Trading places

[JoyJoy]

Do you and your significant other switch roles as to who will pay the bills each month? Do you have to make sure they are doing a good job and can you trust them to make sure everything is correctly done? My husband is a spender and I tend to be very budget conscious. I suggested that he and I split up the bills since he is retired now. I hope I have done the right thing (lol) but I can check his progress online through our bank account.

This should be interesting. Waiting to see what others have to say about their situation!

[abowers]

We don't swap--
The cell phones and cable are in my name; electric is in his name and rent is automatically deducted from his graduate stipend. When bills come, we write the checks and send them off. At the first of the month, I know he's been paid (and rent has been subtracted) so I give him money for rent minus his share of cell phone & cable, plus my share of electric. Works out well, and has been working out well since last July.

[JoyJoy]

Originally Posted by abowers

We don't swap--

. Works out well, and has been working out well since last July.

This is what I love to hear; others getting along and things working out well. Hubby is excited about having his checkbook and bills back. He has less bills than before and I can get a reprieve from trying to figure this out and figure that out and not having to add more to make something work out. Now he will see exactly where every cent goes and I can't be more elated! He will do fine I'm sure lol.

[lrjohnson]

For a few years I paid all the bills and he gave me half; to give me a break and to let him have a learning experience, he's been dealing with the bills the last year or so. Takes either of us maybe 20 minutes a month.

[getforfree]

I make sure all bills are paid on time.
I also do all the grossery shopping. I always look for the best deals, what is on sale where. It's like my hobby to get stuff for almost nothing, I even get free staff I don't need as long as its totally free.
My DH has never paid a single bill since we got married. I pay all the bills online. If I ever ask him to buy something, I would have to tell him which store has it on sale, and give him the coupon, and hopefully he doesn't forget to use it.

[tgavin71]

I pay all the bills and deal with all the money in our household. DH doesn't have the time to do it. I write everything down in an exercise book that he can look at when ever he wants. Also I put all the bills on a corkboard so he can see whats what. Its works great for us.

[PrincessPerky]

I do the paperwork portion, he is called in to find math errors, or moral support. But mainly I figure I am home all day and can squeeze it in, he is at work all day making the money, bit harder to squeeze in.

But in reality, it is a joint opperation, I don't spend it all and niether does he. He currently has some income other than his 'real' job, and that is his to waste, or give to the monethly expenses. I think having his own money is pretty cool. (though I have no room for his new junk!)

[Ima saver]

I have always handled the money and paid all the bills, he gets an allowance for gas. He works too many hours to handle bill paying. I also pay the bills for all the houses he is building, so i handle other peoples money also. It can be a lot of work.

[lillyb]

Dh makes the money and hands it over. My 'job' is to make sure everything is paid and I can squeeze the dollars til they hurt. He detests doing bills, I'm the nerd who loves it. Works well for both of us.

[Lori63]

Originally Posted by tgavin71

I pay all the bills and deal with all the money in our household. DH doesn't have the time to do it. I write everything down in an exercise book that he can look at when ever he wants. Also I put all the bills on a corkboard so he can see whats what. Its works great for us.

Pretty much the same here. Occassionally Jim will want to see where everything goes, but he mostly just makes the money and I spend it. He can question anything at anytime but rarely does-if he does it's all written down to show him.

[JoyJoy]

I have to commend all of you for having a workable relationship with your significant other!!!!

I have slept better knowing I am responsible for a few bills a month; cable, car insurance, tithing, and my 3 credit card bills which will be gone soon! Of course I am here for my hubby should he need some help, but he feels good knowing he has to manage his own spending. Life is good!

[boefixepa]

I guess I need a SO to discuss this with.....hmmm....

[jodi]

I have to admit, I don't trust DH with the bills, so I pay everything. It's nothing intentional on his part - he just can't remember to pay them on time! Plus I am very anal about money, so I do admit that I am a bit of a control freak. If I pay the bills, I know where the money went.

[lrjohnson]

It's nothing intentional on his part - he just can't remember to pay them on time!

I had this problem with My Guy at first. We worked though it-he worked at getting better because it was a skill he wanted to master, and I worked at being patient, and giving some reminders, so he could become skilled and I could take a break. But I had felt a little burdened with it. I didn't feel burdened at first but after 6 or 7 or so years.....

[Lori63]

Originally Posted by jodi_m

I have to admit, I don't trust DH with the bills, so I pay everything. It's nothing intentional on his part - he just can't remember to pay them on time! Plus I am very anal about money, so I do admit that I am a bit of a control freak. If I pay the bills, I know where the money went.

Ditto here. That's us exactly.

[Broken Arrow]

It's so odd to hear from so many women who handle bills. It's just odd to me because I was once married to a woman who was the exact opposite while I handled all the bills.

[boefixepa]

My mom always did the bills. In fact in every household where I knew the family well enough to know, it was always the women. I grew up believing it was just part of 'wife duty.' It wasn't until I was in college that I learned that was not always the case.

[lillyb]

I grew up with mom taking care of the money, dad didn't want anything to do with it. I'm married to the same type, I suppose.

[boefixepa]

Bet he grew up in the same type too. His dad never had to worry about the bills, why should he, kind of thing. I wonder if we polled the general population how it would fall.

[notmadeofmoney]

My husband and I share the responsibility for our finances. When we got married, everything became "ours". We set up one checking account and one savings account. Have always used Quicken software to manage the finances. Early on in our marriage we would make it a weekly "date" night to post our receipts to Quicken and pay the bills. After our 3rd child was born, we decided to alternate turns posting. So he posts and pays bills one week and then it's my turn the next week, that way we both are informed as to what our financial status is. It helps because we're "on the same page" when it comes to finances (tithing, saving, spending, budgeting, etc.) Just celebrated our 13th year of a very happy marriage!