Just wondering how you separate the bills at your house?
Do you put everyone's pay into one account?
Do you pay for some bills and others pay for the rest?
Just wondering what works for everyone:)
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Just wondering how you separate the bills at your house?
Do you put everyone's pay into one account?
Do you pay for some bills and others pay for the rest?
Just wondering what works for everyone:)
I'm not working now, but when both of us were - all the money went into one joint account, all bills got paid out of that account. Didn't matter who got paid more, it was all in one big pot since we're married.
We have no separate accounts. For something like buying gifts, we just take out cash, so the other doesn't know what was purchased or how much it was. Or, really, we are grownups, so if one of us sees how much was paid, it really doesn't matter!
However, it's all based on trust - each has to know exactly how much is in the account, know what the expenses are, and how much money is left as discretionary.
We also have everything joint in our household regardless of who is earning what. This works well if you are in general agreement about spending and saving as a couple and there is complete trust between you. However I know that some couples have a house account with an agreed amount from each put in each month and then some separate savings etc. I personally think you can spend a lot of time and energy discussing who is paying for what but that is just me.
I'm not working now, but even when I was it was a joint account from the time we got married. We don't have an agreed upon spending limit. For gifts we just use the Visa and tell each other not to look at the statement until we have given the gift!
I've been married five years and have three joint accounts: Chequing, savings and emergency savings.
We have an excel spreadsheet that shows income minus expenses, what days we get paid and what days bills are due. We put all of our purchases on a credit card that we pay off in full before it is due. We usually pay all of our bills on the pay day before they are due. A certain amount is transferred to savings each pay day as well and the emergency savings is not used ever.
This system works well for us. The only problem we encountered was that we did too much compromising on what we spent money on. Each of us didn't want to spend money only on ourselves, so we ended by a lot of joint things/activities that both us didn't really want, but it felt like we were meeting in the middle. If we wanted something for ourselves, we would ask. That wasn't working for us. Recently we decided each of us is on an allowance. We get a certain amount of fun money each month just for us to spend. And when it's gone no more until next month. I find this really works for us because we don't feel guilty spending and you don't have to worry about what the other person is spending. All big/joint purchases are still discussed though
We each have our own chequing and savings accounts, knowing way too many people who have done through bad divorces and the money was a mess to sort, it works better for us to have our own financial independence.
We also have a joint account that we put money into for bills, emergencies and groceries, eating out etc when we are paid. Any large purchases, we both just transfer money to the joint account which also pays our joint credit card.
My husband and I have been together for over 10yrs already. We have never had a joint account. We split up the bills and each pay our own. If one of us needs more money because of various changes in expenses, then we tell the other and have them help that month. For example, my husband is responsible for most of the household bills. I pay for all of the groceries, my cell phone, my credit card (which I pay off in full each month), my own vehicle expenses, and my student loan.
We each put 75% of our pay into the joint account and keep 25% for our own personal spending/saving etc.
All of the house/joint/kid purchases come out of the joint account. Our own clothing, hobbies etc come out of our personal accounts. It's been working well for us for the past 5 years.
Joint accounts where pay goes into...then that is used to pay the bills.
All extra money is put on our house.
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I pay insurance, car payment and maintenance for one vehicle that I drive, rent, electricity, phone, cell phone (my work pays a portion of the phone and rent). He pays for most of the groceries, maintenance on the car he drives (which has been paid off), and he gives $500 towards the bills. I think it works out to be about 60% me, 40% him.
He pays the mortgage, insurance, utilities and his car expenses. I pay for the groceries and household shopping, DS's stuff, my car, etc. We put money in a joint account for emergencies and to pay for DSs daycare.
I prefer this arrangement as it permits me to have my own spending money without having to justify it.
our household is like natalka's household-married 33 years we both have one joint account and one savings account -doesnt matter who makes what-we both try to put money in the savings all the time -cause you never know whats around the corner
We've been married 2 years now, together for 8, and we are finally taking the plunge financially, and combining into one joint account with two debit cards. What's the point in juggling who pays what when it's all 'our' money anyway... Going to make paying bills much easier :) Especially since we're using YNAB, which makes sure we have the $$$ for everything!
We tried joint accounts a couple of times. They never worked for us. Mostly cause we bank at different places.
We have things divided. The person who gets paid more, pays more bills. Because the house is solely in hubby's name, he pays the morgage (a big expense) and I pay the majority of the bills. I also do all the shopping. If I run short one month and he has extra, he just writes me a check. We have it split so that each person has a little spending money. But I also withdrawl 2weeks worth of spending cash every pay and put it in a jar. If he's running out to the store to pick up something then he grabs cash from the jar.
Separate accounts; SO pays some of the bills, I pay some of the bills - right now it's pretty uneven since I have been on EI when the place I worked closed Dec 2011, and my EI is now done and I still haven't been able to get a job.
