Out of Interest, Are There Any Ladies Here Whose Husbands Control the Purse Strings?

DigForVictory

Currently I'm responsible for the household finances.

This makes me realise that until I teach the lads, I'm raising idiots.

onomatopoeia99

I'm single and live alone, so I control all my own finances.

Takes me a few minutes each month to look at the bank account and credit card to make sure there are no unexpected transactions and I don't check that the bank account balances - I rely on their computers to be able to add it up correctly.

I'm probably doing it wrong given that other people here seem to devote quite a lot of time to balancing the books.


I would not surrender control of my finances to someone else, no matter what.

catkins

I don't work and OH works full time. We have a joint account (always have) and I manage the money. I pay all the bills, if it were down to OH he would probably forget and they wouldn't get paid.

Gavin83

tesuhoha wrote: »

Do you trust him or does it make you feel uneasy?

I see no difference regardless of the gender tbh.

jaylee3 wrote: »

I would never in a trillion years tolerate a relationship where I didn't have a scrap of control over the finances. (Even joint control.)

Are you saying you wouldn't want to be in a relationship where you didn't have total control of the finances? Bit controlling don't you think?

In my relationship we have joint control of the finances. I think this is the way it should be for any relationship. Both partners should at least have some idea of what is going on in their bank accounts.

InsideInsurance

Cant believe I'm commenting on a Daily Hate story

CRT86 wrote: »

Maybe it's because I am single, but I find the idea of one partner having no idea what goes on financially very, very odd? (Although until my LBM a few months ago, I didn't have a clue either)

Why is it odd? If someone is willing to deal with it for you why would you be interested? Do you find Gas bills particularly exciting to read?

I am also confused by people saying that paying bills takes positive action. Ours are all on DD and so simply are paid automatically and doesnt require any action from either of us. Credit card and bank statements are a quick check for unrecognised transactions, only letters from utilities where they advise a change in the standing DD get a look at. Insurance and such are obviously reviewed annually when their renewal comes up.

The Mrs chooses not to get involved with it because she doesnt find it particularly interesting etc. Almost all our bills are online these days so it can give me something to do of an evening if I am working away from home etc but even then its only the annual home insurance renewal that takes any material length of time.

She has full access to everything if she wants to look. Her money is hers, in her account and doesnt go towards the household expenses so she just manages her own spending. She has access to the main account/ cards if she wants/ needs to buy anything big and she could see if she was interested what the float is outside of savings etc but normally I'd get a txt to ask if its ok is she gets X

2gorgeousgirls

My dad did not "control the purse strings" but he always took care of the bills.

Mum made the decisions regarding the house (new furniture, kitchen appliances, even holidays) but dad signed the cheques. They both worked and had a joint account. Mum always had access to the money but didn't want the hassle of balancing the books.

In my relationship, I'm the one to take care of the finances but my husband has equal access to the money. He, like my mum, can't be bothered. I've written a list of what gets paid each month, when car insurance, house insurance etc is due and even a list of birthdays in case I die before him!

Errata

I can't understand people who are happy to share body fluids 24/7/52 but not financial information.

dimestorediamond

InsideInsurance wrote: »

Cant believe I'm commenting on a Daily Hate story



Why is it odd? If someone is willing to deal with it for you why would you be interested? Do you find Gas bills particularly exciting to read?

I am also confused by people saying that paying bills takes positive action. Ours are all on DD and so simply are paid automatically and doesnt require any action from either of us. Credit card and bank statements are a quick check for unrecognised transactions, only letters from utilities where they advise a change in the standing DD get a look at. Insurance and such are obviously reviewed annually when their renewal comes up.

The Mrs chooses not to get involved with it because she doesnt find it particularly interesting etc. Almost all our bills are online these days so it can give me something to do of an evening if I am working away from home etc but even then its only the annual home insurance renewal that takes any material length of time.

She has full access to everything if she wants to look. Her money is hers, in her account and doesnt go towards the household expenses so she just manages her own spending. She has access to the main account/ cards if she wants/ needs to buy anything big and she could see if she was interested what the float is outside of savings etc but normally I'd get a txt to ask if its ok is she gets X

Of course, gas bills are uninteresting. And there is difference between having a lack of interest but a basic knowledge of how much things cost, who your suppliers are etc and having zero information about anything.

The latter is almost dangerous, I suppose? If something happens to the relationship, the person without control could be in a lot of trouble when it comes to moving on alone.

I think there is always a more dominant (or prominent) half of the couple, or who takes more of an interest, but I can't imagine being the person who has zero knowledge, myself.

tinkerbell28

tesuhoha wrote: »

Good thing you got involved.

I'd say so, or his Nokia 3210 would still be insured now....

barbiedoll

I "control" the household finances in the sense that I'm the one who sets up DD's, does the shopping around for the best deals on utilities etc, and as I get paid monthly, the bills all come out of my account.

DH gets paid weekly so we use his money (joint account) for food, petrol and any cash expenses such as lunch money etc. He has made noises about making mine a joint account but I'm a bit of a control freak (over money at least!) and I need to keep a close eye on the balance, we live pretty much hand to mouth and we have got in trouble with money in the past, which we are still paying dearly for.
I need to know that the mortgage and bills are covered, we can always find something to eat in the freezer but if the gas is cut off, we can't cook it! :eek:

DH said that he was listening to Martin on the radio the other week and said that we need to make a "death, divorce or disaster" list, with all account numbers, names of insurance providers, insurance policy details, passwords for the broadband provider etc etc etc, in case of any emergency. It's a good idea, if anything happened to me and I was left in a coma (or worse), no-one would have any idea about who to contact regarding any bills or payments. This would probably be a good idea for someone like Judi, whose financial affairs are in the hands of her partner. It's also a good idea to give "authority" to a partner, to speak to utility companies and the like, it's not good if your partner is incapacitated and you can't get an appointment to get the boiler fixed because the cover is in your partner's name!