What is the best way for a couple to split their finances?

My wife and I each have separate "Allowance" accounts with debit cards, and a joint account together where all of the communal bills are paid from. Each month we transfer our allowance amount to the separate accounts from the joint account, and then do our discretionary spending from those separate accounts. We have made agreements on staying within our budgets for things like groceries and fuel for the cars, which can get out of hand.

Both of our paychecks go into the joint account first, and then the monthly bills are paid automatically from that account. The biggest thing is full disclosure and communication, along with setting joint goals and restrictions.

My husband prefers my stay at home wife status so I pay for things to help him out, by working online. Since I have the better car I pay for the car payments. I pay vet bills (if there are any).

I pay the cable/internet bill because my whole business is online. I also pay for my classes online. Lastly I pay the electric bills.

He pays every thing else and we never fight about it. S list includes his college classes, the house payments (x2), our daughters tuition, natural gas, gas for all three cars, cellular phones, shopping money, clothing, and anything my online business does not cover on my side.

Of course it depends on the couple. If you are the person in the relationship who makes less money, and your partner is insisting everything be split 50/50, your spouse if probably NOT going to be too impressed with what I say. I live in California, which is a community property state.

That means that if you get divorced everything is split 50/50, irregardless of who paid more of the mortgage payment. That can lead to some hard feelings. More couples split over money issues than anything else.

If this is a sticking point, I suggest getting a few sessions of counseling with a therapist (i.e. Disinterested third party) for the sake of equitable settlement. I mean you don't want to badger or bully your spouse into agreeing with you, you want a REAL agreement where both parties feel represented and satisfied.

Make the most of your time with the professional by bringing the budget with you on your first visit. Include what each person makes, and if there are extenuating circumstances, such as children from a previous relationship. Regarding how do I handle it in my own life?

In my current relationship I pay all my bills, my partner pays all his. We solved it by not having a joint bill. He buys food more often than I do, I cook more often.

I pay more often on the outside amusements, i.e. Dinner out - I guess I would say he pays for most of the essentials, and I pay for non-essentials. As far as carpayments etc.What I think is reasonable is going back to the original decision.

If the car was purchased after you were a couple, and ownership is joint, although one person is the primary driver - I think the car payment should be taken into account. For example, the spouse paying for "his" car, should be allowed to pay less of the mortgage or rent. However, if the car was purchased before the relationship, it represents a pre-exisiting condition.

Now it seems sort of lame, for that spouse to beg off paying half of the housing costs due to the car loan. After all, if you weren't together that person would have to live SOMEWHERE, and would presumably find the money to pay rent.. . So you see how having a therapist involved can help you sort out what is "fair" and what is "unfair" it's going to vary on a case by case.

Depends on if you're married or just living together. If you're married (or life partners, I suppose), it's easy: you have one joint account, all money flows in, and each person gets a monthly stipend we call Fun Money. Doesn't have to be much.

I get $15, my wife gets $50. This pays for things like candy bars, and other stupid crap that we enjoy buying. The joint account funds all other ventures (rent, food, transporation, vacation, savings, emergency fund, etc.) If you're married, you're in this shit together--so act like it.

Don't separate finances. We started out being separate and it only let to resentment and one person always feeling like the other person wasn't pulling his or her weight, or the other person spends too much on X, or not enough on Y... it was a disaster. Once we decided we'd act like a team and attack the finances together as a team, life became much easier.

Budgeting meetings take hardly any time at all now unless we get into a serious budgeting question. At the beginning of the month, we take 10 minutes and budget the rest of the month's expenses. We each get our stipends, and that is that.

No fighting, just adult conversations about money. Rational meets emotional, and because we're attacking it as a team instead of as individuals, I've noticed there's a lot arguments about money and more discussions about them. Discussions are much calmer and proactive instead of reactive.

Good luck.

This is how we do it, and we have't run into any issues yet. We keep our money separate. For our major combined expenses: He pays for Rent Car payment I pay for Tution (in 'exchange' for him paying for the car payment, and putting money into our House savings account) Groceries Insurance on our three vehicles We each pay for our own expenses.

Things like: s motorcycle insurance My gym membership Clothes that I buy, for him or me I end up paying for most of the miscellaneous things, like a camping table, storage containers, a foreman grill...mostly because I have been given the responsibility of shopping - (his words ->) "You should do it, because you're so good at it. " He ends up paying for a lot of the car repairs, though I do pay for quite a bit as well. I think at the end of the month, as long as our bills are paid, and we have a balanced checking account, it comes out ok.

Last time we ran numbers we figured I was spending 65% of my expenses just on bills, and he was only spending 55%. He gets paid more than me, so I think I may suggest that we try something else. ..he said he was willing to help with groceries.

:o).

It so irritates me when couple do all this splitting account BS. Just put all your money together/combined and that way if one is having a difficult time (laid off, company broke up, in between jobs etc. ) then by having that money all in one account/all in one lump sum you can lean on each other a bit rather than stressing out if one or the other is having a bit of a hard time. I think each should be responsible for the bills and just pay the damn bills.

It so annoys me with couples doing the separate money and like yours is yours and mine is mine. NO once your married combine your money and when a bill comes just pay the damn bill and that way neither one has to stress because you know that there is that money in that account. If couples want separate accounts then have their "personal" accounts separate but have a specified "bills account" together so you can pay your bills.

There should be no who pays this bill and who pays that bill and I'll pay this bill this month and you pay that bill this month. First of all it's easy to get bills confused and what bill you or her should pay. Just make it effin simple by having a so called "bills account" and that account is only and strictly for bills and it's a together account.

