THIS MAY BE A SILLY QUESTION...

[jadeleaves]

Our way of managing our finances has evolved over the years. We each get wages in our personal account, then we do a transfer of everything less some spending money into a cheque account. Bills & mortgages gets paid from this account. Instead of savings, we tend to put all over extra cash each month onto our mortgage, in essence making extra repayments to reduce the interest. If we need to, we can always redraw on the mortgage surplus. So far we haven''t had a need to do that.

Upgrades for wedding set comes from bonuses (hubby''s). Other jewelry (earrings, necklaces etc) are usually gifts for birthdays and christmas and anniversaries. RHR like my 2ct EC I usually pay out of my money.

Like what most ppl said, it''s OUR money no matter what!!

I like to tell him what''s his is mine and what''s mine is mine, but in reality, we pool our funds.

 

[lizz]

We also have separate bank accounts and credit cards. We are not hiding money from each other. We know exactly what each person''s money is used for, but it just works better for us to have things done separately. My husband had horrible credit before we got married, and so I decided to never combine accounts or loans with him. But he pays toward my loans, and vice versa. It all comes out of the same pot, and we figure our budget with both of our incomes.

 

[dbgaap]

Date: 6/24/2006 2:47:12 AM
Author: Mara
'Left pocket or right pocket, same wealth.'

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... it's not surprising at all to me that couples have separate accounts esp if they get married a little later in life when they are older and used to being independent...it's very hard to go from managing your own money and investments for 10-15 years on your own to just saying 'here's the check honey'. ...

I also kind of figure, if it ain't broke then don't fix it. Money troubles, fights, tribulations can be a huge thing in a marriage, it's a prime reason for fights and people name it as the #1 reason for divorce over time, so I figure if it works then leave it be!!! There are other WAY more fun things to concentrate on in the marriage than separate or joint accounts. hehee.

I totally agree! About 6 months ago, I got it in my head that we needed to have recessed lighting installed. As long as we had the electrician here, I wanted to change out a few light fixtures, too. Hubby and I spent some nice weekends shopping around and we have very similar taste, so it was fun to pick out new stuff.

I got an estimate from an electrician highly recommended by a local lighting store, which has a long & excellent reputation. I didn't want to get a 2nd bid becuase I was fine with the quote and the references. I work long hours & didn't want to waste time.

Hubby was freaking out that we weren't getting another quote, comparing prices, getting the best deal.... That was the first time I felt like:

"OMG, my life has changed and it will never be the same!!! I HAVE ALREADY MADE THIS DECISION. WE ARE GETTING THESE LIGHTS. WHO ARE YOU TO HOLD ME BACK??!"

I mean, I had the cash and I was ready to write the check and here he was trying to "be involved!"
LOL
We worked it out.

Oh, yeah, and laziness.. there's that.
We are just now closing accounts and combining some stuff.
There are a lot of logistical details when you combine two mature lives.
Hubby says it was like merging two highways with heavy traffic going over the speed limit.