Family Budget

Riversong

So you and your wife/hubby earn the same wage. Put half towards all bills each month. But say your OH has less 'free money' at the end of it. So thats money to spend how they want, on whatever. The reason they have less is due to child maintenance, debt from before you got together. You yourself have no debts or child maintenance to pay.

Would you equally split what was left over between you. Is it tough on them for having these outgoings? Or how would 'free money' be divided with you?

WestonDave

Don't ask me! We practice the strange quaint practice of having one joint account and whatever is left is spent as we agree. We have some discussions about financial priorities but I don't think we've had any real arguments about money.

In the example you give, if you are together then the child maintenance (and those children) are part of you as a couple, not just theirs - in my view which I suspect is these days a minority view!

peachyprice

I would view the child maintenance as a household expense to be taken into consideration before any divvying up of spends.

Riversong

How about debts from before you got together?

choccybuttons

I think as long as the person which has less free money has enough to buy themselves the odd treat and doesn't feel deprived then it could work. However I would expect the person with more free money to pay more for meals out ect. It would all change again though if we had our own kids as I think I would just split the spending money equally

onlyroz

I think that child maintenance should be viewed as a household expense. As for the debts I suppose it depends on what they were for (e.g. I'd have less sympathy if they arose because of irresponsible spending). However, if I had more disposable income I'd expect to pay for more of the meals out etc.

Rebecca01

WestonDave wrote: »

Don't ask me! We practice the strange quaint practice of having one joint account and whatever is left is spent as we agree. We have some discussions about financial priorities but I don't think we've had any real arguments about money.

In the example you give, if you are together then the child maintenance (and those children) are part of you as a couple, not just theirs - in my view which I suspect is these days a minority view!

Most definitely this.

Dont know your age or your plans etc but what if you had a child and were on maternity and your money reduced, or had to reduce hours for some unknown reason. Would you expect your partner to keep more free money then?

lolavix

We split everything equally as don't see the point in one of us having more money than the other. His child maintenance and my loan come out of our joint account, we have the same spending money left each month. I contribute more because I earn more, but that's how our relationship works and I think it's the only way you can be equal.

maman

WestonDave wrote: »

Don't ask me! We practice the strange quaint practice of having one joint account and whatever is left is spent as we agree. We have some discussions about financial priorities but I don't think we've had any real arguments about money.

In the example you give, if you are together then the child maintenance (and those children) are part of you as a couple, not just theirs - in my view which I suspect is these days a minority view!

I agree with you except that we choose to have personal accounts for our 'free' money as well as the joint 'bills' one. The principle is exactly the same. I suppose I'm saying that you've taken on your partner with all his baggage so that includes his financial commitments. If he were to volunteer to pay his personal debts (because he'd been stupid or profligate) then I'd let him. If you went out and blew all your free money and more on something frivolous then I don't suppose you'd expect him to bale you out, so his debts could fall into that category for me.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

I would treat his pre existing commitments as HIS commitments.

Otherwise it's not him paying for his own child or his own spending - she's paying for them too.

Money stays separate, as far as I'm concerned. Household expenses for this home, this electric, this gas, this food, are joint. Beer money, hobbies, fags, spliffs, lap dances, other pastimes and things that are not part of running the current house are the responsibility of the person that incurred them.

meg72

WestonDave wrote: »

Don't ask me! We practice the strange quaint practice of having one joint account and whatever is left is spent as we agree. We have some discussions about financial priorities but I don't think we've had any real arguments about money.

In the example you give, if you are together then the child maintenance (and those children) are part of you as a couple, not just theirs - in my view which I suspect is these days a minority view!

Deffinitely this, and I dont think its a minority view.