Mad Money

**KMACK** · 11-26-2009, 04:53

I'm looking for a better way to manage my "mad money" that I keep in my locker at work. Direct deposit of my pay check makes it hard to skim a little off the top and the ever watchful wife is a constant threat. Just wondering how others save in trying times.

**kayak karl** · 11-26-2009, 06:42

Originally Posted by KMACK

I'm looking for a better way to manage my "mad money" that I keep in my locker at work. Direct deposit of my pay check makes it hard to skim a little off the top and the ever watchful wife is a constant threat. Just wondering how others save in trying times.

Take it from a man that has been married and divorced 3 times. don't hide money or any other secrets

you'll thank me later.
now go buy a center piece for the Thanksgiving table with the money you already stashed.

**oldgringo** · 11-26-2009, 06:45

Pay for stuff with a debit card, and get a little bit of cash back. Just don't go crazy.

Also, pocket change in a coffee can adds up faster than you would think.

**Dutch** · 11-26-2009, 07:05

Save one day a year of vacation and ask your employer to write a live check for it. Save money whereever you can and then put it in your fund. Any money that I get reimbursed for goes into my fund. Do a group buy that uses credit card purchases and pays back cash. Steal from my child's piggy bank in the middle of the night. Realize that this is a special fund and don't blow it for something needless like drinks at the pub.

Since this is just a very small part of our budget and it is money that I saved in one way or another I don't consider it embezling or hiding it from my wife. She gets the other 99%+ percent and she is not very frugal about it at all. I also have a slush fund that I have built up that she also knows about.

I don't really steal form my child's piggy bank. That would mean I have a problem.

**Ramblinrev** · 11-26-2009, 07:47

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.

**gargoyle** · 11-26-2009, 08:02

True rev, exactly what I was thinking. How would you feel if you find out your wife had a "secret" stash of $$$$$. You are in the relationship together? sink or swim financially, share your stash and talk about a common savings plan that you both can use and not abuse.

Set up a savings acount/debit card and talk it over before making any purchases. For better or worse. Might be awkward at first but it will be enlightening, you probably feel guilty for keeping secrets. Come clean (with a dozen roses, a special dinner, or gift), you'll both win.

Or just give her all the money, anyone whos been divorced knows she will get it in the end

. If she a good saver, you'll soon have all those things you've been hinting at.

**MacEntyre** · 11-26-2009, 08:05

The IRS visited my grandfather in the early 60s. They wanted to know why he had not reported interest income from a savings account. He said he knew nothing about that account... then thought a minute, and yelled, "Agnes!"

My grandmother, Agnes, was peeking from around the corner, and she knew exactly what they were talking about. For over 30 years, Agnes had kept the difference whenever she got groceries, and after a while she started depositing it in the bank. My grandfather died in 1969. When my grandmother passed about 10 years later, that savings account had $100,000 in it!

Can you imagine the IRS sending someone to talk to you? No need for that in these time!

- MacEntyre

**gargoyle** · 11-26-2009, 08:22

A friend of mine had a kooky brother die a couple years ago. The brother was a hermit/packrat, and didnt trust banks. They've found around $10,000, so far, hidden all over the house,in the walls and on the property. For some reasons he's busy on the weekends now, at his brothers house??????? (he won't tell me where the house is)

**pedro** · 11-26-2009, 09:31

What others have said. If ya'll are hiding money from each other, there's deeper issues. To put it in perspective, though, there are couples out there who are doing much worse to each other financially. I know people who have incurred massive credit card debt without telling their spouse. There's a lovely surprise at the end of the month!

**ricegravy** · 11-26-2009, 09:53

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!