Any couples here got joint finances?
- Thread starter Cloo
- Start date
Idaho said:
How much is that then?
And how much does my wife earn?
And if it's so much, why don't you do it?
I bought a bean cube from Sainsburys the other day for £18. I checked with my wife because she might not want it in the living room, rather than because of the price.
I wouldn't check before spending a couple of hundred quid on a suit though - and she wouldn't expect me to. A games console? Probably. etc etc etc
I wouldn't check before spending a couple of hundred quid on a suit though - and she wouldn't expect me to. A games console? Probably. etc etc etc
Just had a money arguement with the other half this morning 
We have a joint account which covers the mortgage, bills, food, household expenses and anything else we do together (like if we go for a meal together). We each pay about half our salary into this account per month. Clothes, personal debts (student loan etc), going out individually etc come our own accounts.
The problem is Mr beeboo is now earning substantially more than me and also by some good fortune with investments has amassed a load of savings, whereas I'm constantly overdrawn. He wants to do loads of home improvements which are going to cost an arm and a leg, which could easily be paid for by his savings, but doesn't really want to pay for it out of 'his money'. Which is fair enough, but I've got no money and no savings.
We're trying to find some middle ground where he pays for it out of his savings, and together we put the money back into the savings over time, or something.
We have a joint account which covers the mortgage, bills, food, household expenses and anything else we do together (like if we go for a meal together). We each pay about half our salary into this account per month. Clothes, personal debts (student loan etc), going out individually etc come our own accounts.
The problem is Mr beeboo is now earning substantially more than me and also by some good fortune with investments has amassed a load of savings, whereas I'm constantly overdrawn. He wants to do loads of home improvements which are going to cost an arm and a leg, which could easily be paid for by his savings, but doesn't really want to pay for it out of 'his money'. Which is fair enough, but I've got no money and no savings.
We're trying to find some middle ground where he pays for it out of his savings, and together we put the money back into the savings over time, or something.
spanglechick
High Empress of Dressing Up
i was thinking about this - because once i pay off my debt my income will be much higher than M's and i'll want to contribute more.
I thought if you took the amount that the lowest contributor was paying in to cover essential joint stuff, and worked out what proportion of their income that was (say, 65% or whatever), then the more affluent partner contributed 65% of their income too.
That way, you still get more spending / saving money, if that matters to you and you think you deserve it, but you also contribute the same fairness to trhe joint finances, and the couple would therefore be better off too.
tbh - i don't know if i'd want to have more personal money than him anyway, so i'm not sure if i'd go for that, but it seemed like a fair plan.
I thought if you took the amount that the lowest contributor was paying in to cover essential joint stuff, and worked out what proportion of their income that was (say, 65% or whatever), then the more affluent partner contributed 65% of their income too.
That way, you still get more spending / saving money, if that matters to you and you think you deserve it, but you also contribute the same fairness to trhe joint finances, and the couple would therefore be better off too.
tbh - i don't know if i'd want to have more personal money than him anyway, so i'm not sure if i'd go for that, but it seemed like a fair plan.
I find it quite difficult - Mr B. has worked bloody hard for his income (earned shed loads more than me last year but was stuck in Swindon for the priviledge, away from me and all his friends and family) and he's been a lot more savvy than me financially so he 'deserves' it.
If I were at home looking after his kids or something it'd be different, but at the mo I don't see it as particularly fair that he contributes more than I do.
I could probably earn what he earns if I wanted to but I chose to do a career I enjoy (sometimes
) instead.
If I were at home looking after his kids or something it'd be different, but at the mo I don't see it as particularly fair that he contributes more than I do.
I could probably earn what he earns if I wanted to but I chose to do a career I enjoy (sometimes
) instead.
equationgirl
Respect my existence or expect my resistance
I suggested having a joint account for the food money with my ex - we each had our own properties but would have meals together, spending time at both places.
I got sick of him standing aside at the supermarket checkout and waiting for me to pay for the food shopping all the time, when I was earning less that him.
You'd have thought I had suggested decapitating kittens by his reaction.
I got sick of him standing aside at the supermarket checkout and waiting for me to pay for the food shopping all the time, when I was earning less that him.
You'd have thought I had suggested decapitating kittens by his reaction.
wtfftw
roof's about to blow ♩♪♩♬ ♬♩♪♩
We have joint finances without the joint account (checking credit histories - does that affect the more well behaved partner?- and actual getting round to it). Basically. The bills go through my account but he gives me the money. I don't actually have an income post student loan and pre incapacity benefit being sorted out. I've had to get my head around the idea of not having the choice of separate finances anyway. On incapacity benefit I can't pay the rent and live. I could live but paying the rent (housing benefit) will be reliant on his earnings. I think it's fucking disgusting that I don't even get the choice to be independant. We don't argue over money (or anything) and he's fantastic but I do stress about money and currently can't look after anything.
