how do you and your partner budget?

angelicmary85

Hiya,

I have taken over the finances in our house so OH transfers his pay into our joint account to pay for -

Rent
Council Tax
Car Insurance
Electricity bill
t.v licence

I then use my (very low!) wage to pay for -

The loan payment (for the car!)
house phone
internet
our mobile phones

The Tax Credits get used for -

Food
Paying off my one cc debt
household essentials

Then we have the child benefit which buys the kids clothes

If OH gets paid more than he's expecting then he'll ask me if I want it or if he can keep it. If I need it I'll take some and leave him the rest :rotfl:

Occasionally...I just help myself to the contents of his account but he doesn't mind...too much!

bouncydog1

Everything goes into and comes out of one account. We have a spreadsheet with a running total, everything gets recorded on it and we discuss large spends such as new t.v or holidays before we buy them.

Spreadsheet is budgeted forwards for the year so that we don't forget about anything and try to keep some spare cash for unexpected stuff.

Each have our own credit cards but the money to pay them comes out of the joint account. Still enables us to buy surprises for birthday pressies etc.

shebrett

OH and I put everything in together and then we each take "pocket money" for ourselves (not much, only £40 a month each). Then all the bills come out each month as well as the savings and we are left with a little bit left over for any non bill purchases like cutlery, clothes, furniture, holidays etc.

Jo_R_2

Me and my OH are living together, three kids - two mine from a previous relationship, one ours and another on the way:))

I am a stay at home mum and he works full-time. We work it with each having our own separate account, into mine go all child-related benefits and child maintenance for my oldest two, and out go payments for all household bills plus monthly budgeting for emergency fund, car tax and Christmas/presents.

Into his go his wages and out goes the rent, plus car insurance and grocery shopping.

Proportionally what we have going in and coming out is roughly equal. I however also account for the majority of child-related spends, clothes, shoes, any school or nursery things.

We don't have any joint accounts - mainly because I'm once bitten, twice shy after a bad experience with my last partner and his spending habits, although I don't actually have a bad credit rating.

We both have a surplus left, which we tend to treat as our individual 'pocket money', although this is very flexible and informal and we don't tend to consider it 'his' or 'my' money depending on whose account it came from.

This is liable to change as I will hopefully return to work eventually and we start to save in earnest towards a house deposit, but for now it works:)