Adult 'pocket money'

Penguin8410

we have lived from pocket money for the last 6 years we have been living together. i work out all the finances which have changed since having our DD. OH pays most of his wage into the joint account to cover all the bills, what he has left over then covers his mobile bill, petrol and pocket money. my wage covers HP, loan, food and then what is left covers my petrol, mobile, contact lenses and pocket money. this has worked well for us the last few months. we used to split the bills when we both earned the same but financially this is working much better for us as i've been able to budget in a £50pm emercency fund saving.

Penguin8410

meant to say what we have left for pocket money is exactly the same £150 and we can spend that on what we like

maman

lovely-cup-of-tea wrote: »

Some more great insights into how folks manage their joint incomes.

I broached the subject this evening and OH seemed very up for the idea. I'm going to spend some time this weekend going over some of the SOAs on this site and put one together for us so we can see what our outgoings really are.

Thank you all.

Good for you. Do keep us posted.:T

HappyMJ wrote: »

I don't think our joint income is that high...is it??

No it's not, by my standards anyway. I think it depends on what your future plans are. If you just want to live for today then that's fine. Your money, your choice.

bestpud

We used to have all our income paid into one account, but we've split it now because I'm rubbish with money and my husband isn't.

We have split the bills so we pay roughly the same proportion of our income and I have mostly direct debits because I'm paid monthly and it's easier for me to know know I only have the weekly shop to pay once the direct debits have gone.

Things have changed slightly since we worked it out, so he has slightly more disposable income, but I don't mind that as he saves it whereas I'd spend it!

If a household appliance breaks then he usually has the money to replace it so he does that kind of thing. I tend to pay for the more fun stuff that he finds hard to be spontaneous about.

If I want extra money then I work overtime as it is always available in my job.

It works for us. I do think you're not helping him by taking over his finances. Make him take responsibility for his share - if you treat him like a child then you give him permission to act like one!

Then again, if you don't actually trust him to pay the bills then you have a far bigger issue and I doubt tweaking your finances would solve that.

OrkneyStar

HappyMJ wrote: »

I'm quite amazed at the low amounts here.

I couldn't get by on much less than £600 per month for everything (clothing, mobiles, gadgets, going out, personal debts...etc) except household bills. I could technically get by so to speak but I wouldn't be happy as I wouldn't be able to go out anywhere at all. My OH allocates £800 a month for herself and spends it all. I save £200 a month into a personal savings account. The essential bills (rent/mortgage, council tax, gas, electric, water and £50 a week groceries) come to about £800 a month. I pay for broadband as it's one of my "needs" and she pays for Sky as she feels it's one of her "needs". Mobile expenses come out of pocket money. Costs for travelling to/from work come out of income before it's put into the main pot...so technically I suppose they are shared.

I don't think our joint income is that high...is it??

Honestly, without meaning to sound cheeky, and I don't, I cannot even begin to imagine what you could spend £600 or £800 on every single month (unless you have a lot of debt?). We each have £50 personal spends a month, after bills, saving etc, DS gets a small pot too, plus some to save, and we have a small family budget for the odd meal out (tends to be once a month at most proper meal and maybe once or twice in cafe- maybe £40-50 max). We don't smoke or drink.

Any

£50 a month?
What is counted in that? Do you go out, whether for day shopping and luch with girlfriends or to a wine bar, do you pop into town and have to pay a fare, then get yourself a drink/cake/chocolate...go to hairdresser? Clothes?
Without sounding cheeky that really is low...

dandelionclock30

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Honestly, without meaning to sound cheeky, and I don't, I cannot even begin to imagine what you could spend £600 or £800 on every single month (unless you have a lot of debt?). We each have £50 personal spends a month, after bills, saving etc, DS gets a small pot too, plus some to save, and we have a small family budget for the odd meal out (tends to be once a month at most proper meal and maybe once or twice in cafe- maybe £40-50 max). We don't smoke or drink.

Really I used to spend £1000 per month on myself, holidays like New York, weekends away all the time to London, Edinburgh etc. New bikes, clothes and shoes,mmm plenty of them, jackets, coats and clothes, perfume etc.
You can easily spend a lot on yourself no problem.
No point scrimping and saving unless of course you really have to, like your not in work or in a lot of debt.
Your a long time dead and you know what they say, there are no pockets in a shroud. Get it spent and get yourself out and have a life.
Even when I was at school I had more than £50.00 a month spends.

tiger_eyes

OrkneyStar wrote: »

Honestly, without meaning to sound cheeky, and I don't, I cannot even begin to imagine what you could spend £600 or £800 on every single month (unless you have a lot of debt?). We each have £50 personal spends a month, after bills, saving etc, DS gets a small pot too, plus some to save, and we have a small family budget for the odd meal out (tends to be once a month at most proper meal and maybe once or twice in cafe- maybe £40-50 max). We don't smoke or drink.

Couldn't agree more. I also budget £50 a month for discretionary spending like meals out, drinks in pubs, rail tickets home, the occasional treat, etc. It's usually plenty.

Any wrote: »

£50 a month?
What is counted in that? Do you go out, whether for day shopping and luch with girlfriends or to a wine bar, do you pop into town and have to pay a fare, then get yourself a drink/cake/chocolate...go to hairdresser? Clothes?
Without sounding cheeky that really is low...

Also without sounding cheeky you're assuming that everyone enjoys what you enjoy. I can't stand shopping, so I don't do it. I have my friends over for dinner every week rather than go out to restaurants. I live centrally so I can walk into town - if it rains, I just put my hood up. I use free promotional tickets to go to the cinema. And so on. I have one passion in my life (writing novels!) that gives me a huge amount of enjoyment and it is wonderfully free.

tiger_eyes

dandelionclock30 wrote: »

Really I used to spend £1000 per month on myself, holidays like New York, weekends away all the time to London, Edinburgh etc. New bikes, clothes and shoes,mmm plenty of them, jackets, coats and clothes, perfume etc.
You can easily spend a lot on yourself no problem.
No point scrimping and saving unless of course you really have to, like your not in work or in a lot of debt.
Your a long time dead and you know what they say, there are no pockets in a shroud. Get it spent and get yourself out and have a life.
Even when I was at school I had more than £50.00 a month spends.

I genuinely would not enjoy this at all. I don't enjoy shopping. I don't have any particular enthusiasm for clothes or shoes or perfume. I'd rather pop home to see my family for a weekend than go on holiday. It's not that I have an intense pent-up desire for clothes that I have to repress. I just really don't want it. It's just stuff.

dandelionclock30

Yeah everyones different and likes different things, I love to be out and doing things, boat trips, sailing, kayaking, walking,swimming. But I appreciate that other people do prefer just to stay in the house. Each to their own.