# Don't know if this will help, but this is our financial setup



## CuddleBug (Nov 26, 2012)

I have setup our finances for my wife and I and this is how we do it.


- my wife and I have our own bank account but are joint spousal

- my wife and I have our own credit card but are joint spousal

- my wife and I have our own car

- I have a line of credit my wife has full access

- I pay the going out and doing things bills.

- She pays the do nothing stationary bills

- We pay all the bills 50 / 50 based on our income levels


At first I made more, then we made the same and now she makes more.

If I want to buy something for myself, I do. If she wants to buy something for herself, she does.

We don't fight about money.

If I die, she gets everything and full access.

If she dies, I get everything and full access.


I setup our finances this way so we are married but modern at the same time. It works. My wife knows our finances whenever she wishes to look. It works for us.


----------



## SunnyT (Jun 22, 2011)

Ours is just the same.... only our incomes are about the same.


----------



## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

CuddleBug said:


> I have setup our finances for my wife and I and this is how we do it.
> 
> 
> - my wife and I have our own bank account but are joint spousal
> ...


----------



## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Let me try this again - I haven't used the multi quote option yet:



CuddleBug said:


> I have setup our finances for my wife and I and this is how we do it.
> 
> 
> - my wife and I have our own bank account but are joint spousal
> ...


----------



## lilith23 (Sep 6, 2012)

Me and my H earn pretty much the same, we have a joined account to pay the bills, weekly expenses and savings, and then each of us have a separate account with what we call pocket money for each of us (same small amount for each of us to spend freely and for meals at work).


----------



## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Do you contribute the same amount of money to the joint account or an amount based on a percentage of your income, or something else? lilith23, it sounds like you both get the same amount of pocket money and then the rest gets put into a joint account. I'm assuming you each make different salaries. Any heartache over that? One person is contributing more money to the joint account?


----------



## Allen_A (Nov 18, 2013)

It's a lot easier if you both just pool all your funds together minus an agreed on amount.

A monthly example : 

His income | 6,000.00
Her income | 1,000.00
------------------------
Combined income | 7,000.00

His fun money | 250.00
Her fun money | 250.00
Couples fun money | 250.00
-----------------------
Combined fun | 750.00

Household income = combined income - combined fun
7,000 - 750.00 = 6,250.00

By this i mean the income from both spouses goes into one family fund pool.

The family fund pays for

mortgage
power
water
gas
property taxes
groceries
internet
TV
phone
health costs
children
pets

Both spouses draw 250.00 out each month for themselves for fun
The couple draws 250.00 out for date nights etc

If any purchases need to be made outside of the normal monthly expenditures 

a. they are agreed on by both 

OR

b. It comes out of your monthly fun money

problems solved

you both get 250.00 to spend on whatever you want. If you want to put the cash into a paper shredder that's your prerogative.

You can play with the numbers, but this setup reduces a lot of conflict.

If he wants to buy a 1000 dollar guitar and she says we can't afford it

a. it is not a household expense since you both don't agree

b. he has to save up for it from his 250.00 (four months of tightening the belt)

Done.. the only challenges are where to decide if something is being bought for the home or for the fun of the individual.

That can get tricky, but at least the conflict is put into that tiny corner of debate where it's more easily dealt with.

You just have to negotiate how the household benefits from these kinds of expenditures.

You can break this down further if you want as well.

The main benefit is that each person is treated equally, regardless of who makes more of the money.


----------



## firebelly1 (Jul 9, 2013)

Yeah - our conflicts come mostly from a) deciding on how much debt we should carry, b) how much of our income should go toward paying off that debt, and c) should we spend our family discretionary fund on flying back east to see his family every year (him) or new furniture (me).


----------



## Homemaker_Numero_Uno (Jan 18, 2011)

firebelly1 said:


> Yeah - our conflicts come mostly from a) deciding on how much debt we should carry, b) how much of our income should go toward paying off that debt, and c) should we spend our family discretionary fund on flying back east to see his family every year (him) or new furniture (me).


Even single people have inner conflicts about stuff like that. 
Single parent with kids gets even a bit more conflicted. 
I think it you have a value statement first for the family and then personal value and goal/priority statements for each member of the family for what they want out of their life, and then frame in the principles from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it helps with some of the decision making.


----------



## Allen_A (Nov 18, 2013)

firebelly1 said:


> Do you contribute the same amount of money to the joint account or an amount based on a percentage of your income, or something else? lilith23, it sounds like you both get the same amount of pocket money and then the rest gets put into a joint account. I'm assuming you each make different salaries. Any heartache over that? One person is contributing more money to the joint account?


Who cares who is putting more money in as long as you are both working the same amount of time someplace, at home or elsewhere.

The fact is some people just get paid more for their time than others in this world. it's not fair to penalize the spouse that the market just decided to pay less.

Make your home an egalitarian home, equal pay for equal work. Done and done.


----------



## Allen_A (Nov 18, 2013)

firebelly1 said:


> Yeah - our conflicts come mostly from a) deciding on how much debt we should carry, b) how much of our income should go toward paying off that debt, and c) should we spend our family discretionary fund on flying back east to see his family every year (him) or new furniture (me).


Alternate each year. One year you go to spend time with family, the next year you buy furniture (or whatever frequency works for both of you).

Done.

Next!


----------