No BS of you pay this and I pay that, you are a married couple so combine your accounts.

My husband prefers my stay at home wife status so I pay for things to help him out, by working online. Since I have the better car I pay for the car payments. I pay vet bills (if there are any).

I pay the cable/internet bill because my whole business is online. I also pay for my classes online. Lastly I pay the electric bills.

He pays every thing else and we never fight about it. His list includes his college classes, the house payments (x2), our daughters tuition, natural gas, gas for all three cars, cellular phones, shopping money, clothing, and anything my online business does not cover on my side.

Of course it depends on the couple. If you are the person in the relationship who makes less money, and your partner is insisting everything be split 50/50, your spouse if probably NOT going to be too impressed with what I say. I live in California, which is a community property state.

That means that if you get divorced everything is split 50/50, irregardless of who paid more of the mortgage payment. That can lead to some hard feelings. More couples split over money issues than anything else.

If this is a sticking point, I suggest getting a few sessions of counseling with a therapist (i.e. Disinterested third party) for the sake of equitable settlement. I mean you don't want to badger or bully your spouse into agreeing with you, you want a REAL agreement where both parties feel represented and satisfied.

Make the most of your time with the professional by bringing the budget with you on your first visit. Include what each person makes, and if there are extenuating circumstances, such as children from a previous relationship. Regarding how do I handle it in my own life?

In my current relationship I pay all my bills, my partner pays all his. We solved it by not having a joint bill. He buys food more often than I do, I cook more often.

I pay more often on the outside amusements, i.e. Dinner out - I guess I would say he pays for most of the essentials, and I pay for non-essentials. As far as carpayments etc. What I think is reasonable is going back to the original decision.

If the car was purchased after you were a couple, and ownership is joint, although one person is the primary driver - I think the car payment should be taken into account. For example, the spouse paying for "his" car, should be allowed to pay less of the mortgage or rent. However, if the car was purchased before the relationship, it represents a pre-exisiting condition.

Now it seems sort of lame, for that spouse to beg off paying half of the housing costs due to the car loan. After all, if you weren't together that person would have to live SOMEWHERE, and would presumably find the money to pay rent. .

. So you see how having a therapist involved can help you sort out what is "fair" and what is "unfair" it's going to vary on a case by case.

There is never a perfect financial balance in a relationship so splitting down the middle will eventually cause resentment by one or both sides. On the other hand, resentment can also be caused if the person earning the lesser amount of money is not allowed to make a meaningful contribution to the couple's finances. And don't fool yourself, if you pick up the tab because you make most of the money your partner will outwardly say they appreciate the arrangement but secretly resent you for it.

I would approach the dilemma by dividing your finances between community and personal expenses. Personal expenses are car payments, car insurance, gas, mobile phone, clothing, toiletries, personal travel, personal dining, etc. Each person covers their own personal expenses and maintains their own account for these expenses. Community expenses include rent, mortgage, home insurance, utilities, etc. These are the expenses jointly shared by the household community.

The percentage allocation could be determined by the person making the lesser of the two incomes. Consider what amount of money the person earning the lesser amount of money would have to pay if they were to find a "roommate" type living arrangement. In other words, if you weren't a couple and your partner had to pay rent and utilities somewhere, what would they reasonably and comfortably expect to pay on a monthly basis.

You both need to agree on this number before you can move forward. Whatever that number is, use it to calculate the dollar amount to be applied to your community living arrangement. The higher income earner makes up the difference.

If the allocation places too much of the financial burden on the high income earner then you may have to find a less expensive place to live or find a compromise that you can live with and not be resentful. Use it as a starting point and then find something that fits For vacations you could create a special bank account and fund the account through regular direct deposits.

This is how we do it, and we have't run into any issues yet. We keep our money separate. For our major combined expenses: He pays for Rent Car payment I pay for Tution (in 'exchange' for him paying for the car payment, and putting money into our House savings account) Groceries Insurance on our three vehicles We each pay for our own expenses.

Things like: His motorcycle insurance My gym membership Clothes that I buy, for him or me I end up paying for most of the miscellaneous things, like a camping table, storage containers, a foreman grill...mostly because I have been given the responsibility of shopping - (his words ->) "You should do it, because you're so good at it. " He ends up paying for a lot of the car repairs, though I do pay for quite a bit as well. I think at the end of the month, as long as our bills are paid, and we have a balanced checking account, it comes out ok.

Last time we ran numbers we figured I was spending 65% of my expenses just on bills, and he was only spending 55%. He gets paid more than me, so I think I may suggest that we try something else. Hey...he said he was willing to help with groceries.

:o).

It so irritates me when couple do all this splitting account BS. Just put all your money together/combined and that way if one is having a difficult time (laid off, company broke up, in between jobs etc.) then by having that money all in one account/all in one lump sum you can lean on each other a bit rather than stressing out if one or the other is having a bit of a hard time. I think each should be responsible for the bills and just pay the damn bills.

It so annoys me with couples doing the separate money and like yours is yours and mine is mine. NO once your married combine your money and when a bill comes just pay the damn bill and that way neither one has to stress because you know that there is that money in that account. If couples want separate accounts then have their "personal" accounts separate but have a specified "bills account" together so you can pay your bills.

There should be no who pays this bill and who pays that bill and I'll pay this bill this month and you pay that bill this month. First of all it's easy to get bills confused and what bill you or her should pay. Just make it effin simple by having a so called "bills account" and that account is only and strictly for bills and it's a together account.

No BS of you pay this and I pay that, you are a married couple so combine your accounts.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.