money in. It doesn't have to be a secret.

39
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

Right, so they can use the law against you and take it from you? Threaten you with violence until you give it?

Man y'all are very trusting lol

-20
Sentaureply
feddit.de

Why be in a relationship if you can't trust people at all. Better be alone then.

18

Like.... Legitimately I'd rather be single and never worry about it, rather than be that terrified of something like that.

Can it happen? Absolutely. I can name two people I know personally it happened to.

But to just assume that everyone is like that, and that the person you place your trust in will betray said trust and to think otherwise is stupid....... Like.... Just stay single then and stop trying to make other people as miserable as you?

I trust my wife, and I trust our separate bank accounts. If I need something, she sends it. If she needs something, I send it. My parents have their own accounts, as well as a joint account. They set all three up at the same time when they moved to the state.

Someone who mistrusts every single person to that degree, including their own spouse, is in need of therapy, because something needs to be worked out. And therapy works.

9
beetusreply
lemmy.world

Why would you stay in that relationship at that point?

5

Point would be you wouldn't. Hence the secret bugout fund.

-4
Kedlyreply

Dont get married then. Seriously. That level of background distrust is toxic to a relationship. Understandable? Sure. Healthy to act on? No

3

You are correct, that is smart.

Too bad financial intelligence isn't the only factor at play when it comes to a relationship.

7

I would absolutely keep enough money set aside to at least get an apartment and furnish the necessities immediately. That's smart.

That's a lot of money in modern times.

5
glimsereply
lemmy.world

So...divorce them?

There is nothing wrong with keeping separate bank accounts but it's shady as fuck to keep a secret one. If you feel the need to do that, you don't trust them so you're clearly not in the right relationship

30
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

Well yes but it would be nice not to have to move in with parents that may be dead or assholes or friends that have no room. The secret stash is for moving out safely and quickly.

-6
Kedlyreply

You seriously arent considering how a secret of that type can destroy your partners trust in you leading to THEM starting the divorce proceedings

6
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

What's stopping a suddenly violent spouse from demanding the "stash"?

2

If you have separate bank accounts you are likely to have several thousands on one account. You can restrict the maximum amount you can withdraw in a day without visiting the bank personally. It would take a week or so to withdraw all the money and send it to your violent spouse.

The only way this would work is if you couldn't leave the house or call anyone - after all, you'd still have a large chunk of your money left. And if your spouse doesn't allow you to leave after becoming violent, what's to stop them from doing this if your stash was secret?

Also you can tell the bank the transaction was fraudulent and you'll likely get your money back.

4

Divorce rates are weird to me because they take the number of marriages in one year and the number of divorces and say the divorce rate is a percentage of marriages from that year.

But divorced folks could have been married any length of time, so it's not like half of the marriages in that specific year ended in divorce.

10
Cringe2793reply
lemmy.world

I'd say the one with the secret bank account is the one who's turned "darkside". What's worse, this is happening even before the marriage. Wonderful way to start a life together.

9

This is all hypothetical of course but there is an entire trope /genre of crime dramas that basically are "He was the perfect husband and father...until".

I think having just enough to move away in a secret safety fund is just smart planning. And hey if it turns out you rolled the dice and got a 20 on your spouse then hell buy them a gift with that money or something.

3
zaphreply
sh.itjust.works

How do you know they didn't turn to the dark side because of the secrets

7
GreenMarioreply
lemm.ee

Socio/psychopaths have this gift of making them seem like the greatest thing until the mask slips off after getting comfortable aka after marriage.

Most of the entire "true crime" docudrama genre is spouses turned bad.

1
zaphreply
sh.itjust.works

That's true and even something like a stroke can completely change a person.

6

Stroke, surgery, head trauma, misprescribed medications, undiagnosed mental/emotional health triggers, you name it. People can change, and often enough so do without their own choice in it.

"Forever" is a bedtime story.

