How do you separate bills at your house?

[sarah_cio]

We have had a joint account since we got married 6.5 years ago. Both pay cheques go into it. We also have a joint credit card. We both have our own RRSP, ing savings accounts, TFSA and work pensions. We feel that marriage is about openess and communication and a major reason for divorce is actually because of financial dishonesty. It is funny because we both grew up in homes where our parents money was separate and neither really knew how much the other parent had. We both decided we didn`t want that. It seems so weird to me to say its mine or his money as we both have two kids, a home, cars, etc together.

[lilo0003]

we have been married 18 yrs and have always had everything joint. In this day of online banking it is easy for us to both see what is going on with the money. I watch the banking and credit cards almost daily to make sure all is well after two comprimised cards in a month several years ago. The exception is in December where we each have a card the other does not look ast to keep the presents a surprise. DH is very open with others about the fact that I am the reason that we have extra money as I can make it go far. We paid off our mortgage this yr and we still take a major vacation every yr with two school aged children.

[nainai0585]

After 11 years together, 5 of which are married years, we only have 1 joint account. Dh has his own chequeings and savings, I have my own chequeings and 2 seperate savings accounts (1 for vacation savings, 1 for down payment on a house savings). Dh takes a set amount of money out of his paycheque for personal use, then deposits the rest of the money into our joint account. I then take over and distribute the rest of the money where it needs to go, whether that is bills, rent, savings, vacation savings, groceries, etc.
I enjoy having full control of where money is spent/saved and knowing that all of our bills are paid, rent is paid, grocery and savings has been put aside and dh is more then happy with this situation as well. He admits that he doesn't have the appropriate skills to handle money properly and doesn't mind giving me 90% of his paycheque. But this simple fact is the main reason why we don't have more joint accounts and why he does not handle/have access to the down payment and savings accounts. These accounts are also my safety net incase things go bad between us, it always helps to be prepared for the unexpected.