Last year, Texas resident Madison Machen was on a flight to New York when she received some unexpected advice from her seatmate– open a joint bank account with her best friend that could be used to fund their hang outs and travels.
"I loved the concept so much, I went home and I called my best friend and I was like, I think we need to do this," Machen told CNBC.
Six months later, Machen and her bestie had saved more than $1,000 in their shared Cash App account. The pair is one of a handful of duos who have gone viral on social media for the money saving strategy.
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Practicing this sort of "financial intimacy" does more than just solidifying your financial position, it also strengthens your friendships, says Alyssa Davies, author of "Financial First Aid: Essential Tools for Confident, Secure Money Management."
"When we start to approach money in creative and fun ways like this, it makes money less intimidating, overwhelming, and there's way more transparency," Davies told CNBC. "It becomes a lot easier to spend intentionally when you have this accountability with people that you trust and love."
Of course, there are many who have heard about these joint bestie accounts who have some reservations.
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Tori Dunlap, a financial content creator who founded financial education platform Her First 100K, told CNBC that trust is an essential in making the decision to open a shared account.
"Everyone on the account typically has equal access, which means one person could withdraw funds without permission," she said. "If someone loses their job, goes through a breakup, or just changes their mind, it can get messy quickly."
She recommends setting clear expectations about how the account will be funded and used before setting it up to avoid messy situations down the road.
"Agree ahead of time how much everyone's putting in, how it'll be used, and what happens if someone backs out," she said.
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Another financial content creator, Taylor Price, who goes by pricelesstay on social media, worries there could be potential financial risk for friends with these types of shared accounts.
"Joint account holders are equally liable for overdrafts and fees," she told CNBC. "If one person has credit issues, it could impact everyone's banking relationship."
Instead of heading to a bank to open up that joint account, she recommends that friends set up individual sinking funds where they put that agreed upon amount each month.
"You get the same result without risking your friendships or your money," she said.
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