There is one way a married couple is supposed to handle money: jointly. Well, that¡¯s how it used to be ¡ª after all, American women needed a male co-signer to access credit until 1974.

Today¡¯s married couples have more options when it comes to how to manage their money.

The classic of being completely joint remains. It¡¯s streamlined, it¡¯s simple, it¡¯s what you might¡¯ve grown up with. The second option is some level of separation. This has sometimes been advised in secret: Mothers would warn daughters to squirrel some money away in case they needed to escape a bad marriage.