$$ Poll

McGillicuddy13

Do you and your H have a joint account, or separate accounts?

Do you budget in a certain amount each month for "fun" purchases? How does this break down between you and your H? 

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I often feel guilty b/c H is more thrifty than I am with money. I'm used to being a single twenty-something who goes out and purchases new shoes/clothes/home decor with part of every paycheck. I realize that I could be a lot better about saving, but at the same time, I'm earning a decent chunk of change, and I feel like if I want a few new skirts and a new pair of shoes, I should be allowed to do that. But at the same time, I don't want to thwart our reno and TTC goals with my selfish spending. I'm thinking of instituting a $X/month "allowance" for myself and H for fun purchases. Or maybe $X/every other month. Just wondering how other money-savvy nesties handle it. TIA!

 

WendyToo

We have a joint account and separate accounts. We each 'get' x amount per month for 'spending money' and bills come from our joint account. My x amount is a little higher, but I tend to spend a good portion of mine on things for us (and Connor).

Steven&Jamie

We have a joint checking and joint savings account.  We combined everything after we got married.

I budget for going out to eat, renting movies, etc., but we don't each have "fun" money.  If there's an extra/fun purchase one of us wants to make we just discuss the amount and whether or not we can afford to get it right then.  

5thOfJuly

We have joint accounts. We don't really budget at this point. Instead, we just spend judiciously. We're lucky in that if we want something extra that's kind of big (like new furniture) DH just works overtime or PRN hours, then we buy it. Right now we're using that "extra" money to save for finishing our upstairs office/bonus room/bathroom. My summer teaching money is going toward that kitty as well.

tbvenable

When C and I frist got married we had seperate accounts then we joined accounts and are now back to seperate. Seperate just works better for us. We each have certain bills we pay and we use whichever account when we go out to eat. If one of plans to make a big purchase we always talk about it but if its clothes or shoes or something like that we don't because we both know that we need those items so there is no reason to discuss.

BoyMom21

We have joint checking, savings, and investment accounts.  I have a checking account that is only in my name that I keep random money that I come in contact with (like grandpa slips me a $50, etc). 

When it comes to fun money we usually discuss purchases that are of a significant amount (over $500).  The rest are mentioned in passing but we generally end up deciding on things together.  If I need to frame B's 3 year old pics and spend $400 on framing, I don't have to call him and ask, which is nice.  He gets that I incur more expenses because I'm the one handling everything for us.  I guess he kind of gets put on the back burner a lot.  Really, we sort of take turns getting fun things and that works for us.  He doesn't count mani/pedi as things that come out of "fun" money...he thinks they're necessities.  Along with hi-lights and hair cuts, etc.  For that I love him. 

prettygirl06

We have both. A joint checking, joint savings, and 2 separate checking accounts as well. 

fuzzylogic

We are separate. I give myself about $100 average per month fun money just for me. H gives himself more fun money since he makes multiple times what I do.

We split the bills all weird and I know our way wouldn't work for anyone else, but it works for us pretty well.

There is no reason for us to compare salaries, it's just sad. If I need shoes, I buy them. If he needs shoes, he buys them. If the house needs something, he's usually the one to buy it, except paint, as I am the one who always ends up doing that! 

+PuppyWuppy+

 We have joint accounts.  We use a spreadsheet that managed our present and future cash flow situations.  We have money built in each week for eating out or clothes and whatnot - since we started the spreadsheet,  I have spent quite a bit less money on clothes and such because I really see how my spending effects our reno budget.  We have been doing this for a year and it has really helped.

McGillicuddy13

I used to keep a spreadsheet of bills when I was single, and it helped me make sure I paid everything on time, and didn't overspend. Maybe we should go back to that.

H and I do fine with money, and to this point we've just tried to be reasonable with purchases. The difference is, H rarely buys anything for himself, and when he does, it's just because it was on sale. I love a good sale, but I pay full price for most stuff I buy. I hate feeling guilty about that, and I think if I had some allocated amount per month, I'd feel fine spending.

gingerfeathers

+PuppyWuppy+:

 We have joint accounts.  We use a spreadsheet that managed our present and future cash flow situations.  We have money built in each week for eating out or clothes and whatnot - since we started the spreadsheet,  I have spent quite a bit less money on clothes and such because I really see how my spending effects our reno budget.  We have been doing this for a year and it has really helped.

I'm going to copy this idea. I think a spreadsheet would be very helpful for us.

OUKap

We have a joint checking account. Since I can set up multiple deposits with my paycheck, I have a set amount of money each paycheck going into savings accounts for major purchases. We set aside money in our budget for clothing, entertainment, fun money, but we are not strict with it. We have extra in our budget if we go over. Any extra money from the end of the month is put into a savings account.

amandajean_8807

We have joint accounts. We are working on being more budget conscious. We usually pay our bills, save a certain amount, and use the rest as "fun" money. We bought a house in June. Fun money is not only used for going out but also for house stuff like decorations and furniture. We don't put an exact number on fun money, but I think we are going to start in September. This will help us focus a bit more on getting our cars paid off and prepare for TTC. Our budget method isn't great at the moment, but I think it's getting there.  

SunnyDaze31

We have joint and individual checking and savings accounts. We don't have a budget or set amounts of fun money. We both have fairly inexpensive tastes and neither of us enjoys going shopping very often, so our major expenses are eating out for lunch. However, in months where we do spend more than average, I try to cut back on spending a little the next month to compensate, but with no specific dollar amount to meet.