Couple finances: How do you do it?

kunekune

That does make sense once you explain it! (as OH said)

Manual_Reversion

Thanks everyone for the replies and anecdotes, very interesting.

I've just had a count through of all the responses and the breakdown is as follows:

Couples with joint account and everything communal: 7 (23%)
Couples with 'more complex arrangements' and individual funds: 24 (77%)

Kind regards.

tb1105

hubby and I married in August 2009. I am 22, he is 23.
I am a teacher and earn £1,200 pcm he is a lab technician and does 2 nights a week at the local bar and earns £1,300 pcm.

We are just in the process of buying a house. We recently set up a joint account to put all our savings for the house into to make payments easier.
I transfer £650 pcm and he transfers £750 pcm into the joint accoutn which will be used for mortgage, bills, food, house stuff. The rest of our money is our own.

I put slightly less in because I have 2 horses that chew up £400 pcm and the car we share is also in my name and the insurance, diesel etc., comes out of my own current account.
Next year when I get a pay rise we will both put £700 pcm a month in.

Basically, we share the cost of our house and living but whatever is left is ours to spend as we please, mine on my horses, his on his computer, it works nicely and means we can surprise each other with gifts without it being seen on the joint account

leekat21

Live with my OH but not married, been together 8 years and lived together for 6 of them.

We both have separate current accounts. All food, fuel, expenditure is on a joint Amex or Cap One cashback credit card. When each bill arrives, I tick purchases off against receipts in our pot and then do totals for each of us. Food is split 50/50. We pay our own fuel costs and any other personal expenses. Both credit cards are cleared of the full balance each month.

I pay him my share of the mortgage and council tax by SO each month. When utility bills arrive, he pays them and I then transfer him my share.

I've never felt the need to have a joint account. We're both open about what we spend on ourselves and both know how much we respectively save each month in ISAs and other savings accounts.

stingy_rach

We share everything. While I earn more than my DH, we both work equally as hard towards a common goal and so all money goes into a joint account. We discuss any expenditure not budgeted for, even our credit cards are all joint. Maybe I'm old fashioned but I think this is what marriage is all about.

joolley

Different situations work for different folk.

OH and I have almost entirely separate acounts. We have a joint account for the mortgages, bills etc, but otherwise entirely separate savings, current accounts, cards etc. Although I top up both ISAs and saving accounts at the end of the financial year. I can't remember ever looking at OH's statements or vice versa. They come but tbh, neither of us are really interested in looking.

I am responsible for remaining on top of organising DDs, SOs, bills stuff, organising the mortgage, choosing saving accts, insurance and for determining how much each of us puts into the joint account, and topping up everything. I pay 3 times more into everything because I make 3 times OH's salary (which itself a bit different cos I'm a girl). That way we both have largely equal pleasure money. Good thing too, cos I'm eyeing up some more Mac stuff and OH looking at a new bike!

So, separate, but joint. Clear as mud to me.

joolley