couples and money

iris

Alikay wrote: »

Everything coming in goes into the pot, everything going out come out of that same pot. We take holidays together, agree big purchases together and everything we own (or debt we have owed) is considered "ours".

It's worked for us for 25 years.

!!!!!! wrote: »

+1
Worked for us for 33 years. The same system worked for my parents for 50+ years

+2
Worked for us for nearly 50 years:D

Rebecca01

iris wrote: »

+2
Worked for us for nearly 50 years:D

Same, works for us aswell.

Especially when I was a SAHM, if we had kept our money separate I wouldnt have had anything at all.

Lady_Tara

Rebecca01 wrote: »

Same, works for us aswell.

Especially when I was a SAHM, if we had kept our money separate I wouldnt have had anything at all.

+me.

You can't plan for everything - I didn't plan to get divorced, or then meet someone else and have a baby within a year. Hmm, maybe I did things wrong and should have stayed in marriage #1 which was intolerable, but it was "the plan" and the finances worked? (joking)

Anyway, in marriage #1 I earnt less but we still pooled the money and it worked perfectly.

In marriage #2 I earnt more at first then was overtaken as I had a baby, and DH improved his skills. We have always pooled all the money, have a monthly "allowance" that we can spend on anything we want, no discussion, and everything that goes into the savings we decide jointly how we are spending it... works very well for us. If we didn't he'd probably have £1k a month spare and I'd have £100, as due to health issues I can no longer work full time.

Sambucus_Nigra

We have separate accounts, plus a few joint for bills and spends.

We tot up how much we realistically have to put to cover the mortgage, bills, food and holidays and put that in proportionally [when I earnt twice as much as him I put in 2/3, now we are nearly even on income we are nearly 50/50]. The rest of the money goes into our own accounts to spend or save or invest as we see fit.

If we were in debt or had money problems, we would do a spreadsheet each month to make sure everything was covered and we always always will make sure that the other is ok for cash and spends.

thelovelygirl

we had separate accounts until we married but i gave % of my money to my husband who earnt much more than me. We now have 3 linked joint accounts one is the house account - mortgage, bills, car and the other two are separate spends accounts which we buy stuff we want without consultation - we both get the same amount each month

Kynthia

We still have separate finances as we only recently married and each own a property. Therefore I'd pay him 'rent' to live in his and we each had no claim on any equity made, and we split food and household purchases.

Now we're married we are intending to sell our properties and buy a house together. We'll have the mortgage and all bills come out of a joint account that we each proportional contribute too. I imagine we'll open joint savings accounts too for holidays, home improvements, new car etc.

I like the idea of having some privacy on how I spend/save my remaining income. I think there might be less resentment or arguments as it's completely separate and not affecting the bills being paid, savings being made, etc. However this set up could change if our circumstances change.

mildred1978

There are many many existing threads on this subject. Try the search function. ^^^^^

74jax

con1888 wrote: »

I am interested to know how you and your other half work your money out?

Ie, joint account-pay 50/50-one pays bills and one spending money etc.

Partner and I are reviewing our financial situation at the end of the month and I am interested in different methods, pros and cons .

OH and I (not married, live together) both have our own accounts. There is one joint account which pays all the bills. He pays in 60% and I pay in 40% which is the percent of money we bring into the household (hope that makes sense). We took the annual amount of all the bills and divided by 11 (months) so in december we don't have to pay any money towards the bills and leaves us with extra money.

Pros for us - it's ideal. We both love spoiling each other and arranging surprises, there's no way we could do that if we had one account, as the other would see what money was being spent on. ie I booked us to go to Rome as a treat, he would have noticed flights etc coming out of the account.

We never get to know how much presents are.

If he wants to spend 1k on a kite he can. yes I know if he still could if it was a joint account but I think I'd feel 'well he's had 1k hhmmmm what can I have :rotfl:'

If he takes me out for a meal, he pays. It's not then listed on 'our' statement.

Cons for us - we don't really have any. Works absolutely fine for us.

tinktinktinkerbell

our working tax credits go into my bank

i transfer money into our joint account for the electric

i draw the rest out and we buy what we need IE food, pet food and things, toiletries, meds etc

once a month we go up to town to put money in OHs bank for internet/phone

nickyhutch

Everything that comes in belongs to both of us. I earn a touch more than OH, but it's not relevant. I'm in charge, because OH isn't interested and would seriously mess up (and admits that).

tinktinktinkerbell wrote: »

once a month we go up to town to put money in OHs bank for internet/phone

Could you not do that by an online transfer or standing order? Or transfer the DD to your account? Would save you the hassle of a difficult trip out.