Recently dumbed down my resume about as close as saying "I werked" so we'll see what happens.
I won't ever in my life have another joint account with anyone. Never ever put all your eggs in one basket.
We have a combination of joint and separate accounts. Although we have separate accounts, we look at it as our money and pay our bills, put money into savings and have funded the girls RESP from our money. We don't make the same amount of money (I make more), but it's ours and stuff gets funded from that. We also agreed early on that we would consult on big purchases and that has worked well for us. We can do this because a) we see eye to eye financially and b) we have trust.
I did find that it is easier to have one person manage the finances though, rather than both of us. This ensures the bills always get paid on time, because I know it's my job and I'm not wondering if he has paid a bill or not. Both of us have access to the accounts and he can see what is going on at any time. And when last year there were challenges and he wasn't looking at our finances carefully, I had him take a good look so that he could understand what I was talking/worried about.
We keep some accounts separate because at first I was afraid of what his ex-wife could do to our finances. She's nasty, and if she could find a way to freeze his accounts, she would do so.
I also think it's a good thing to have separate accounts because I've heard too many stories of what can go wrong. It's not only in case of divorce, but also if a spouse dies. So many women have found themselves with frozen accounts when their husbands die. This is mostly my parents generation, but stuff can happen.
Oh, and our credit cards are separate too. We have the credit cards we had before we met, and has never made any sense to change that.
We have everything in one account and then we both have a separate account for our weekly spending money. The savings account is funded with both of our money but it's in my name alone, I've had it forever and we never bothered changing it.
We have always had joint accounts - if you all had a hubby like mine, you wouldn't have to worry....he NEVER spends money other than gas or the odd haircut lol Quite a content fellow he is :-)
We've always just had our joint accounts. Easy and works for us.
We jointly decided that I would quit my job to raise our kids (until kindergarten at least) so DH is our only income. He jokes that he makes the money but I keep the money in our pockets (I do the banking, shopping, couponing).
For presents we usually agree on an approximate amount and use cash so the other doesn't see where $ is spent before receiving the gift.
Hm... maybe our husband are related? Mine is pretty much the same way...
I just love the way you put that!
Then, there's always the reminder of the 'real life salary' of a SAHM - 2012 numbers: Stay-at-home moms work a total of 94.7 hours a week, with a 40-hour base and 54.7 hours of overtime on their mom duties. That's good for an annual salary of $112,962. (salary.com)
That's just averaged out, every family is different! Of course, we know no price can be put on it! :)
For 41 years we have had joint accounts. Having said that, I don't think there is a "right" or "wrong" way to pool resources and/or divide up bills.
Like Super807, I think that seeing eye to eye financially and trusting each other to stick to "the plan" is what helps determine how our household finances should be handled.
Since we retired, we have taken $20 each per week that we tuck away in our "stash" can. That gives us $1,000.00 cash each per year that we can use when we want to buy each other a gift. If we are going on a vacation and have extra in our "stash" can, we pool that for buying little extras on the trip. It seems to work well, for us.
I also think it's a good thing to have separate accounts because I've heard too many stories of what can go wrong. It's not only in case of divorce, but also if a spouse dies. So many women have found themselves with frozen accounts when their husbands die.
Banks can't freeze joint accounts in the case of death. (speaking from experience)
Depends if it is a full joint account or if you are just set up as a signatory on it
[/Quote] Banks can't freeze joint accounts in the case of death. (speaking from experience)[/QUOTE]
Thank goodness! It certainly saved my mother when my father died. It took about 4 months for the life insurance to settle, even longer for the will & pensions. He was the one with the pay check- so with the joint account with overdraft protection- mom was able to pay all the bills while we waited.
We have a combination- as he has his own own business- he banks with a different bank that I do. But we have "one pot", and think accordingly.
We have 2 savings, 2 chequing and 1 high interest savings. We both have access to them. All of my pay cheque goes into high interest savings (after RRSP and other investments are deducted) and all of hubby's pay goes into chequing. We pay taxes, electric, union gas, cable and cell phone bills, groceries and our "spending allowance" out of that account. We allot each other $100 every 2 weeks spending money to do what we wish with (I like to hoard mine for a rainy day). What's left over at the end of the bills goes into savings for emergencies. This system works well for us and has allowed us to be completely debt free for the past year or so. What a great feeling.
We do the joint account thing as well... we call it "The Black Hole". We never withdraw from it (made it difficult to do too... have to both go in to a branch and sign for it). Every two weeks a set amount of income goes in, and that's where our bills come out of. We overpay it a little, to create a buffer cushion. Our other "joint" account is the one our money goes in, and we use what's left over for Interac purchases.
It's a great way to keep track of how much more you can afford in terms of bringing on new expenses.