In theory one day we'll have separate accounts and a joint account with joint savings. Currently we're in the shit. Swings and roundabouts on who pays for what over the years.
I think I just assumed long term couples shared finances in a joint account stylee (like my parents). Talking to my friend though, her parents have separate accounts and whoever has the money pays for whatever. That's worked for 30 or 40 years.
In theory one day we'll have separate accounts and a joint account with joint savings. Currently we're in the shit. Swings and roundabouts on who pays for what over the years.
I think I just assumed long term couples shared finances in a joint account stylee (like my parents). Talking to my friend though, her parents have separate accounts and whoever has the money pays for whatever. That's worked for 30 or 40 years.
marty21
One on one? You're crazy.
we've been together since 92, and only got around to opening a joint current account about a year ago, the mortgage still come out of mine, and mrs21 transfers money into my account, i have noticed less agruments about owing eachother money now we dod have a joint account for shopping and that
Looby
Well-Known Member
beeboo said:Just had a money arguement with the other half this morning
We have a joint account which covers the mortgage, bills, food, household expenses and anything else we do together (like if we go for a meal together). We each pay about half our salary into this account per month. Clothes, personal debts (student loan etc), going out individually etc come our own accounts.
The problem is Mr beeboo is now earning substantially more than me and also by some good fortune with investments has amassed a load of savings, whereas I'm constantly overdrawn. He wants to do loads of home improvements which are going to cost an arm and a leg, which could easily be paid for by his savings, but doesn't really want to pay for it out of 'his money'. Which is fair enough, but I've got no money and no savings.
We're trying to find some middle ground where he pays for it out of his savings, and together we put the money back into the savings over time, or something.
Magic Sam earns more than me and all our money goes into the joint account so if I go out on the piss then I probably am spending his money but it's not an issue for us because it's our money. Same if something was bought for the house. I can't see the problem of mr beeboo paying for the improvements if he wants them done.
If he wanted to go on holiday and you didn't have the money would he pay for you, go without you or not go at all? Not having a go btw just curious really.
Idaho said:
pretty much the same... We have our own personal accounts & 1 joint for morgage bills & food. I have my life insurances, credit card that has nothing to do with tupster, although he will be the beneficiary???? (hang on, something wrong there...lol
) My overtime's mine.. We don't question eachother about our own puchases as long as money's gone into joint account FIRST!!!
Iguana
Well-Known Member
Cloo said:
My husband earns way more than me now and has the potential for his earning to increase by a huge amount. He works in film, I work in charity. That said my income is stable and his is all over the place. But as soon as we moved in together we have had joint finances. We just operate on the principle that what we each earn is earned for our family. (Just us and the dog at present).
When we bought our house I had savings and his parents gave us money, which was more than my saving but we still decided to own the house in the way that we officially share 100% of it rather than it being split between us.
soulman said:
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
we have a joint account and my salary goes in.most bills come out of that as standing orders. mrs shoes has her own account and pays her salary into that
hmmmm
hmmmm
pinkmonkey
2.4 hour party person
I'ts all joint for us joint bank account and joint savings account - because we run a business partnership, if one of us is broke, we both are, as we are joint breadwinners, so we don't tend to argue about it.
El Jugs hardly spends anything because he's allergic to shops - spending is my department, but he knows I'm a tightwad Yorkshirewoman. Big purchases we decide together on, then I'll do the purchasing.
Theres no way I'd have had this arrangement with the ex husband though - we just didn't trust each other enough!
El Jugs hardly spends anything because he's allergic to shops - spending is my department, but he knows I'm a tightwad Yorkshirewoman. Big purchases we decide together on, then I'll do the purchasing.
Theres no way I'd have had this arrangement with the ex husband though - we just didn't trust each other enough!
han
love is the answer
Mrs Magpie said:
Us too (except for the marriage bit
).We share everything, and are lucky that we NEVER argue about money, it just doesn't come up. What's mine is hers, what's hers is mine, but we don't have joint bank accounts. If one of us has more money, then we'll pay for everything, and vice versa. It all balances itself out generally, and even if it doesn't, it doesn't matter cos we consider everthing to be joint anyway.
But neither of us like the idea of having joint bank accounts. It just seems a bit unnecessary to me. And as you say, Mrs M, even if you intend on spending the rest of your life with someone and trust them implicitly, sometimes life just doesn't work out like that. So it's best not to be seen as one person, financially, in the eyes of teh law.
Idaho said:
So you make a stupid comment without knowing the facts?
sparklefish said:
hmm - I actually don't know what we'd do if this came up. At the mo I'm spending a bit beyond my means whereas he is saving money (despite the fact he spends a lot more on clothes and stuff than I do).
We actually met at work and were on exactly the same salary to start with, and it is only in recent years that we've gone in different career directions and only in the last year or so that a big gap in our salaries has developed, so we're still trying to negotiate how we pay for things these days. He thinks I'm just bad at money management, which is true to a degree.
