Is this a normal setup? SAHM to twins

[Mumsworld112]

Hi
I have 9 month old twin boys and I am trying to be a SAHM until they’re atleast 2 years old.

Currently, my husband works and pays all the major bills of the house. Any large purchases for the twins he covers too.
I get maternity pay and a little bit of holiday pay too as I accrued annual leave.
Usually, I give myself a monthly spending budget of £350 which is for my daily spending/ taking the twins out/ any small things they or I may need etc and fuel for my car.
I am aLao able to save £250 a month as DH covers our meals out (whenever we can have them!) etc.
From that £250, £100 is for the twins savings and then the other £150 for myself incase my car needs a repair or I want to treat myself etc.

Is this an okay setup? I am 28 and none of my friends circle has kids so I don’t know how other people do their finances while on mat leave.

Thank you

You should have equal access to funds if you've made the joint decision to be a sahm. How much does your husband earn/ have for spending?

how much spending money does your DH have?

You should have joint access to the bank accounts if it’s a decision you and your DH both agreed on.

Honestly I wouldn't save for a child while you aren't earning. Early years are the most expensive years either due to cost of childcare or hit to income. I'd save that money for you as a family to use as and when needed. I'd also make sure that the impact of the hit to income is spread equitably across the family.

You are married have children together, therefore finances should be one pot for the family.

To be fair @Mumsworld112 doesn't say one way or another whether she has access to other funds or not, just describes the split of responsibility.

I won't comment on the structure of your finances and whether you have direct access to funds, but I actually think if you are managing to budget the way you are that is brilliant. I would echo that you might want to park the savings for the tiddlers into a childcare savings account. Once you start back at work that will take up a huge chunk of your income and anything you can do now to help out would be great.

FWIW we always had separate bank accounts and split total expenditure between us. If the balance works out reasonably evenly you are doing fine. But if DH has additional money you might want to consider a joint pot where you can access money if you need a few extras (eg Christmas, holidays, clothes etc).

In our house all income goes into one pot and both myself and my husband have equal access to it , although I manage our finances on a day to day basis . How much money does your husband have left for personal spending ? Why would a car repair be your bill ?

Hi sorry to clarify

Ww do have a joint account and DH has around the same amount for personal expenditure for himself too.
This is just how I manage the money I directly get, and whether it’s a good way.

Sorry I didn’t clarify that

I had twins too and became a SAHM and it sounds as if you're doing brilliantly. The first year was completely bonkers for us. Settled down a bit after that. I took over all the bill-paying and so we had a joint account, with each of us having separate savings too. If you can save for your twins now that's also a brilliant habit to get into - you can always use it for them if you need to.

Savnings for children from joint account, not yours

Will this continue when your maternity pay and holiday pay end?

Your maternity pay won't last for 2 years, what happens when you have no personal income?

We just had joint money, we have similar spending habits so nothing to agree really.

Agree with others, it should all be one pot of money. As long as you both agree on no major spending decisions happening without agreement.

There isn't a should or best way forward really - I've been married almost 10 years and have children who are almost 6 and 4. We have a joint household account and the rest is personal. We save as we choose and spend as we choose from our personal money .That works for us - one pot has never made sense to me. But that works for others.
So, if you're both happy with your current set up then I think it sounds like a good set up. But, have you thought about what happens at 39 weeks when your mat pay runs out? Will you qualify for benefits? Or do you have savings to live off? Or, will your partner pay for everything including personal spending? Good to get that agreed early, I think

I’m a sahm too. DH give me £2000 for groceries, kids clothing and whatever i want to buy for myself. The rest of the money he put in joint account which i can access if i needed. As long there is transparency i think its should be ok