Banging head against a brick wall!!

Tam

Mare,

We have our own accounts, I like to control my own money and spend it how I want, that way I don't feel guilty when that pair of boots just leap off the shelf at me! He pays the mortgage council tax and all the big bills. I only work part time at the mo but I buy all the food, pay the broadband and overpay the equity release mortgage payments which we got last year to upgrade my car and buy a second hand caravan for fun but cheap holidays.
As I said we don't have any debts but I can't help but feel we pay out more than strictly necessary.

meanmachine_2

It does seem to me that certain individuals in this world have become a little, erm, complacent of late.

Don't people remember the days of boom and bust? Recessions might not be as extinct as the politicians would have us believe...

Well I'm a bloke and the tightest git that I know. Except I just think I'm being sensible, and see the rest of the world as having gone insane.

If I spend money I worry about where the next quid is going to come from. I actually feel a twinge of guilt every time I open my wallet.

Personally I think that's a good thing. After all, none of us knows what's around the corner. If it's something nasty then I'm prepared. If it's a nice surprised then it's a bonus.

However I can see myself in 40 years time as one of those sad old men who appears to have nothing and when they die leave about a million quid to charity! Gah. That's not a pleasant thought...

Kantankrus_Mare

Im with you on this one Mean!!

Thats exactly why I want to get some semblance of order into my financial affairs.

Like you say..if you budget and are careful,, you know that should something unexpected need paying for, you are covered and no headaches worrying about going into debt.

Mind you lol I'm not quite with you on the point of passing away and leaving thousands.......once I'm out of debt and have a buffer in place I shall be spending along with my hubby but hopefully spending more wisely and getting more for my dosh!!

P.s. Can one of you lot tell me what the triangle at the bottom of peoples postings means? I cant for the life of me fathom it out........and why havnt I got one?

meanmachine_2

Kantankrus_Mare wrote:

P.s. Can one of you lot tell me what the triangle at the bottom of peoples postings means? I cant for the life of me fathom it out........and why havnt I got one?

The triangle allows me to report you if you submit a post that breaks the rules.

You can't report yourself, which is why yours don't have them.

moggins

I'll join in on this thread as my dh is exactly the same. It's come down to me paying £100 a month on to his credit card for pocket money (he gets extra for petrol and CC interest). He's now got himself a 0% card and it was only me nagging him that he managed to do a balance transfer. He still hasn't rung them to sort out making payments. I'm getting frustrated with his attitude and yet when there's something I need to spend money on (eg my little ones birthday in June) I can't get him to agree to spend anything

Kantankrus_Mare

Apathetic arent they?? Don't know why they cant seem to get a grip with financial matters.
Maybe its true what they say about men having one track minds and obviously finance isnt on that track!!

xela_17

My boyfriend is just as useless with money. I have to nag him to do every little thing, which I hate as I feel like his mother. He earns far less than me so really does need to keep a reign on his money but he never did. I even bought him Martin's book (second hand of course!) and he didn't even bother to read it. (I did, even though I'm on here every day).

He's a little better now as I'm now making him sit down every month when he gets his paycheck (it changes every month) and work out a budget. The he has to write in his spending diary everything he buys to stick to the budget.

I'm still staggered by his complete lack of moneysaving knowledge though. e.g. He has an egg card that was coming up to its anniversery. Not only did he not know that he could get another 5 months interest free, he didn't know how to BT the money on his egg card to another card and then back again (encompassing the money on the other card at the same time). I literally had to sit there holding his hand while he was on the phone!

Squidgy

don't even get me started. We are currently having to sell our home to enable us to clear our debts.

My other half thinks it's perfectly ok, when he wants to stop doing something, to just cancel the direct debit payments and not tell the company. Thanks to that we now have a £4K debt on one thing. He's so useless!

I've told him I want everything in my name when we move, as I can't do anything about things when they are in his name.

However, he knows how bad things are now, so I'm trying to train him while I still can!!!

robindunne1

Gonna have give a guys point of view. I earn everything and my wife stays at home with the kids. She has no idea about the bills, but has every idea about how much money I earn and seems intent on wanting to spend it. The way we get round it is me giving her a weekly allowance into her own bank account for food and I take care of everything else. Seems she never has any money left no matter how much extra I give her.

It seems that the amount of money she can spend has everything to do with how much she can squeeze out of me and nothing to do with how much I earn.

I pay all the bills and make sure the house is in good condition and the family is well fed and clothed. If she were in charge of the finances I'm sure we'd be in a lot of trouble.

Kantankrus_Mare

awwww bless you !!!

I think you are actually one of many men in the same boat. I've just got back from a girls night at a friends and after the conversation turning to money it seems most of the women havn't got a clue where day to day expenses are concerned but we have been discussing.........would it work if two like minded people were together? e.g. two money pinchers? or two spenders together? hmmmm we thought not but what do other people think?