8
SARGEx117reply
lemmy.world

The way a lot of people in the comments are talking, everyone is a psych/sociopath. Sure, it can happen, but the percentage of the population with such tendencies is so low, it makes it ridiculous coming from someone who doesn't carry an umbrella everywhere.

Sure, it's sunny, and there's nothing to indicate it will rain in the hour I'm gone, but every so often it happens and I'm prepared.

1

It would be easier if we could find out sooner or quickly if someone is psycho/socio/narc but the problem is is that they are so damn good at hiding it. Hell, a lot of them are very charismatic on top of it. Sometimes it takes years to figure it all out.

2
zaphreply
sh.itjust.works

Can you name the victim I have shamed? I thought we were talking hypothetically here.

5
lemmy.world

Hence, my phrasing. The angle of your comment lies a little too close to an irrational and negative tendency. I suggest moving away from that in the future.

-7
zaphreply
sh.itjust.works

Yes pointing out that lying to your partner can cause relationship issues is definitely irrational and negative. Virtue signal someone else.

6

Yeah. Could be caused by mental health issues or something of the like. Pretty sure due to some mental health issues, my mom might have almost ended marriage with my dad a couple years back. Don't remember the details, though.

5
Rayspektreply
kbin.social

turn darkside on you

Haha, like giving into the nine-tailed fox demon and destroying Konoha Gakure or what. I love your phrasing lmao

4
sh.itjust.works

I think he meant more killing the children of your order, choking out your pregnant wife, and trying to murder your best friend.

4

Yeah she gave him one of those "combined sand things" for marriage and it was all downhill from there. Should have read the room, Padme.

2
lemmy.world

The real trick I’m hoping is openly having escape funds from the start. I’m actually worried my wife’s may be running lower than she leads me to believe. I want her to always have the option to leave if she feels she needs to, and I make sure I have the same

4

Why are y'all booing them, they're right!

Investigation Discovery's entire concept is murderous spouses.

-2
slrpnk.net

Keeping a separate bank account that the partner can't access can be a very sensible decision, I agree in the other hand that needing to keep it secret is not the sign of a healthy relationship.

4

It's good to have separate accounts, it's a bad to have a SECRET account your partner doesn't know exists

3
julianwgsreply
discuss.tchncs.de

Or make those secrets explicit. Tell them that you have a bank account on your name to which you only have access to and may be that you don‘t want to tell them how much money is in this account. Further tell them WHY you want that. Any reasonable partner would be fine with this.

4

That's not a secret account, that's just having separate bank accounts which is extremely normal

6
Sabre363reply
sh.itjust.works

Absolutely nothing in this tweet indicates that actually did keep anything a secret. But, otherwise solid advice.

3

Right, I'm not assuming Mommy Owl kept secrets. I'm just refuting grandma's shitty advice (WHICH TO BE FAIR - comes from a different generation where women had no power)

8
sh.itjust.works

Ah yes. Secrets. The proper way to have a loving marriage.

No wait. That's the proper way to be unhappy and get a divorce or a loveless marriage.

105
lemmy.theonecurly.page

Back in grandma's day (in the US at least) women were financially trapped in their marriages by a system that wouldn't allow them to get credit cards or open bank accounts without their husband's permission, even if they worked. Having a small stash allows a person to choose to be in a marriage, not be forced.

It's outdated advice but it comes from a good place.

92

Yup. My great grandma always had funds hidden somewhere. Cash, of course, because she couldn't legally open a bank account (plus a lot of this happened during the Depression). She couldn't just leave because a) marital rape is a thing and she had a whole bunch of kids and b) you just didn't really do that back then. But her stash made sure the kids ate and had clothes even when grandpa was being more of a pos than usual. It was just sensible.

Plus, it's still good advice for women in abusive relationships, so that when they're ready to leave, they at least have something.

23
flickerreply
kbin.social

Thanks for adding this context. It's important to remember. If your partner is financially irresponsible and will spend all your joint account money whether they should or not, back up accounts are the only answer.

