We started out our marriage with separate accounts, but during my wife's work injury money got very tight. We couldn't afford to keep minimums in 2 different accounts, much less the added headache of tracking multiple accounts. We combined our finances pretty thoroughly though due to her BK from a previous marriage I'm the only borrower on the investment property though it's deeded to both of us.
7 years in, I think having joint finances has made things easier for us. I'm a stay-at-home dad and keep track of the finances in Quicken. Other than my wife complaining I don't file paperwork quickly enough we're happy with the situation. She has one credit card that is hers alone she got after her BK to reestablish credit but mostly we use joint AMEX, or she's authorized user on our other VISA and Discover.
Thankfully we're well enough settled financially that we don't usually ask each other for permission prior to purchasing anything less than $250 or so. I gripe about clothing expenses, but it's just a gripe to counter the paperwork gripe she has. :-)
Every couple has different dynamics, so my situation may not work for you. In our case we came from similar familial/financial backgrounds and have similar thinking on money issues, budgeting, and planning.
