Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
I don't need to ask for my wife's permission to buy anything I want (and can afford), and she doesn't need my blessing to buy anything she wants. Shared mutual expenses are covered from a joint account, and we're both careful to live within our means. I can't imagine having a marriage like many of the men in this thread where fights about money are accepted as an inevitable norm or the wives "spend all my money". That seems like a recipe to cause resentment and marital strife.
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My opinion: If I spend all my "allowance" money on garbage whereas my wife spends hers on things to make our life better (home furnishings, for example), I would (1) feel bad that I'm not contributing my share on something more worthwhile, and (2) probably start to annoy her by blowing all of "my" money on crap.
All couples are different, but I think by avoiding talking about money and purchases by just giving each person an allowance and letting them spend it on anything they want could lead to more problems than having an open dialogue from the start. Circumstances can and will change, and if you've never talked about it because you've been content spending your "allowance" money, that might not be a good thing!
And yes, my wife does most of the spending of "my" money. But I trust that she'll buy what we need and that we'll continue to live within our means because we both know what our situation allows us to do.