Getting your SO involved

[PRICEPLUS]

Re: Getting your SO involved

I try to get my DW to participate but she is very resistant. I have to struggle with the finances sometimes. She is clipping coupons and she is being very good of late with her spending. I'll keeo trying to get her more involved with budgeting but it is a task!

[tinapbeana]

Re: Getting your SO involved

dh doesn't want to be involved in the financial 'nuts and bolts', he's bad at it, says as much, and gladly handed the duties over to me even before we were married.

with that said, he has the hardest time grasping that just because there's money in the savings account doesn't mean we have money just lying around waiting for us to spend it. i explain X is for taxes & insurance, he gets that. it's the other categories that tempt him. Y is for gifts and Christmas ("well, couldn't this thingy i want be a gift?"). Z is for household expenses ("the tool i'm looking at would be used for the house!"). argh....

[zetta]

Re: Getting your SO involved

I've always wondered if keeping his "fun money" in its own checking account would be a solution for that...or would he still see the money in the "household and savings" account as fair game?

[tinapbeana]

Re: Getting your SO involved

I've always wondered if keeping his "fun money" in its own checking account would be a solution for that...or would he still see the money in the "household and savings" account as fair game?

we actually already use that system: we both get an allowance and his gets direct deposited into his checking account and i pull my allowance out in cash. household money stays in my checking account, savings goes into the online savings account. so, in our world, he has a debit card for his money, i have cash for my money, and the house has the almighty checkbook for it's money

even with that, he still sees the money in savings as "money just waiting to be spent".

[Broken Arrow]

Re: Getting your SO involved

I've always wondered if keeping his "fun money" in its own checking account would be a solution for that...or would he still see the money in the "household and savings" account as fair game?

In a household where one person is managing all of the money, I highly recommend that system. That is, assuming that both parties agrees for one to manage everything. In which case, the only thing that needs to be worked out is how much "fun money" the other person gets. In return, that person has to agree to surrender his or her paycheck to you. But that person also won't have to worry about paying the bills or anything. Just an allowance to do whatever they please.

It won't work for everybody, but it's an option that's worth considering.