What Made you Smile/What Ticked you off Today?

[BoneSnapDeez]

I don't think so.

I only buy it around Halloween.

[Ack]

man, what a year. First there was the whole HVAC thing... now candy.

Don't forget the kitchen faucet and my brother in law's emails.

When I was a trick or treater, one piece of candy wasn't frowned upon. Ladies who gave out pennies or bags of popcorn (or even worse, a toothbrush) were frowned upon.

Now I also may have made a mistake...I emailed my wife saying "Duder, even a bag of sweet-tarts costs more than a Lincoln". Her response "Luke, I've got less than a few hundred in my checking account". My response to that "Okay. I just transferred three hundred bucks into your checking account".

If she buys three hundred dollars worth of candy I have no one to blame besides myself.

Not sure how you guys do the separate accounts thing. Seems like it could cause issues and just be a pain.

Not for checking. It allows both folks to budget separately and provide based on their needs. So if Luke suddenly needed to take a coworker or friend to dinner for some reason, he can do so without disrupting any plans his wife has for buying something.

[Jmustang1968]

Not sure how you guys do the separate accounts thing. Seems like it could cause issues and just be a pain.

Not for checking. It allows both folks to budget separately and provide based on their needs. So if Luke suddenly needed to take a coworker or friend to dinner for some reason, he can do so without disrupting any plans his wife has for buying something.

If it comes out of one or separate, the same amount of money comes out... we just have 1 main account and a savings. My wife does have a secondary account, but it only exists as a paypal account for her crafts business.

[Luke]

Not sure how you guys do the separate accounts thing. Seems like it could cause issues and just be a pain.

It depends on the couple, of course. We've never had an argument over money, but comments like "Do you really need four pairs of Tom's shoes*" and "Do you need to spend a thousand bucks on a projector?" have been uttered. We have zero credit card debt, and our student loans are paid off so we basically have monthly occurrences of:

Bills
Groceries
Retirement Fund
Investments
Emergency Fund

After that, we both usually put the rest in our own separate savings accounts. We're working on a 25k emergency fund, and it doesn't matter one bit who puts more money into that account [I put more money into that account ]. I'm fine with my wife being a bit more high maintenance than I am, and as long as we're fiscally sound and not wasting money I don't feel like I need to keep tabs on her. We also abide to the "Over $100 rule", where if we make a purchase over $100 we talk it over.



*Toms are the new Keds, and I hate them. My wife is all "But part of the profit goes to charity" and I'm all "And they're cheap shoes that last six months". Seriously, I hate those shoes and they have zero sex appeal. No one has ever said "Hey baby, looking sexy in those slip on loafers".

[fastbilly1]

We do the same thing as Luke, but for a different reason. My wife prefers to operate off a debt card, and to add me to that account it would require a full cancel and rebuild and that has a cost associated with it (I cannot remember if there is an actual cost, or if it is just time). I prefer to use cash and credit card, but it works for us so it is ok.

[Luke]

I should add that when I said my wife was more high maintenance, I meant "more frequently" high maintenance. I might usually wear a suit and tie everyday, but the suits and ties last. My wife seems to go to Ulta for makeup once a month, same goes with shoes, clothes, and bras & panties. If something isn't in "season" or the right color, she tosses it as I still have boxer shorts from 1997.

I find some of her spending frivolous because of that fact, but at the same time, if it makes her happy I have no issues with it. That's kind of how it works, she's not spending my money, so I pay no mind.

[Jmustang1968]

Yeah, when she was working, it went all into one lump account. Id use it to pay bils and everything else. I prefer using a debit card as well and rarely have cash, but adding her to my debit and checking was easy.
But we get what we need/want and discuss large purchases.

[mjmjr25]

It's conversations like these i'm reminded I married well

My wife:
no cell phone, no make up, no jewelry, no shopping habits, shared checking / savings and no debt. easy peasy pumpkin peasy.

[noiseredux]

My wife:
no cell phone,

hmmm... who the heck have I been getting these texts from?

[s1mplehumar]

It's conversations like these i'm reminded I married well

My wife:
no cell phone, no make up, no jewelry, no shopping habits, shared checking / savings and no debt. easy peasy pumpkin peasy.

That's basically my wife. She does have a dumb phone.