How do you and DP split finances?

[redfox14]

DH and I have been meaning to set up a joint bank account for ages and just keep forgetting to do it. Currently we each have our own bank account, mine is the one that all the bills come out of so DH sends me enough for his half of the bills every pay day and then we tend to alternate or split the weekly shop etc.

I do think things would be easier if we had a joint account that was just for bills and shopping, petrol etc because I struggle to keep track of my own finances and just want to get a bit more money savvy. We’d both like to save more but it feels like once we’ve paid for basic things throughout the month we never have anything left over.

I wondered, do you and your DP get your salaries paid into your joint account, and then keep some to the side for your on expenses (phone, other stuff) or do you put a set amount of money in each month?

We’re married with a dog & a young baby and everything just goes into one pot and out of one pot.

When we first moved in together we started off with a joint account which all bills came out of and we both transferred a % of our money into that account to cover the bills. But as time went on this just became so unpractical and we were constantly transferring each other money back & forth to each other, food shop, meal out, cinema trip, dog food, dog vet trip, dog walker costs, paint for house, quick trip to local shop for bits we forgot etc it just became a chore constantly transferring each other back and forth for different things. So we changed it so that it’s all money into the joint account and all money out of the joint account and spend from there.

Not sure whether you are planning on children or not but if you are then having a joint account with all family money that you both have access to is really important especially when you’re on maternity leave, potentially on just SMP.

We've been married for a long time and have 4 children and just have one account where both salaries go in and everything goes out. Savings accounts are in joint or both names but everything is basically joint.
Before we got married we had a joint bills account where we both had a SO into at start of month and between us we paid enough in to cover all bills plus enough to cover food shops then what was left we kept in our own accounts

Every is joint. Nice and simple as long as your attitudes to money are compatible.

I wouldn’t consider any other set up in our situation (in our third decade of marriage, kids etc). Our longer term plans are also made on a joint basis so I’d really struggle separating things out day to day and in reality it wouldn’t be possible. I can see that a different arrangement might work at a different stage and I wouldn’t even consider joint finances in the event that DH died and I had a new partner.

I set up another current account and all the DD’s come from there with me and him funding it 50/50 on payday with enough for bills and groceries

Married for over 30 years. All money is household money and goes into one joint bank account.

DH and I have been together for about 20 years and have a young DS. We have never had a joint account for anything.

We are both high earners though so it doesn’t really make any difference who pays for what.

We do make sure that assets are split roughly 50/50 though but that’s for tax purposes as much as anything else.

We have a joint account where both salaries are paid into and all joint expenses and bills are paid out of. We then each have our own accounts that we put an equal amount in each month for our personal spending e.g. lunches with friends, nails, clothes, hair cuts, computer games (him), gifts for each other etc.

We've been married 15 years. Both our paychecks go into a joint account. All bills, holidays, household expenses, family expenses etc come out of that one.
We each also have a "fun money" account - at the start of each month a certain amount (the same for each of us) comes out of the joint account and into our fun accounts. We use these for "frivolous" things.
It's a pretty loose system. E.g. sometimes I'll buy clothes out of the joint account; sometimes out of my fun account. I suppose I make a judgement about where on the want-need spectrum it is. DH uses the joint account for most purchases, but his vapes and video games generally come out of his fun account. Things like coffees out, going for a drink with friends, I think we're both pretty flexible about which account they cone out of. If one if us was suddenly buying £100s worth of coffees from the joint account, the other might raise some eyebrows, but neither of us micro-manages it.
FWIW he currently earns about 2.5x my salary as I only work 2 days/week in a lowish-paid field. But we both consider all our income to be "family money"; there's no "yours" or "mine". And my current contribution to the household in terms of childcare, life admin, facilitating his career etc is considered of equal weight to his greater financial contribution.
The point of the fun money accounts is mostly to help us track/control how much money we're frittering away on non-essentials, although as I say, there's no hard and fast rules so it only ever gives us a rough idea.

DH or DP?

kids or no kids?

All money goes into the same pot and all bills, child expenses etc come out of that account. We transfer a set amount to each of our own personal accounts for personal spending, presents etc.

DP and I are second time rounders... we pay 50% of our salaries into one account and all household bills come out of that.

I pay personal bills (phone, gym, car) from mine and for my kids expenses (I actually have a shared account with my ex for these).

DP and i never argue about money. I find him quite wasteful tbh, but he can spend his left over money on what he chooses. He doesn't have a gym membership etc so works out well for us.

We do what you do, except DP pays me weekly as that's his wage routine, but as bills are monthly I pay those up front. We review the amounts every few months re electricity going up, rent rises etc. Food is generally split pretty evenly I feel although not calculated in the same way, more ad hoc but pretty balanced. Seems to work for us.

We have a joint account and our own and pay a set amount into the joint account each month. Works fine

Wouldnt do it if I was pregnant or going to have children though

Exactly the same here.

We have a joint account for mortgage and bills and house stuff but then our own accounts for everything else we split food shop 50/50

We're different to most - everything is paid for bills/ house/ insurances etc from my wages.
His wages are for renovations, holidays, cars etc.
I also have all the savings in an account that's only mine, he puts all of this in.

Ours all goes into and out of one joint account and has done since we had our first mortgage together. We each have our own credit card so we can spend without the other knowing which is handy for birthday and Xmas surprises.

Old fashioned but husband pays 100% of household bills / holidays etc. I just pay childcare and things for the kids. I work part time and do all the cooking / cleaning / life admin. He earns a substantial amount more than I do and is happy to support us which I'm grateful for.

We have our own accounts that our wages go into. We then pay a set amount each into a joint account which pays for everything relating to house and kids. Any leftover in our own accounts is for us to do what we like with. Husband puts more in as he earns more. Date night, clothes etc we pay for from our own accounts.

Me and DH have been together 32 years, married for 21. We've never had a joint account. He gets paid more than me so has a standing order into my account every month. He paid the mortgage when we had one, and some of the utilities. I pay council tax, water and some other bits.It's a pretty loose arrangement as to who pays for food shop etc. Works for us, and we've never, ever had an argument about money.

Married. Two separate accounts. He pays household bills (no mortgage), rates, gas, electric and own phone.

I pay for all food and nights out. Kids expenses. Pet insurance. My Bupa. Petrol.

We split the cost of holidays.

There's no right way to do this. I think there are definitely wrong ways but they're obvious.

We both work full time. He earns approx 1/3 more. We also never got round to setting up a joint account. We each pay 50% of the household bills including mortgage. He pays the lions share for shopping, days out and nights out. I just chip in now and then or around payday when I'm feeling flush I'll pay for some. He has created a savings account for DD which he pays into monthly.

I'm very much of the opinion that we should protect our own assets and money rather than one pot that covers everything. We have very different attitudes to money. He is extremely careful. I'm not. I have savings and can cover almost any emergency but if I want something I will buy it and I won't ask permission but I will ask for an opinion that I may ignore. Twice that something has been as big of a purchase as a car but usually it's just some clothes/pretty stuff I don't need. He can also buy what he wants as long as the bills are paid and our lifestyle doesn't change.

Married 45 years. All money is paid into the joint accounts. There is, and never has been, my or his money.
My parents did the same which was pretty unusual in the 50s. DHs parents were much more traditional. It was very easy for us to start this way because when we married we both earned pretty much the same. During our married life that's changed from time to time but we've never felt the need to change it. We have the same attitude to money which is key.
Not for everyone but works for us.

Married 12 years, we have separate bank accounts and both pay half on everything eg mortgage, bills etc.