How do you decide who pays what? Do you have a joint account and have one person pay the bills? What about the difference? I just started back to work after my baby turned 1, my husband and I are having a hard time with money management. He thinks I don't pay enough bills. Please share what has worked and what hasn't worked for you. Thanks.
2007-09-22 02:02:36 · 7 answers · asked by af 1 in Business & Finance ➔ Personal Finance
First of all marriage is a partnership. Joint account. Both incomes need to be combined and used to pay the bills.
I am in charge of the money at my house. I see to it that the bills get paid on time, I see to it that a portion goes into a savings account, I make sure he has spending money between paydays. It is all based on trust. My hubby knows that he can fully trust me to manage the money in a manner that benefits us to the max.
But both of are responsible for paying the bills, it don't matter who makes what, it all comes out of the same account. Also we have kept our debt down so that if for some reason one of us stops working we can make it on just one income. But it wasn't easy to here. Alot of hard work and not getting what we WANTED. Good luck.
2007-09-22 02:14:56 · answer #1 · answered by carmeliasue 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
1. Develop a budget and use both incomes to determine the total monthly income to the family; it does not matter where the money comes from.
2. Keep you bills in a strategic place and have one of you pay them and the other make sure the first is paying them (read gentle reminders here). We have a file box that sits on my wife's desk. When she puts the bill in the box she writes it on our calendar. Put it on the calendar for when you need to pay it, not for when it is due. She typically pays the bills and has me transfer money from my account when it is needed.
3. Logistics. We each have our own checking and savings accounts. We also have joint checking and savings at the same bank, making it very easy to transfer money in/out as needed.
In short, make a plan and stick to it. Theoretically, one of you is going to better at paying/maintaining the bills and that is who should do it. It is not personal, it is just the way things are.
Good luck!
2007-09-22 11:02:50 · answer #2 · answered by JJ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Everyone that is married and both work have these issues, and there are lots of ways that work.Who ever is best at figuring the bill and paying promptly should be the one to do it, and the other partner should agree to that and give a fair amount to paying of the bills putting that money into that account.Keeping the finances organized is very important and has caused many marriages to fail.Good luck to you guys and hopefully you can reach a system that works for your family.We also each keep a savings account for emergency's IE car troubles,appliance troubles,ect.and we split those costs.
2007-09-22 09:25:13 · answer #3 · answered by sasyone 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The very first rule is to make sure you protect yourself financially in the unfortunate event of a divorce. You should have a joint account with your husband where you both contribute to the household finances, but you should also keep a separate savings account so that you can save some money for yourself from each of your paychecks. I would think that the amount of bills each of you pays would be determined by the amount of money you make....if he makes more money than you than obviously it would be easier for him to take on a few more bills....
2007-09-22 10:28:21 · answer #4 · answered by smileyc117 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Sounds to me you are living like roommates and not a married couple. In my household, even though I make 3 times more than her, we put all our money into a joint account. We pay bills, shop and spend all from this account.
Our marriage is supporting each other, not my money your money .
2007-09-22 10:29:10 · answer #5 · answered by Grandpa Shark 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nothing really works well, we just plug through it. We have two joint accounts, one for each of our paychecks. Bills are usually paid from one account until it is drained and then the next one, which we hope we don't have to touch that often. Then you can use the second account for savings if you don't have to tap it that often.
2007-09-22 09:07:54 · answer #6 · answered by redwine 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I handle all the bills, I do keep her informed as to how much I have paid out and what is left. If you get too many hands in your bill paying, you end up fighting. Just handle them by yourself.
2007-09-22 09:12:19 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