How do you split expenses in your household?

neverdespairgirl

Giddytimes wrote: »

Do people who just use a joint account for everything not find this causes any issues? For example I can't imagine my OH being overly pleased when I spend £45 on a haircut, but to me this is budgetted for and I'd rather cut back in other areas.
I also am not sure I'd be able to bite my tongue if my OH were to go and pee £100 up the wall on a night out with his friends. :rotfl:
If these things are coming out of our own accounts, after all bills have been paid, then there is no need to mention it to each other.

My parents have always had a joint account. My Dad almost never spends any money, as my mother pays all the bills, does all the shopping, and even buys most of his clothes! I bet he has absolutely no idea how much my mother spends on a haircut - and he couldnt' care less, anyway.

jansus

Iv'e been independent for a long time, but during my marriage we had a joint account, i worked full time then had two children and i went part time for a while, it worked for us we never had any money arguments, we just pulled together.

threemuttleys

All money goes into one pot. Budget is worked out on 1st of every month, monies paid into appropriate pots (savings, everyday, DD account, Grocery account) and then whatever is left over is split into our own accounts to do as we please.

As far as I am concerned, there is no his or my money. Its all family money. He earns a lot more than I do (I work part time), but he doesnt ever question (and neither do I) where money that we have earned has gone.

FBaby

This was the logic we started with when I moved with my OH. We earned about the same so seemed straight forward...until we realised that I had a lot more personal outgoings than he does. The difference turned out to be significant. I have all my childen's costs, including £250 a month wrap around care and over £150 for their activities and car expenses. He doesn't have any children and he gets his car with work, so no expenses.

We had a long discussion around it after I moved and agreed to look at it the other way round. We added all the expenses we both had, and what was left over. We then balanced it out so we had the same disposable income at the end. It means that he pays about 2/3 of mortgage/bills. I did agree though that we would include in it the bonus he gets every year. It really does matter much because even though we have agreed to separate our finances, we still live as a loving couple and his bonus is spent mainly on the house or us going away anyway!

stacey809

When we first moved intogether we each paid the same amount into a joint acc to cover all the bills and anything left over in our own accounts were ours to spend. Then I found out Dh had debt so I paid more into the joint acc so that he could clear the debt quicker.

He got a higher paying job and started paying more money than me into the joint acc.

We then decided that it was best for me to give up work to be a stay at home mum and now all our incomings go straight into the joint acc for bills/petrol/food and we transfer an amount into our own accounts for us to spend as we please. I get slightly more as I buy childrens clothes, pay nursery fund etc.

Lotus-eater

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

We both have our own bank accounts - as we're self-employed, it makes life easier. Other than that, we have no sense of our own money, though. I actually pay most of the bills - rent (up to now), and now our mortgage, and the utility bills, and our childcare and car costs. So if my account's running low, I just ask OH to transfer some money, and he does.

We both spend what we want to spend on ourselves, but have very similar ideas about what's reasonable and sensible, so we don't ever argue about it.

We do exactly the same as this. We have both been SE in the past and even before and after that we just carried on. Sometimes it seems much easier to have separate accounts anyway. Such as, if you need to use an offer twice with a shop Two non married names also help with this

lostinrates

In my house up until recently my husband earned it all and I spent it. A bit of a simplification, I have had short periods of employment, and that's gone in the pool of money. We have several accounts in our own names, for different things, but we both have access details for all as its all ''our money''. Now I have a small consistant income again its going into a joint business account as ''we'' own the business and this it made sense to have in both names.

If we were not married things would be a bit different, and different again if we were geared for a life together unmarried or a ''undefined future''. and a huge difference to me if children were involved. e.g. if we'd agreed to commit and one was ona lower income and the other could afford a ''nicer'' home in a school catchment area it seems to me it woulod make sense for the higher earner to cover the shortfall. I would also want an agreement in place for what would happen on the breakdown of the realtionship if their were children and/or one partner had had time not working and contributing for the purpose of child care or someother circumstances.

Jesswithwings

I earn about £300 less than DH does (I'm part time, he's full time) and all our money gets put in one pot. Out of that pot we have budgeted how much we spend on bills each quater and a proportion of our monthly income gets put into the 'bills' account.

We have strict budgeting in every area - so shopping is £200 (tend to do 2x online shops and whatever is left is for milk/bread/fruit top ups), then there is a 'car money' account which we put into monthly, this covers all fuel and whatevers left goes towards MOT/Tax/Services. Then we each have £200 spending money, out of this comes EVERYTHING - including clothes, haircuts, lunch, pub money, blockbuster rentals, I pay for the animal food because they're my animals etc and even the dentist! The kids have £150 to cover any clothes, clubs, trips out etc
and after all that, whatever's left goes into the savings (nothing at the moment as we're decorating so its going straight to the DIY shop!!)
I don't think we've ever seen it as DH earns more than me, I do most of the child care so I feel that evens it out - if we had to pay for childcare we'd be totally skint! It never even occured to us to have separate bank accounts when we got married, but that's just how we work.

Al1x

we have our own bank acounts but also a joint account for all bills and mortgage. we worked out we needed £600 a month to cover the bills etc. my husband earns a lot more than me and pays £450 and I pay £150. I also buy most of the food shopping so thats around £200 a month.

stephb0113

The way it works with me and my partner is we both have our wages paid into our joint account. All the household bills (mortgage, utilities, car expenses, tv, phone, inc mobile, insurances, food shopping etc) come out of that account. We each take the same amount out for spending money to spend as we wish. Any remaining money is paid into a savings account. I earn more than my partner but it has never bothered either of us that one earns more than the other or pays more towards the bills. We don't see it as his or my money but that its our money. We are engaged to be married and also have a baby on the way. However, we have always worked our money out this way. At the moment we don't have the spending money as we are saving up for the baby coming so any spare cash after the bills have been paid goes into our savings account.