If you are part of a household, do both adults have to work to pay the bills? Or does the second one just work

Question

for the "gravy?" (The second car, the nicer home, the nicer clothes, the vacations, the spending money, etc.)

I guess I didn't make the question clear. If one person's income can pay the bills, does the other person add their income so that they can have all the extras, or does it take two of you to pay the bills?
sorry about not making it clear @ first.

Answer 1

Me and my husband both work and there are no luxuries, we are working just to try to pay for the basics; food, shelter, utilities, etc. We don't have car payments or credit card debt, either.

Answer 2

Depends on certain things. Does the first person make enough to cover the bills AND feed the family? If so, then yes, the second person works for the "gravy". If not, they both need to work. There is no specific formula for this unfortunately. It's a matter of situation.

Answer 3

back in the day, when it was a little easier, a single parent could work and get everything they need... Now a days, unless one parent is making above 100K, then usually both parents work since the cost of living is higher then it was back then. It's also good to have a great budget. 2 cars isnt' that hard to get though... the nice home, just dont' mess up your credit, and look around before you buy... many people make that mistake without even knowing it... there's cheaper houses if you look around... clothes... don't buy every week, or every month... the vacations, you gotta budget for a great one... but there's also great vacations that don't cost that much at all really... Going to the beach for a day.... just gas money, and food... playing in the beach is free... going to six flags... what.. just 35 dollars a person, if you get coupons, it'll help.. spending money... whenever you budget, you don't have to worry much because you know that you have that money put away for the things you have to pay for, like house, car payment, gas, electricity etc... to have more saving money, you have to look at all aspects of spending.... keep the lights off when you don't need them, avoid making plenty of trips to the store if you don't need to, drive speed limit not krazie to save gas (trust me it was hard for me), buy off brand merchandise (stuff like toothpaste, kitchenware, tv's etc) will save you a lot.. there's lots of things.....

Answer 4

Depends on the earnings of the first person that has been designated to work. If his/her take home pay is considerable enough to handle all expenses and all the gravies, then one can just stay home and handle all the household responsibilties. If what he/she earns is not enough to include all the gravies and both parties mutually want that much, then the 2nd person has to work also. It depends really, it depends on what both parties agreed upon. :)

Answer 5

I live alone now, well, my brother and Mulder (dog), live with me. But I used to be in a live-in relationship for about 2 years. We never actually made rules but somehow it just became understood that each of us would pay 50% of rent & utilities. We each had our own car, mine had just been paid off and her's was paid off by the time we started our second year together. Whoever saw that we where running low on food itmes (milk, eggs, etc.) would end up happily buying the food. She was a lady and as a gentleman (at least I like to think of myself as one), I enjoyed the resposibilty of showing her a good time by paying for our nights out. She would occationally treat me to dinner or movies or just buy me something nice. She loved to cook & I learned alot from her, which is why I love to cook myslef now, so she made most of the meals at home. We both made Thursday into "clean the house" night and on those nights we'd always finish a bottle of wine. Other than that we'd each buy our own clothing, even though she would make it a point to be with me when I bought clothes (I did look good thanks to her, I have to admit). When we went on vacation she insisted that she pay for her ticket, and on the trip, I bought the drinks and food and she bought the suilvoineres (hmm, the spell checker says that "suilvoineres" is spelled ok, but it sure doesn't look like it!). Now that I look back on it, it was a very fair relationship.

Answer 6

The truth is it depends on the type of job each member of the house has and the lifestyle choices they make including location, age of children, stage in your life. If one is a professional and the other a realtor as in our household, then it depends on the real estate market. If it is a buyer's market then we eat beans and rice and save the gravy for Thanksgiving.

Answer 7

We both work like dogs just to make it and sometimes I feel like I am bobbin up stream against a racing current legless and armless. Our only vehicle is a 2000 Honda van. There is 5 of us living in a 2 bedroom 1 bath condo. Hubby, me and the 3 year old sleep in the living room. Ahhhhhhh the American dream.....sure glad it works for the foreigners.

Answer 8

In my family, my job is the only source of income. My wife is the one who has the real job, as the one primarily responsible for raising our two children. Thanks to the Lord's blessing and guidance, my income is more than adequate to meet our family's financial needs. We spend about one-third of our income on taxes, one-tenth goes to the church, and another one-third or so goes to pay the bills (including clothes, vacations, etc.). The rest we save and invest. May God bless and keep you.

Answer 9

I work for the gravy....the going out to dinner, to a movie, type of stuff. I also work because I enjoy getting out. Our daughter is old enough now to stay home by herself and I can "have a life" of my own again.

Answer 10

Both need to work, in my oppinion.
whether or not you need the extra money, so that if you have kids, you can afford the little things for them, ALSO so that you can build a college fund for the kids. if not, it's still a good idea for both to work so that you can splurg and not worry about if the next bill is going to be paid or not.