Joint Finances

[Barker26]

Evening all! DP and I are going to start TTC in December but have a few debts that need paying off... So we are planning to combine all finances as of August pay packet, pay all bills from joint (we already have a joint account just use it to pay mortgage etc) put some into savings (for maternity), pay around 1400 pm off our debt and then give ourselves an allowance each. My question is how much would a decent amount be for an allowance? This would be just to cover our own personal spending (if I wanted to grab a coffee, or grab lunch at work, buy clothes etc etc)

Is the accommodation in joint names,I’d sort that pronto if not
Don’t combine your finances,keep your salaries etc separate.keep your own money
TTC doesn’t mean you combine finances.its habit & convention not mandatory
You don’t need to ask each other about alllwances you need to be prudent

Hi Lipstick yes house is in joint names 50/50. In order to start TTC we want to have most debts paid off as makes more sense rather than making min payments whilst I'm on maternity. Also we will be using just his salary when i am off work so again makes sense to lower debt. Want to be strict about paying it off hence allowance amount

We combined our finances when we bought our house together. Absolutely believe it's the right thing to do. We both have an equal allowance of £145 per month. It's not actually a lot but all we can afford now we have two children. I also have a few purchases from the joint account that my DH doesn't for things like hair do's and some work/extra clothes. This is because I need things he doesn't (he has uniform supplied and no hair!) We both work hard but both contribute different amounts but as we are equals in our relationship we have the same lifestyles/available money etc. If we could afford bigger allowances though we would have them.

Good that it’s in joint names.
My personal preference is not to share monies I never have.other folk do
Best Wishes TTC I hope you have happy news soon
Look on eBay for prams 2nd hand,plenty bargains and tkmaxx baby clothes etc are good value

Make lunches, travel mug for coffee on go. Morrison veg box £4

We don't have joint finances but work out our budget so that we each have the same amount left after bills are paid. That is our "allowance"

Thanks for the tips Lipstick!

Daftness- we were actually thinking around 150 but I earn massively more than him so am used to much more disposable income! So I am constantly fighting the selfish side of me that thinks 150 isn't enough but great to see it works for you! Thank you

Hi Elinor, we already have a joint account but normally just pay in a set % amount each according to our incomes and this covers all joint bills. When I say combine finances I suppose I mean more treat it as "our" money not just mine and his IYSWIM? But end goal is basically have the same amount "pocket money" every month then the rest goes on savings/debts

IMO,saving money isn’t about planning & prep.make lunches,snack box in advance
If you’re on hoof with no lunch you’re more likely to shell out. Buy good food containers

Gah,IMO,saving money is about planning & prep.make lunches,snack box in advance

Thanks lipstick definitely need to get a meal plan etc.on the go!

Final money saving tip, vegetable oilis rapeseed oil.without the big price diff

Op, if 150 feels like not enough you could ease down- so start a bit higher and drop it over a few months. Or give yourself a shock to the system, do a month at 50, then 150 will feel like loads!

It might help to calculate what you want from the money. My "allowance" pays for my gym membership, random coffees and lunches (few and far between these days- but when we are less hard up I'm bringing them back!), cosmetics, clothes, magazines, library fines (), haircuts (but see PP who budgets those as a joint work related expense, and fair enough) going out... how much do you spend on that stuff now? And how much can you cut out before you crack and overspend anyway?

It's a bit of how long is a piece of string question and depends on the state of your finances and income etc. In your position, I'd probably draft a budget and see what you can comfortably afford whilst paying debts down and saving for the future.
We're a very high income household so have even done allowances of over 1k at some point but I've also spoken to parents with good jobs but 3 kids where they could only do £80...
If you feel that £150 would be a bit of a shock to the system, you could eg start at 250 or 300 and then lower it by 50 every few months.

£150 pm might not be enough, but if that's what's left, that's what you have to work with, as the items it needs to cover are the lowest priority after:

Basic bills, food and commuting costs
Savings for maternity leave, annual and irregular expenses
Things you need for the baby.
Paying off debts

Only when you've covered the above should you think about buying clothes for the sake of it, lunch out etc and if you can't afford it, you have to take stuff from home, as massively cheaper. If you spend more on clothes, lunch, coffee, eating out and everything else discretionary before sorting out your essentials, then your finances will end up in a mess sooner or later.

Also worth going through all your bills to see if they can be reduced, then you'll have more left over to spend on things you want as well as things you need.

It's not that that's what left more that we want to pour as much as we can to debts to clear them in short space of time as possible. My disposable income is usually 1300, his normally around 300 after bills. With combined finances we could have a massive allowance each but want to save so i can have the best maternity possible & clear debt so we dont have that hanging pver us. We have had a manic summer I'm talking 4 hens 4 stags 4 weddings, a housewarming, plus I work every other Saturday so we havent had a free weekend in months! So we want a chilled winter! The allowance would have to cover whatever we wanted to get separately. So if we went for a meal it would come out of joint if we went separately with our own friends the allowance would pay. Thanks for the suggestion JoJo we could alter it as and when as we do have the breathing room

It feels like you're looking at this from the wrong perspective.

A) how much debt do you need to clear in how many months? Total debt/months = that much per month on debt.

B) how long do you intend to take for maternity leave and how much extra money do you need for each month of maternity leave? Total extra / number of months you have to save = that much per month into savings

C) Whatever you have left after normal bills is your monthly allowance. Divide between you as you see fit.

I agree that rather than thinking in terms of allowances, I would be working out how fast you can pay off debts. I think i noticed that you mentioned relative incomes but not who owned the debts...have you considered delaying combining finances until tbe debts have been paid off, as an incentive to channel everything into the repayments. Obviously more doable if it would take weeks rather than months.

So to put it into perspective I earn 48k per annum and him 30k. My take home is around 2900 and him 1800. We both actually owe around the same debt wise (both around 5k) on credit card. Mortgage is 800 my bills (phone, car, life insurance, car insurance etc) about 350. His are around 500. I pay 1000 into joint account he pays 750 this covers mortgage water electric etc anything left goes on house or joint activities. Obviously I could pay off my debts a lot quicker than he could, but he won't start TTC until we are pretty much debt free which is fair enough. The plan is to pour most money at these credit cards but also save for a lump sum of maternity (no maternity package with my job). We are already pretty savvy with bills.

The plan is to pour most money at these credit cards but also save for a lump sum of maternity (no maternity package with my job).

Sounds as if you have it sorted, Im guessing that you know to pay off debt before starting to build up savings and that you have looked around for 0% deals for balance transfers so that the debts are not increasing while you try to pay them down.

@Barker26 be very careful about joining your finances to pay off the debt as in esscence you are going to be payng a much higher proportion of the debt of than your partner even though its a 50/50 debt. Doesn't seem fair to me.

My partner and i have a joint debt, but we are each only paying of our half. I earn more than him so have paid mine off slightly quicker, but don't see why i should have to pay his debt too just cause i earn more.