Financial tips for couples

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Instead of jewelry, chocolate or flowers this Valentine's Day, get your special someone a gift they'll really benefit from. Here are some financial tips for couples that will fatten your wallet.

If you use someone else's credit card as an authorized user, you'll want to establish your own credit identity. That's because Fair Isaac is planning on rolling out FICO '08.

If this new scoring model is adopted, authorized users who don't have their own credit will not have a credit history, according to John Ulzheimer of Credit.com.

You can avoid this by getting credit in your name. The longer credit history you have, the better.

Your number one asset is your ability to bring home a paycheck. But what happens if there's an accident, or you become ill, or maybe you can't work anymore because of an injury?

That's where disability insurance comes in. It provides you with a monthly income in case you can't work. You may be able to purchase long-term disability insurance from your employer, or you can get it on your own.

According to an industry group, the Life and Health Insurance Foundation for Education, about one in five Americans will become disabled for one year or more before the age of 65.

Keep in mind you will pay more for a policy if you're in a high-risk job or if you're a smoker. And the younger you are, the cheaper the policy. To figure out how much you would need, check out a calculator at www.life-line.org and click on "disability insurance."

If you and your spouse each have a 401(k), you can compare benefits. Make the most of your 401(k)s by maxing out the plan that has the best benefits like a better employer match or more investment options, says Frank Boucher of the Garrett Planning Network.

Then you can work on funding the other plan. And don't forget, you should combine your asset allocation to take advantage of the best plan features.

If your partner has a good large cap value fund and you happen to have a good bond fund, you can take advantage of both.

Of course, keep in mind that when you're married, your spouse is automatically the beneficiary of your 401(k) or your pension plan. But you should still fill out that form with your spouse's name for the record.

If you want to name a beneficiary who is someone other than your spouse, your spouse must sign a waiver. The waiver MUST be in writing.

We know you may be torn about combining your bank accounts. And once you start a family, it probably makes the most sense.

But if both of you are working, you may want to think about opening a joint checking/savings account and then keeping a separate bank account for each of you.

This way you're both handling the finances together while maintaining your financial independence.

If you keep it all at one bank, you'll cut down on your paperwork and you may qualify for lower fees and higher rates.

If the thought of managing these accounts has you worried, think about online banks. You'll likely get a higher interest rate and you'll be able to access your accounts and transfer funds more easily.