Marital finances

[1Wanda1]

If you are married and both work, but one earns a lot more than the other, how do you organise your finances?

1. Everything into joint account(s), both partners have equal access to money and equal decision-making about spending.

1. Separate personal finances, contributing equal amounts into joint account for mortgage/rent and other shared costs. Money leftover after contributing to the joint account belongs entirely to the person who earned it.

1. Same as 2, but with higher earner contributing more into the joint account.

1

we started out with me as the higher earner and we pooled everything then. I work for a non-profit though and over the years DH has now surpassed me to the point that I sometimes feel like I am earning pin money. We pool everything though. He just got a bonus and we both got to use some of it to splurge before we allocated the bulk to practical purposes and savings.

1

Absolutely joint. We're a team, and what we have we share. We're in a fortunate position financially, but check in with each other about money regularly. We discuss major purchases together, and neither would spend >£50 on a whim without checking with the other.

3 but it doesn't always work out. I invariably end up buying the DC clothes and payout more for childcare. I pay for meals out etc but DH is really good at investing money and thinking of the future.

None of the options on your list. We don’t have any formal arrangements for who pays what. My husband was paying all the bills when I moved in but I have gradually taken over some of them. Without sitting down and totting everything up, I could say who pays more or less.

I earn more now.

I couldn’t say who pays more or less

Money has been an issue to through out our (near 30 year) and we have had blazing arguments over it. If we split it will be contentious and money will be a nightmare.

I would prefer 1, DH has aimed for 2 we've settled at 3 but I do now point out the big things I've spent money on and I try to level it out with costs I push onto him.

1. Always 1. We are legally married which means that if we divorce then all our assets are up for grabs. Seems ridiculous to agree to fully share if we decide we don’t love each other any more but not when we do.

NB we have each been the higher earner at one point or another over the years.

Everything into joint pot. Bills and essential spending (food, kids expenses, work travel etc) come out of there.

Equal amounts of personal spends into personal accounts.

Money into savings.

We do 4) money paid proportionally for bills etc. into a joint account so we have equal spending money. Equal say on joint purchases, mind our own on what we do with personal money.

Hs worked well and has survived through changes in higher earner, equality of earnings and times of significant disparity.

One pot, roughly equal personal spending money. We have similar attitude to money which helps and for most of marriage we haven't had much spare.

3 on a ratio of 65/35 based on total joint bills

We do option 3, I’m the higher earner so I put more into the joint account. We’re both quite bad with money, we are spendthrifts and have a little bit of credit card debt each, so I don’t think either of us want to burden the other one with having completely shared finances.

Oh is salaried at about 90k so pays in £1600 to my account and I pay for everything. Sometimes it's over and sometimes I'm under. It doesn't matter though we are a team if we need something someone will buy it. This month he has bought air-conditioning as he can't face another Summer like last year whilst I have bought plants for the garden. It's a team. I am salaried at 40k but can earn unlimited commission so I might pay for a holiday in a good month and have to economise in a worse one.

I think it should be in proportion to income - 50/50 isn't fair if one person ends up with very little left and the other is rolling in it.

I think ideally you work out your outgoings and how much much you want to save if you're lucky enough to be able to, work out your incomes together, and have a joint pot for the bills, groceries, household repairs and children's stuff, holidays and transport, savings & pensions, and after all that is accounted for, a personal account each for your individual spends.

1. Joint and joint decisions, we've had fully joint accounts since long before we were married. I don't work now but when I did both salaries went into the same account, we put bills money into an account and share a spending account and savings accounts etc. always been that way!

None of the above 😁

We put everything in the same pot, pay for all shared/equal costs out of it (mortgage, childcare, mobile phones, travel for work, food, bills, savings, etc etc), then have separate 'play money' accounts. We transfer equal amounts of play money into our own accounts and that's our discretionary spends. Our household income is probably contributed to 60/40, but I worked part time for 6 years since our youngest was born and I shouldn't be penalised for that!

It also means we don't have to justify our spending to each other and can buy gifts etc without the other knowing :)

Joint account. Both have access

Joint account, everything paid out of that, equal discretionary spending money allocated.

This deals with one issue that always comes up, people don't like joint accounts because they have to 'answer to' someone. If you allocate discretionary spending, DH can fritter his away on nonsense and I can save up for big things. There's no animosity when I pay for something big, because it's 'my' money.

It works well.

1

When we got together we were students so neither of us had any money. Over the years the higher earner has changed, first me then him. We have always shared access to money equally, especially after we got married & had children.

1 - exactly this

X-posted.

This!

All money goes in the pot; bills are paid, savings moved to shared savings account etc/all financial commitments covered (married, two children) We then have the same amount of discretionary spending money in current accounts to spend as we wish. This has worked well and worked well both ways as at one time each of us has been the higher earner. It's also nice if you want to buy surprises or gifts for each other, as other partner doesn't see the spending on bank statements.

Seems a popular method

None. Husband pays for everything. I work part time and he is a higher earner. My wages is like pocket money. He also transfers me £100 every week for petrol and whatever I need.