14

Y'all just making a case for the account with your whiny attitude tbh

-6
assemblyreply
lemmy.world

My Grandma was still scarred from the Great Depression when I was growing up so always ingrained a bunch of weird rules into me. I still have money tucked in my shoe when I go out. She said to have a dollar bill in there at all times but with inflation I switched it to a 20. Can’t say I’ve had to leverage my “shoe money” since most places take cards but it has come in handy a few times across the past 30 years.

6
midwest.social

The secret account is not for hiding money during a divorce. It is for fleeing or paying for expenses while going through the divorce.

It is common for one spouse, or the other, to empty all accounts in the lead up to the divorce. It does not matter how right you are when you cannot buy your kids food.

This is advice from an 85 year old. She has seen soon shit.

A couple thousand in an "oh shit" account is rational.

This is not appreciated though if money is tight.

69

A neat detail here is that there's no rule here that the account needs to be literally secret. You can tell your spouse you have a private account and you'll put a couple hundred in out of your paycheck. A spouse in a healthy relationship should reply "sure, I'll do the same." It's nice to have for holidays and secret presents too.

18

Oddly/interestingly, the concept of a dowry in Islam is to ensure the wife has access to some sort of funding in case the marriage ends

14
aesreply
lemm.ee

It doesn't even need to be a secret account, def see it being a hella good litmus test, too; check whether someone's "I love you" means "no matter what, right now I want the best for you" or "I want to own you"

guys like that are... just no

7
aesreply

lemmy users are a sausagefest and completely full of shit. THIS IS REASONABLE ADVICE FOR PEOPLE WHO GET INTO ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS; I was talking about ppl who know the signs of abusers. WE WERE TALKING ABOUT DIFFERENT THINGS, YOU DUMBFUCKS.

0
kbin.social

Having separate accounts for personal stuff is just wise financing, but feeling the need to even make a secret account should tell you where that's headed.

54

My grandfather had an account he never told my grandmother about, then he got dementia and couldn't remember he had the account, years later after he died we found out about it, and we found out that he'd invested in a lot of successful companies over the decades, and had made a substantial amount of money.

If my grandmother had known about the account he would have had vastly better care than we were actually able to afford.

I also think it's rather ironic that he would have had a better life if he had just been a bit more open with his finances.

Growing up they always had crap cars they were always falling apart and Mr Frugal was sitting on a life-changing amount of money.

14

Says someone who’s never been through divorce.

I like this comment greatly, because it can be interpreted in multiple ways.

24

Siphoning your money into a secret account before a divorce is a great way to lose all of that money and possibly face criminal charges. But, it depends on the state, really.

7

Doing it as an attempted fraudulent report of finances, yes. Having it as a personal, non-joint account for years prior is not fraudulent at all, yet keeps said divorcee-to-be from all manner of technically legal shenanigans.

16

Yeah. Context matters. In Grandma's time, women had much less agency and legal recourse, often needing significant physical abuse for divorce to be legally accepted. It would be sound advice for that context.

In the context of modern times, I was happy when my spouse got her own account because it was a big step forward in independence but if she had opened secret ones, there would be an issue and we'd be going to marriage counseling ASAP because of the breach of trust. Our marriage is a cooperative partnership, not a competition and I'd never stay in a marriage with someone that I could not trust.

52

Yeah. But what does this have to do with the topic? Women can have their own bank account, just don't hide it.

13

This is true. The fight for equality is NOT over, regardless of how some may like to pretend. Women are still much better off than a century ago in terms of agency over their financial interests (usually - see: Brittany Spears).

10

Also, (and I don't know if they go into it in your research), a lot of the time in US couples have to divorce so the women can qualify for benefits of some sorts, and for the couple it might be the only way to afford a treatment.
That happens because US healthcare is a cruel and inhumane torture.

2

people who have that attitude tell on themselves. as in, they expect others to act like awful shitty people because deep down they know that is how they would act.

