Finances-The Start

Finances & Marriage...what a hard job!

Well, the reason I haven't been posting is because my husband & I have needed some time to discuss important family matter...our finances! YUK! I dislike talking about it with him because I feel like he should know what's going on and he could care less. For the 5 years we have been together I have taken care of finances...but that's gonna change my friends.

I felt that it was important for him to know how to handle the finances in case I get sick or worse, get killed. Both spouses should take care of the finances of the home to ensure that everyone & everything is taken care of. You have to make sure you both are on the same page, because if you're not, it will cause the one taking care of it feel stressed. Trust me! I am there right now.

My husband thinks that I am better at it, so he wants nothing to do with it. I personally believe he cares nothing about it...he doesn't want to talk about, open the bills, write the checks, pay the bills over the phone or computer, or even run the #'s through the calculator.

So, after feeling like I was on my own, I had a breakdown and demanded we discuss this. He actually sat at the table. We talked about what all the bills were and how much, how much income is coming in, how much more we need to be able to live comfortably...and then his phone rang. He got up from the table and talked on the phone for 30 minutes while I was still at the table waiting....steam began boil! After he got off the phone, I was good...I didn't say a word, I just gathered all the papers and got up from the table. He had given me a HUGE clue! HE DOESN'T CARE AT ALL!

So, after talking with some close friends of ours about this...I came up with a plan. My plan is to do like our friends...we will have most of our income go into our joint checking and we each will have our own "play" money. Our "play" money will be for lunch/dinner out, movies, clothes, hair cuts, individual trips. Our joint checking will cover all the bills, family vacation funds, our daughter's needs, groceries and home/auto repairs. This will solve the issues that arise from spontaneous shopping from either of us and force us to save for what we want. The deal...we cannot question each other what was bought with our "play" money and when it runs out...we will have to wait until our next payday.

Since our friends seem to never have financial arguments, I think this may work for us. It makes since and it will hopefully keep him from over-spending since we cannot touch the joint account if we don't have enough "play" money. If we don't have enough, we cannot buy it! It's that simple.
Sadly, my husband thinks this plan is going to make it where I can hide stuff (money) from him. Impossible...he knows the password to our bank account online. I love this plan! It relieves stress from me just talking about it.

I will post more details about how we actually put this into action as the weekend comes. I hope we can start this weekend. But we are supposed to get a cat from the SPCA and a dog from a family friend who is moving. So, tomorrow is Pet Day. And we also have a birthday party to go to...outside with a huge water slide...as long as the rain from the hurricane doesn't decide to fall a flood around here.

I hope all is well with everyone. If you feel like sharing your story, feel free. Have a great weekend.