Married couples...who handles the finances in your household?

Question

Paying the bills, reconciling the checkbook, maintaining the finances, etc. Is it a joint effort or is it one or the other's responsibility?

It isn't a problem for us, my husband is in the military and usually always deployed so I have to handle everything to include children, him, and a full time career. My sister-in-law is going through a really tough time because she doesn't know how to tell her husband that they don't have money in the bank when he asks to do something or buy something. She'll skip a bill or go get a small line of credit and then they are just in the hole. So he's taken away all of the finances and accuses her of not being able to handle anything at all (she's a SAHM) if she can't even handle that simple task. I don't think finances are always just so "simple". We have two incomes so it is easy for us, but we bail them out of a lot of sticky situations because they couldn't handle their properly.

Answer 1

I am the wifey & I do it all

Answer 2

When I first married my husband he did everything and then I would ask him questions and he couldn't answer anything. So I showed him the way to get things done. I called all our utilites and i asked them if they would send us a year print out. Then I added it all together and added 10% to it. I also have a lot of other things in the budget. He was surprised when I took charge how week the finances went. We always have money for the kids lunches because they are figured in. I have the dentist, doctor, vacations, mortgage, insurance, you name it. It almost sounds like our whole pay. But it keeps us from spending more than we should. I wish you luck. This is a big problem in most marriages. My husband is a spender and I'm a saver.

Answer 3

We both do - kind of - I pay the bills and handle most of the money. He handles our Etc. account - the going out and having fun money for vacations, dinners out, and date night etc.

We have 2 bank accounts so that he handles one and I handle the other. We don't go over budget on our fun time and the bills all get paid, plus we both feel that we are contributing to the household finances.

Answer 4

We both do - I tend to keep a closer eye on the bank balance than he does, and I also schedule the payments, etc., but he does most of the analysis as far as long-term planning. He's a lot better at "seeing the big picture" than I am, because I'm big on instant gratification and "want it now" attitudes. =)

We pay into and out of a joint bill account, too, since some other folks have mentioned that.

Answer 5

We both earn it, we both spend it, but he is primarily responsible for the dirty work of paying bills, balancing the check book, etc. We talk about finances but he handles the actual hands on.

I gave him a choice when I went back to work full time - he could do the bills or the laundry......he chose the bills lol. Before that I had primarily handled the finances.

Answer 6

I pay the bills and reconcile the checkbook, but we always discuss the finances--how much to put in savings, big purchases that need to be made, etc--and we make the decisions jointly.

Answer 7

When I get married next year, I will be taking over both our finances. I've lived with the man almost a year and he makes some REALLY bad financial decisions. He has agreed to let me handle his bills once we're married.

Answer 8

My husband physically pays the bills, but the money is made by both of us. We have a joint account and both get direct deposit to the account. I'm forgetful though, so my husband is better at remembering.

Answer 9

He THINKS he does. I figure the budget and everything, then he goes online and physically pays the bills. I stay at home, and I guess it makes him feel like he knows where his money is going. Or something. It just makes him happy to do it, although I tell him how much to pay and what not.

Answer 10

We make financial decisions together. We both work and our money is together. He usually pays the bills that we pay on line but I write the checks if we need one because it takes him forever. He is better at making financial decisions so I usually go with what he wants to do. He is also the saver and makes sure that we have what we need for things.

Answer 11

What me and my fiance are making plans to do is have a joint account the place we are able to positioned money for the enjoyed ones and shop our very own debts. we nevertheless would desire to sit down down and communicate what quantity of each and every of our respective pay will bypass into the joint account yet that quantity is evidently negotiable in circumstances of finacial variations like interest exchange or training.