My (26M) girlfriend (24M) wants to join bank accounts

My girlfriend (24F) and I (26M) have been together for 5 years. We live together and currently split our expenses 50/50.

Recently she has been suggesting that we combine our finances. I am hesitant to do so as it is not common in our culture, and I am unsure how to navigate any loss of financial independence.

For couples who have joined finances, could you please share your experience? Is this something you recommend?

For context, we both work full-time. She actually earns significantly more than I do as she has multiple side gigs and enjoys stock trading, so I am not concerned about her taking advantage of me financially.