re: How do you manage finances with your spouse?

Everything shared. Still in the process of getting it all fully combined. Everything is on autopay. We discuss any purchases over $500 just as a heads up to the other. I track all of the financial progress and she follows my lead. She’s financially engaged but really doesn’t want to spend much mental energy on it.

We have a joint checking/savings. All bills are paid from the checking.

I have a CC without her and vice versa, but we mostly share a AMEX.

It works out for us. She doesn't really pay attention to the finances and mostly relies on me to say what our budget is. and I have to give her credit for staying between the lines more often than not.

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manage finances

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swipe and pray

Everything is put together and bills are paid by the wife. She is the bread winner in the family.

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Just curious if there is a norm. Separate bank accounts and then mutually paid bills / investments? Everything together with discretionary money for each? Complete free for all?

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Couples should find out what works best for them

For the wife (no pics) and I, she has her own checking and savings, I have my own checking and savings and we have a joint checking and savings.

We each put a certain amount from each paycheck into joint checking (set to automatically deduct) and anytime there is a deposit of over a certain amount (which is easily well under what comes from out paychecks) it keys off a small transfer from joint checking to joint savings.

We pay the mortgage, car insurance, utilities, etc from joint checking. What she has in her personal checking/savings is hers and what I have in mine is mine. We talk about finances and what we're buying often so that there are no surprises (good, ongoing communication is a cornerstone of a good relationship), meaning we will own up to one another if we realize we've been spending a bit too freely from our personal accounts.

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How do you decide on big purchases like houses / vehicles and how do decide on investments?

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For the mortgage or the apartment (we have both because of work needs) we go through those together, discuss it quite a bit and make a decision together. For getting a new vehicle, we do that with our personal funds.

For investments, I have my own self-directed 401k and am working on a pension. She has a 401k through her work. As my 401k is self-directed I pay more attention to mine than she does hers, but she stays aware enough of it to know about how much it is and know she is getting the max matching she can from her employer.

2nd marriage, so completely separate. Different banks, different cell companies, different insurance companies, etc. I pay the mortgage and bills on the primary residence that I owned before we married and is protected by a pre-nup. She pays the mortgage and all bills on our weekend lake house (protected by a post-nup). We've never argued over money.

Wife (no pics) and I have separate savings and checking. We got married later in life and it just seemed like a hassle to open accounts and change billing, etc. but we are a total team and know what’s mine is hers and what’s hers is mine.

Some bills are paid out of her accounts and some others out of mine. We have a joint CC that we pay for everything on for the points. We pay it off weekly and just kind of split who pays what weeks.

We max out retirement accounts. As for savings and investments, I handle all that as she trusts me on that.

We tackle big financial decisions together. We do a financial check in every month or so. We are both pretty conservative and have the same priorities on what we like to spend our money on. Lucked out and got a good one in Mrs. Suntiger.

Joint account and each hand our own accounts.

We each put a percentage in the joint each paycheck, which is where bills come from.

Scruffy saves more so his “separate” account has significantly more.

Big purchases are a joint agreement.

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I manage them while she wanders though life blissfully ignorant of just about anything having to do with money

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We may be married to the same gal.

Separate.

She has her money, I have my money.

Separate bank accounts, come together for bills, kids, or big purchases.

She got a big inheritance when her mother passed away and the old family home was sold off.

I know how much it is (ish), but I will not touch it.

That's her money that her mother left her from her lifetime of earnings. I will not dip into it. It's her money. Not mine.

workwise:

I make significantly more than her so I have no problem paying the lion's share of bills. We do our own investments, (She would have balked at my gamespot investment when it was going crazy, but I was able to take advantage and make good money because I had my own accounts)

It's not for everyone, some posters (the money board) will say shite and say we should share everything But you know what, it works for us.

Probably avoided 1000s of arguments about buying stupid little shite, she likes buying decorations or stuff for her car which is sometimes expensive. I like collecting old books or buying vintage toys for my kids which is sometimes expensive. No looking at the statement and asking 'What is this?'


I am proud to say we have NEVER had a fight about money.