Mad Money

[animalcontrol]

I pay 2/3 of the bills and my wife pays the other 1/3 because I make more money.
My 2/3 of the money goes dirrectly into a "House Account" as well as her 1/3. What ever money is left over goes into our separate checking accounts.
If I have money in my separate account I can buy as many hammocks as I want. Just the same, if she has money in her account she can buy as many pairs of shoes and new purses that look just the the purs that she already has. This works for us. I don't know if it would work for anyone else.

The moneys that go into "The House Account" cover ALL bills. Power, Water, Cellphones, Internet, Groceries, Insurance, Going out to eat dinner, and then just a little extra as a buffer. If the extra builds past a certain amount it spills over into savings.

I don't know if that was helpful or if I was just rambling. I just woke up and it's THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving HF Members!

-Ricegravy!

same thing my sister and her husband do (no kids)...sometimes reminds me of roomates with privileges! It wouldn't work for me though (my wife didn't work for the first 15 yrs we were married - too MANY kids! j/k)
finances, like everything else, is a very personal choice...
MYOM (manage your own money)

[Randy]

I just don't get married anymore,,,,and my check is set up on direct deposit at Academy and Bass Pro shops.....then I just get cash back for gas and eats money......

[Rat]

I work and my wife stays home with Gage, she's the financial genius so she makes controls the money. I need to enter into high end negotiations to get anything that is "above and beyond" when it comes to spending allowances. We barter goods (money) for services (honey do's) but not the normal honey do's, the special ones, cabinets, carpet cleaning stuff like that. Like I said with out Roz, I would be a pauper with a closet full of gear, she is the best. I don't (can't) hide anything from her!

I recently bought a new MMP Model 12 Peregrine, so my honey do list needs some attending to, that's why we are home this weekend!

[KerMegan]

might be why I like sewing my own gear- fabric is much cheaper than finshed products...

[Ekul]

If you spend cash!


The dollar bill savings program is marvelous, Never spend a dollar bill and if you have any left in your wallet at the end of the day, take them out and stash them away. It amazing how this adds up. Over a 6mth time Ive horded hundreds of dollars togo to said gear fund-mad money.

Now I believe I give credit to Cannabal again but open a separate checking acct and get a PO box.

[slowhike]

I work and my wife stays home with Gage, she's the financial genius so she makes controls the money. I need to enter into high end negotiations to get anything that is "above and beyond" when it comes to spending allowances. We barter goods (money) for services (honey do's) but not the normal honey do's, the special ones, cabinets, carpet cleaning stuff like that. Like I said with out Roz, I would be a pauper with a closet full of gear, she is the best. I don't (can't) hide anything from her!

I recently bought a new MMP Model 12 Peregrine, so my honey do list needs some attending to, that's why we are home this weekend!

That's what I need... a good woman to keep me & my money in line!!!

[sclittlefield]

IMO for what it's worth, keeping a stash of money that your spouse or significant other does not know about is a sign of a major lack of trust. Nothing will kill a relationship faster than a lack of trust. My suggestion would be to establish a precedent of an allowance (for lack of a better word). You each get an agreed amount which is _yours_ to do with what ever you want. As long as it does not represent something that would be "cheating" on your wife she has no say in what you do with _your_ allowance and you have no say in what she does with hers. That way you do not need to keep secrets and nothing can come back to haunt you if you mess up and let things slip. Secrets ultimately do not like to hide. They are like the "one ring of power" they have a mind of their own and are constantly seeking to betray the person who is trying to keep them.

Bingo! This is exactly what my wife and I do. Sort of. We give each other $15 a week that is supposed to cover any "other than groceries" meals during the week. I try to build up a small mad money fund with some of that by not eating out as much. We don't have a lot of $$, so with only $15 a week (and much of that being spent on food) it does take a while to built up much. But I feel like I've earned what I buy with fun money.

[Stumblefoot]

I have a small jar that is marked retirement fund. It's about 6 inches tall and about that big in diameter. I dump my change in it at the end of each day. If something costs $2.14, I don't take the 14 cents out of my pocket but give them three dollar bills. I then have another 86 cents to go in the jar. It surprises me how fast that jar fills up. I have to dump it every three or four months and it will have about $100 in it. In six months, I could buy another blackbird and have money left over.

[LyttleBryan]

See if your bank has a "keep the change" fund. Negotiate with your wife that this "keep the change" fund is split between the two of you if it's a joint account, or if it's a seperate you each get your own. Transparency and you get your own change jar.

To honor all you married folk types I'm going to go home and ask my cat if it's okay if I buy something completely random that I don't need and pretend she says no so we can argue about it.*


*I'm not really insane, I just pretend well.

[sir_n0thing]

To honor all you married folk types I'm going to go home and ask my cat if it's okay if I buy something completely random that I don't need and pretend she says no so we can argue about it.*

*I'm not really insane, I just pretend well.

Nice...

I have a separate checking account that is "mine to play with". My paychecks are direct deposited, I have the bulk going into the joint account and a small percentage going into my "fun" account. Works out great, I can save up when I want something, and anything I spend is not going to screw up the household finances! Works out great.