Quote:
Originally Posted by MarchHare
Sure, but we don't handle our money that way. For all major purchases that benefit us both equally (e.g. furniture, appliances, vacations, etc.), we discuss it first and then split the cost 50-50. For major or minor purchases that are primarily for one of us (e.g. I bought an iPad a few months ago), we pay for it solely from our personal accounts.
We don't avoid talking about money either -- far from it! We keep a spreadsheet of our household budget and review it every few months. This way we ensure that each partner in the marriage is contributing equally to shared household costs. Because we know we're both covering our fair share of family expenses, we don't have to ask for the other's permission nor do we feel guilty if we want to spend money on something we can't justify as a beneficial household purchase (e.g. my iPad from above).
I also suspect that many couples who simply pool all their money into a single joint account do the same thing only informally. Does this sound familiar to anyone? "You spent $1000 on a new set of golf clubs last month, so I get to spend $1000 on new clothes this month."
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How does it work if one spouse earns more than the other? I assume 50-50 would not make sense.....
When you have kids, if one spouse decides to work part time (for the benefit of the children) how does the separate accounts work?
Etc....