2

Wtf is with these comments? I personally think every participant in a relationship should have their own bank account. My wife and I have our own personal accounts, as well as a shared account for bills. Our kids will also have their own accounts.

Doesn't matter how strong you think your "bond" is. Y'all going to ignore historical data on divorce rates because "omg they're the one forever!"?

Having worked at a law firm as their IT person, that shit is extra messy. Not to mention all the abuse from people who dangle money as a way to them to stay together. Or the flip side, one person emptying out an account because fuck you.

It's not about trust. It's about financial responsibility.

34

It's not about having your own account, it's about hiding it.

None of the personal accounts in your family sound hidden (unless you don't know about them 😂).

59
hanslreply
lemmy.world

Divorce doesn’t protect your personal bank account. That money doesn’t suddenly becomes yours. When splitting assets, personal accounts and even safety deposit boxes are included (unless a prenup arrangement).

And the “secret” part is the problem. Seems to me grandma isn't advising her to have a personal bank account like everyone; she wants her to have a bank account the husband doesn’t know about. There’s a difference.

36

On the first point, it largely depends on the state the divorce happens in. States have differing definitions of what's considered common property. In some states only joint accounts are subject to asset splitting.

2

Divorce doesn’t protect your personal bank account. That money doesn’t suddenly becomes yours.

Yes, but no. If you are married and only have joint accounts, you can't do much to prevent the other person from withdrawing from those accounts until you get into see the magistrate. At a minimum, you should have a separate account if you are paid by direct deposit.

2

The comments I've seen only say not to keep it a secret. I agree everyone should have a personal bank account and I would assume my partner has one

9

The big problem imo is to keep it secret. If my SO is trying to have secret account that's a big red flag.

5

I mean that sounds good but hiding assets is generally a negative in divorce or separation.

25
sh.itjust.works

The wise way is to tell your partner Grandma says it's important to have separate bank accounts, as my MIL said to me, and my husband agreed. We have had them for 30 years together. Sometimes it's been handy that one side has a better credit rating at that moment.

But if your partner objects, or tries to sabotage it in any way, that's a huge red flag for gaslighting and abuse. So it's time to make that secret account and start taking steps to escape safely. Granny may well have already seen the signs you're too in love to see.

15
lemmy.world

Sound wisdom for both the husband and wife. Obviously the grandmother has her own experiences that make that good advice for a woman, but I think it’s good for everyone.

Have a joint account where you pay for shared expenses, and then your own separate account for yourself. For probably the majority of relationships now, both parties are (or at least should) be working anyway.

3
Maalusreply
lemmy.world

Own seperate account doesn't mean secret account that your spouse doesn't know about.

13

Yeah, secret sounds shady. But I get the rationale. Me personally I wouldn’t feel a need to tell my partner, but I wouldn’t hide it per se.

2

I feel for what you went through but trying to equate having a need for a secret bank account hidden from your spouse to an uncle stealing funds from a minor is ingenious at best and absolutely laughable at best. There is obviously a difference between the two and if you don't realize that, I assume you must be a little too young to even weigh in. If you feel that unless you have a secret stash of cash you're in physical danger from your spouse then DO NOT MARRY THAT PERSON. it's not that complicated. Marriage isn't a joke or something to lightly go into. It's like saying "I don't trust you enough to not cheat on me so I'm going to keep a side man/woman on the side just in case. What? You don't like that?? That is a chillingly selfish betrayal of trust how dare you!" Just don't get married and merge accounts until you trust the person it's not that complicated, if you don't trust them enough for that, don't get married, simple as.

3
Sylverreply
lemmy.world

Or she told her husband about it and they laughed while repressing the idea that this means Grandma once felt financially trapped with Grampa back in the day

25

Considering all the stories you hear about our grandparents and their idea of what "dating" was, Grandma probably definitely felt trapped at some point.

9

I think if this happened, the lady told her husband. No one would be dumb enough to tweet a secret and expect it to remain a secret.

12