Comments on: Family Finances http://www.countingmypennies.com/2010/02/26/family-finances/ Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:06:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: sara l http://www.countingmypennies.com/2010/02/26/family-finances/comment-page-1/#comment-9092 sara l Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:14:00 +0000 http://www.countingmypennies.com/?p=1618#comment-9092 We do the first option. We've clearly outlined what's household (mortgage, cars, maintenance/bills related to both, vacation) and what's personal (hobbies, eating out, etc). The key is we discuss anything that's in a gray area and big purchases. We also discuss our spending priorities/goals for the household money. Honestly, I'd probably be upset if I knew how much he spent on comics and video games. He'd be astonished on what I spend on yarn, but we both spend within our personal means. The other reason we like percentages (vs a set amount) is he's on commission and I'm salaried but do other things to earn extra income. We each see some benefit from extra effort in our personal funds. We do the first option. We’ve clearly outlined what’s household (mortgage, cars, maintenance/bills related to both, vacation) and what’s personal (hobbies, eating out, etc). The key is we discuss anything that’s in a gray area and big purchases. We also discuss our spending priorities/goals for the household money. Honestly, I’d probably be upset if I knew how much he spent on comics and video games. He’d be astonished on what I spend on yarn, but we both spend within our personal means.

The other reason we like percentages (vs a set amount) is he’s on commission and I’m salaried but do other things to earn extra income. We each see some benefit from extra effort in our personal funds.

]]> By: Ronnie http://www.countingmypennies.com/2010/02/26/family-finances/comment-page-1/#comment-8924 Ronnie Sat, 27 Feb 2010 18:57:59 +0000 http://www.countingmypennies.com/?p=1618#comment-8924 I like joint accounts. My boyfriend and I have one, and when we're married we'll both put our income into that account and keep our separate accounts as "allowance," blow money. We get the same amount though, regardless of how much we make. In my state, if it's earned during the marriage, it's marital, so there's no reason for us to treat it differently. I'll be making significantly more for a long time while he's in residency, then he'll drastically outearn me. The key is being able to talk and discuss finances in marriage, and hopefully before. My boyfriend and I are on the same page now, and know that we have to continually discuss our goals and plans to get where we want in order to stay there. We're not always going to agree, but we'll both always be involved. I like joint accounts. My boyfriend and I have one, and when we’re married we’ll both put our income into that account and keep our separate accounts as “allowance,” blow money. We get the same amount though, regardless of how much we make. In my state, if it’s earned during the marriage, it’s marital, so there’s no reason for us to treat it differently. I’ll be making significantly more for a long time while he’s in residency, then he’ll drastically outearn me.

The key is being able to talk and discuss finances in marriage, and hopefully before. My boyfriend and I are on the same page now, and know that we have to continually discuss our goals and plans to get where we want in order to stay there. We’re not always going to agree, but we’ll both always be involved.

]]> By: Karen http://www.countingmypennies.com/2010/02/26/family-finances/comment-page-1/#comment-8909 Karen Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:05:33 +0000 http://www.countingmypennies.com/?p=1618#comment-8909 When my husband and I first got married, we tried to do the first option. We were moving equal percentages of our incomes into a joint account to cover joint expenses, and keeping the rest separate. Honestly, though, it became too confusing to sustain. We found ourselves discussing every purchase anyway -- even the ones that were supposed to come out of our "individual" money. In the end, we combined everything into one account to keep it simple. From this experience, I definitely learned the value of an open team mentality toward finances in a marriage. Before we got married, I thought I would miss financial "independence," but I really don't. Even purchases made out of an "individual" account affect both of us, so I'd rather make every decision together and combine our finances completely. And it's nice to have a teammate to discuss big decisions with so I'm not doing it alone. When my husband and I first got married, we tried to do the first option. We were moving equal percentages of our incomes into a joint account to cover joint expenses, and keeping the rest separate. Honestly, though, it became too confusing to sustain. We found ourselves discussing every purchase anyway — even the ones that were supposed to come out of our “individual” money. In the end, we combined everything into one account to keep it simple.

From this experience, I definitely learned the value of an open team mentality toward finances in a marriage. Before we got married, I thought I would miss financial “independence,” but I really don’t. Even purchases made out of an “individual” account affect both of us, so I’d rather make every decision together and combine our finances completely. And it’s nice to have a teammate to discuss big decisions with so I’m not doing it alone.

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