Does the husband in your house pay the bills?

katie1812

We have everything paid into one account and then all bills are taken from this money. husband earns more than me but what's mine is yours and all that! We both pay in. We both pay out.

Old_Joe

Married over 50 years.
No hers or mine - it's ours with no differences. If either one of us needs summat it comes out of the same pot.

Dragonista

I bring in about 35% of our income whilst SO brings in 65%. So that's how we split the bills.

Sammie_03

I'm a sahm to 3 boys so yes my partner pays for everything! he transfers money into my account each month to cover bills, food shopping and kids hobbies clubs etc.
I'm lucky that we are in the position to be able to live off 1 wage so I can be at home with the kids.
X

tescobabe69

I've always paid all the bills and make all the financial decisions, something always makes me wonder about couples who have seperate finances, do you(if the higher earner) enjoy a higher standard of living than your partner ? If not what happens to your excess income ?

Mojisola

tescobabe69 wrote: »

I've always paid all the bills and make all the financial decisions, something always makes me wonder about couples who have seperate finances, do you(if the higher earner) enjoy a higher standard of living than your partner ? If not what happens to your excess income ?

Friends of ours worked like this. He had been a SAHD and, when he went back to work, his earning power was much lower than hers so he sometimes couldn't go out with his wife because he didn't have enough spare cash!

Following the summer when she went on holiday without him because he couldn't afford it, they got divorced.

balletshoes

tescobabe69 wrote: »

I've always paid all the bills and make all the financial decisions, something always makes me wonder about couples who have seperate finances, do you(if the higher earner) enjoy a higher standard of living than your partner ? If not what happens to your excess income ?

I don't see it as a problem - for example, my OH earns more than I do. We both put enough money into the bills account to more than cover all the household bills, child's expenses, car expenses, and a bit for savings etc. Family holidays, car bills etc, are paid from this account.

Whats left in my account is usually more than enough for me to treat myself the way I want to, and whats left in his is more than enough for him. He does have different spending habits to me, thats why the separate accounts work for us. If one of us was constantly struggling on what was left over in our own account, I can imagine that would cause resentment, and we'd need to look at that again. But its not the case in our household, and it works for us.

I will also say, for me personally, I definitely want to know that I can manage on my own money (if, for example my OH lost his job and had no income coming in). Thats another reason I have a separate account to my OH, so I can see and account for whats going in and coming out.

twigglet35

tescobabe69 wrote: »

I've always paid all the bills and make all the financial decisions, something always makes me wonder about couples who have seperate finances, do you(if the higher earner) enjoy a higher standard of living than your partner ? If not what happens to your excess income ?

My oh earns lot more than me but its my house so i pay for everything.
It is hard as i have no spare money to get take out or go out,
But he can when he wants to.

Mojisola

twigglet35 wrote: »

My oh earns lot more than me but its my house so i pay for everything.

It is hard as i have no spare money to get take out or go out,
But he can when he wants to.

So he lives rent and utility bill free while you scrimp and save?

Men like that used to be called gigolos.

mudgekin

Simples

It comes into the house, it is ours. Since the day and hour we moved in together 25 years ago all our finances were joint. Sometimes he earned more and sometimes me.

He was made redundant and couldnt get a job for 18 months due to various reasons but it was still joint finances. He was so despondant though and felt that he was a burden and wasns't contributing which really angered me because as far as I am concerned support isn't just financial

Never would it occur to either of us that one could afford something and the other couldn't