Who's in charge of this in your house?

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve, I like the idea of a master list that you mentioned. I think that's really the most realistic way to go for us.

Very easy to do. I listed the name of the institution, the account number, the type of account and the contact info. I also included approximate account values and I update the list once or twice a year.

For example:

Bank of America
Checking Account
#123456
$4,500.00
1-800-999-9999

Ameritrade
Brokerage Account
#987654
$12,000.00
1-888-555-5555

[herm4]

Very easy to do. I listed the name of the institution, the account number, the type of account and the contact info. I also included approximate account values and I update the list once or twice a year.

For example:

Bank of America
Checking Account
#123456
$4,500.00
1-800-999-9999

Ameritrade
Brokerage Account
#987654
$12,000.00
1-888-555-5555

I think it is a nice simple solution. I'm going to get started on this right away. One less thing in life to worry about!!

[Broken Arrow]

Herm, I am in the same boat as you. My DH glazes over when it comes to finances. The only time he brings up finances is to ask if we have enough for "XYZ."

It scares the heck out of me that he is perfectly happy to not have any part of that. What if something happened to me?

Frugalfish, OMG, that is exactly like my husband.

Hehe. But see ladies, that's why we need you so much. And that's why we know enough to take very good care of you. Because... you're our lifeline.

Disneysteve, I like the idea of a master list that you mentioned. I think that's really the most realistic way to go for us.

When I was married, our "master list" consists of a series of index cards. Each card contained all the basic information you needed to know about each of the bills. They were all organized by date due into a small index card holder. A separate card also listed out our monthly budget. I actually came up with that one, believe it or not.

[PrincessPerky]

WE jointly make decisions, he memorizes numbers so a brief mention of the electric bill is enough to let him know if we are using more than last year or less or about the same, I on the other hand need to see last years bill to know that 60 is a bit low for Julys bill.

But at the same time, I do the 'bill paying' which is to say I log on to ING ..rly easy, though I was also the 'check writer' when we had to write real checks.

WE only have joint accounts, though one savings is 'his' and one is for each of the kids, but it is all joint, we trust each other...and we talk about finances whenever the mood strikes (and if we were thinking of spending a great deal, or for that matter anything, the mood always strikes!)

[herm4]

Hehe. But see ladies, that's why we need you so much. And that's why we know enough to take very good care of you. Because... you're our lifeline.



When I was married, our "master list" consists of a series of index cards. Each card contained all the basic information you needed to know about each of the bills. They were all organized by date due into a small index card holder. A separate card also listed out our monthly budget. I actually came up with that one, believe it or not.

Hmmmmm........I like that. Maybe I should keep my husband in the dark about our finances after all! (just kidding)

[tabbycat31]

i'm single, so that would be me.
If i ever married, i'd prefer to be in charge, or at least jointly in charge. i've been doing it for so long i don't think i could just let go of it, even with plenty of money.

same here

[Diolla]

I am single so of course I so it all but I have a small white 3 ring binder, the first page is a list like Disneysteve's and the rest are important documents like birth certificates, insurance policies, my will, power of attorney etc.

If something happens to me my DS has instructions to turn it over to my POA or executor.

I also wrote a letter of instructions which I gave to my POA and executor.

I hope I am covered. Short term I automated all my bills etc. but long term I guess I will just have to trust them to do what is needed.

[FrugalFish]

Herm, I'm curious what your DH does for a living. My DH works with, maintains, and repairs equipment for a living. He is very good at this, but the flip side is that he is not much of a concept person. He doesn't see time and money as concrete things (I do), they are not "things" in the house that he can put his hands on. He has trouble with report deadlines too; when he had to do a lot of reports, we kept a calendar on the fridge and crossed days off so he could *see* the time and how much or little was left. I was just wondering if your DH is not a "concepts" person either.

We essentially have a master list- it's a binder with all information inside, but a fat lot of good it will really do him if something happens to me. Knowing where the accounts are located is important, but having a concept of how ends manage to get met each month is something else.

OTOH, the upside to his disinterest is that we never argue about finances.

[herm4]

Frugalfish,
My DH is a software developer. He is extremely good at what he does. I think he just doesn't want to worry about anything else, because his job takes so much thought. I agree with you about never having a disagreement about finances. We have been together for 18 years and have never had an arguement (over finances), probably because he is so disinterested in it all.

[Ima saver]

I do all the finances in my family also. My husband has never seen his paycheck in 30 years. We each get an allowance. I made up a notebook with all the saving account numbers in there.
I would never be able to give up handling the finances, so I am keeping the husband that I have. (besides, he does the housework too, Mr. Perfection!)

[Aleta]

I came up with a visual idea for my hubby to help him see where we were in time and what the future looked like. i got out a regular sheet of paper and I sketched little boxes about 1 1/2'. Each box contained the 12 months - 3 across (Jan, Feb, Mar) and the rest to total the 12 months ( 4 rows). I started with the current year and the month that we were in at the time and colored in the month. I drew boxes for each year until our retirement to show how many years we had. That almost totally shocked him because he said, wow, we've been living in this house longer than that and look how fast it has gone. I brought up more current events and it just gave him a real visual about getting serious about savings. You could use this for alot of things - goals for vacations, etc. I thought it was for him and was surprised how much it brought things into perspective for me.

I, like Broken Arrow use index cards. They are great, small , and convenient. Mine are 3"x5". For each website, account, utility company bills, banks, and anything with a user name, password, security questions; I use an index card. I put the security questions on the back. I also put the account number on the front and also any 1-800 number. It has saved me so much time.

[skydivingchic]

We are both in charge of our own finances. We have no joint accounts and we each handle our money seperately. The condo is then only thing that is jointly owned and we each write a check for half the mortgage each month. I pay the bills and then he reimburses me half. The system has worked well for us for over 5 years. I could never give up control of my own finances - the thought of it makes me . I feel a strong need to not be dependant on someone else for my financial well being.

[FrugalFish]

My DH is a software developer.

LOL, so much for my theory... I'd think your DH would be quite good at abstract concepts.

Your post has brought this to the forefront of my mind again, so I'm cogitating on new ways to, at the very least, get DH to look forward and understand what *needs* to be paid month to month. That horse probably still won't drink though...

[disneynutt]

I manage the funds in my family. When my husband and I were dating, he started to get a little lax about paying some bills on time - they'd still get paid, but a day or so late and he'd start incurring fees. So, I slowly started paying his bills for him (his account, I was just physically paying them). It just kind of continued from there. We opened a joint account when we got our first apartment and it's blossomed from there. Not to say that I'm never late with a bill, because sometimes I do forget, but for the most part everything is paid on time and efficiently. DH is aware of everything - he pretty much knows what we can spend and what we can't, when I pay the bills, etc. He doesn't really care, but he knows, LOL.

Now we just have to dig ourselves out of the hole we're in, and life will be good.

[LivingAlmostLarge]

I manage the funds. However, like disneysteve I have a comprehensive financial spreadsheet.

I also keep an excel spreadsheet with all dates of credit card statements, utility bills, etc and when they are due and confirmation numbers of payments. I also put in important dates of stuff due. It's labelled bills, so he knows that's where he goes to pay bills (Never used but knows about it).