Spending money

[Tink]

With marriage comes some measure of accountabilty for the needs and ideas of our partner. When it comes to this, how we spend our money can be a major dividing factor if we're too far apart in our habits. Just out of curiosity I'd like to ask:

How much is the most you've spent in a week without consulting your partner first? How did your partner react?

How much could your partner spend (without discussing it first) before upsetting you?

Do you each take a weekly or monthly allowance to spend on yourselves?

Do you share checking/savings accounts or each have your own?

[Janet]

With marriage comes some measure of accountabilty for the needs and ideas of our partner. When it comes to this, how we spend our money can be a major dividing factor if we're too far apart in our habits. Just out of curiosity I'd like to ask:

How much is the most you've spent in a week without consulting your partner first? How did your partner react?

How much could your partner spend (without discussing it first) before upsetting you?

Do you each take a weekly or monthly allowance to spend on yourselves?

Do you share checking/savings accounts or each have your own?


Wow, this is a tough one....

We each get a $100 a week, BUT that also goes for bread, milk, his lunch if he doesn't take it, gas, etc. So $100 each doesn't go far. It goes farther with me, because I don't go to town that often, so I save most of mine, sometimes..

We have joint checking and savings, but he also has his own checking so when he works on cars out of our garage once in awhile, the money doesn't go through our household account.

We discuss it sometimes...but he has a habit of spending more than me...so when the time comes that I want something....I get it, no asking. He's always spending it on 4-wheeler stuff, Scouts but it doesn't come from the household. If he's able to save from his allowance he gets it that way....

I work too and I will never ask for money...ever. Now if it's something really big...like $1000 or more, yes, we discuss it most of the time.

[magnolia]

We have seperate checking accounts and there are reasons for this that I won't get into here but it is along the lines of what Janet said, we both work for our money. We split the household bills very fair, he actually takes on a little more than I do as he has a part time job when he's not working at the fire station but I take care of most of the boy's needs. We never question what the other buys as we know whether we have the money to spend on it or not. Now big ticket items, we do discuss!

[DianaB]

Our financial situation is different from most people's. My husband is a farmer so our money comes in in big amounts and goes out in big amounts. He usually lets me know when our money is getting short or if he has a big payment coming up. My husband is the only one who provides an income for our home. He's always insisted that I be a SAHM, even though my children are now grown. I do help drive the tractor, combine, and go for parts when I'm needed.

How much is the most you've spent in a week without consulting your partner first? How did your partner react? When we have money I can go shopping and spend $500 or so. For us to go serious shopping is a 100 mile trip to Wichita and we spend all day shopping. So I usually spend quite a bit when I go and not too much on clothes and shoes in between times. The only time my husband gets upset is when we're low on money and I haven't kept track of my checks in the computer. He usually just shakes his head!!

How much could your partner spend (without discussing it first) before upsetting you? As I said we have big money coming in and going out. My husband keeps track of all the large payments (I pay the household bills). He usually tells me that he spent $X for something. Farming is so expensive but I trust him to handle it. I don't worry about what he spends because he knows how he's going to pay for it.

Do you each take a weekly or monthly allowance to spend on yourselves? No, not a set amount. I like to buy things on e-bay and as long as I don't get too carried away I get little goodies for myself. I'm pretty conservative about buying my clothes and I very seldom shop and spend a lot. If we have money I'm allowed to spend it unless we have a big payment coming up.

Do you share checking/savings accounts or each have your own? Yes, we share a checking account. We've been married for 32 years and we've never had a problem. I trust my husband with our finances and he trusts me. We talk about any problems or concerns that we have. We ALWAYS pay off our credit cards the first month that we receive them. My husband says that it's cheaper to borrow money from the bank than to pay interest on a credit card.

Communication about finances is very important in a relationship. Also, make goals that you want to reach and work on them together. Save your money for a new tv or furniture BEFORE buying it and save on paying interest on your credit card. Work together on your goals.
__________________

[RLC12345678]

My hubby and I have a joint checking account. We both work and we are both conservative with our money so neither of us has to discuss with the other before we buy things we want. Big ticket items, that's another question. We definately discuss big ticket items. We know not to say anything to the other about things the other buys because we both work and we both should be able to have the freedom to buy things that we want, within reason. I am in charge of balancing the checkbook, so I know what my limits are. My hubby is not a shopper anyway, so we don't really have to worry about him shopping and going overboard.

[Ponyup]

My hubby & I have a joint checking & savings. My husband is in charge of the money & does a wonderful job. We both work, but I still ask my hubby before spending any money, just to make sure that we have plenty. He usually lets me buy whatever I like. Sometimes he'll tell me to wait til next month or something, but that's all. He almost never buys anything, but he always lets me know before he does. I came from a household where I never had to budget or save I could just spend spend spend. He came from the opposite, so he is great at saving & budgeting so I let him take care of it & he reigns in my spending habits. It works great, I don't want for hardly anything & we have 2 nice cars, a nice home & plenty of money in the bank. We use only credit cards & pay them off completely every month.

[Gina]

My husband and I have joint savings and checking account. Actually my husband is not a spender, I am. He takes care of all the household bills, repairs on cars, auto insurance, and food. He pays for going out to dinner etc.

I work and I keep my checks, I use it on the kids, helping them pay for college, books, gas money for their cars, my furbaby , I treat for vacations etc. I don't answer to him as far as buying myself whatever I want. If we need to buy big item stuff we discuss it...

[Willow]

How much is the most you've spent in a week without consulting your partner first? How did your partner react? I think I had spent around $200 before, but he didn't care because it was extra money left over from financial aid and I used it to buy up things we needed, like diapers and wipes and some other consumables and some needed clothing items for the kids.

How much could your partner spend (without discussing it first) before upsetting you? I don't worry about what he spends for the most part because he isn't a big spender and wouldn't buy something we couldn't afford.

Do you each take a weekly or monthly allowance to spend on yourselves?
No allowances. We pay bills first and then if we want something or if we splurge we usually discuss what the splurge will be and get it together.

Do you share checking/savings accounts or each have your own?
Yes we share a checking. There is no my money or his money here. It is ours.

[TootiesMom]

we have joint accounts... I dont really pay attention to what he makes or spends... he knows how much he has to put in my account for the bills every month and whatever else doesnt really matter... I handle the bills, the house, the kids, the job, the dogs... LOL...
my DH has been a "college student" for the last 5 years so its pretty much all mine to deal with.. he really doesnt have a clue what comes in or goes out.. I like it that way... d