Newlywed money question

Are there things that you don't want to 'let' your husband buy - or do you say to yourself... well, he is working - so I can't really tell him how to spend his money even if I think its a stupid purchase.

Re: Newlywed money question

Yes. DH and I have this running joke. When food shopping, I always look for the bargain- I usually buy the store brand for staple items like flour, sugar, salt, baking soda.

NOT MY DH...it's gotta be Domino Sugar, Morton Salt, Arm and Hammar baking soda.

So, I tease him and say 'well, as long as you bring home that paycheck, I'll let you keep buying your designer food'

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by suven

Yes. DH and I have this running joke. When food shopping, I always look for the bargain- I usually buy the store brand for staple items like flour, sugar, salt, baking soda.

NOT MY DH...it's gotta be Domino Sugar, Morton Salt, Arm and Hammar baking soda.

So, I tease him and say 'well, as long as you bring home that paycheck, I'll let you keep buying your designer food'

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We stood in the supermarket two weeks ago debating the differences between Eggland's Best Eggs and regular eggs. He thinks the fancy eggs are somehow different. I'm glad I do 98% of the shopping alone.

Re: Newlywed money question

luckily, my DH is not an impulse shopper. My BIL is terrible like that! he has to have the latest and greatest of anything electronic. and he's a klutz so he'll break or lose something and then go buy it AGAIN! it drives my sister batty. that's why she won't merge bank accounts with him. good thing they both do very well financially. otherwise they'd be homeless.

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by Ronkonkomonga

Are there things that you don't want to 'let' your husband buy - or do you say to yourself... well, he is working - so I can't really tell him how to spend his money even if I think its a stupid purchase.

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Neither of us make decisions without consulting the other, no matter how small (cell phone) or large (a car or house). If it's in our budget and we have enough savings for X item & DH wants it bad enough, he'll get it. Same goes for me. We don't go broke for things but we also don't deprive ourselves...if that makes sense. And we never make a decision without the other...so far, so good.

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by SomethingBlu

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Posted by Ronkonkomonga

Are there things that you don't want to 'let' your husband buy - or do you say to yourself... well, he is working - so I can't really tell him how to spend his money even if I think its a stupid purchase.

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Neither of us make decisions without consulting the other, no matter how small (cell phone) or large (a car or house). If it's in our budget and we have enough savings for X item & DH wants it bad enough, he'll get it. Same goes for me. We don't go broke for things but we also don't deprive ourselves...if that makes sense. And we never make a decision without the other...so far, so good.

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We do the same

Re: Newlywed money question

I'm the opposite with food shopping - I prefer the brands and just grab 'em. DH will compare prices. I used to think it was nice to foodshop together - then I realized it takes double the time with him b/c of the price comparisons. Time is money - food shopping in Queens is annoying enough as it is (the aisles are tiny!)

Re: Newlywed money question

We have a system that seems to work pretty well. Each paycheck, we have a certain amount deposited into our 'personal' accounts (even though they're technically joint, so we both have access). This money is for the things that we want to buy for ourselves and the other isn't allowed to question the purchase - so if I want to waste money on a designer bag, that's where it would come out of. If he wanted to buy some games for his Xbox, they'd come out of his personal account. For larger things though that are for both of us, we'd have a discussion about whether it was something we should spend the money on.

Re: Newlywed money question

I will never tell my husband he can't have something that he wants because I don't want him to tell me I can't get something if I want it. as long as the bills are paid, it's all good. Besides, he makes more money then me

Re: Newlywed money question

I just don't let him go food shopping anymore, especially to Costco!!

Re: Newlywed money question

Our salaries are very close in pay. However, we discuss all purchases. We do not ever buy stuff without telling each other. We rarely tell one another 'not to' buy things...but we always are aware of what we spend.

Re: Newlywed money question

I wouldnt let him spend 4000- on a TV he wanted. Instead he spent 500- on an Xbox360. I guess I won I then went shopping to balance the budget

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by AnniesSS

I will never tell my husband he can't have something that he wants because I don't want him to tell me I can't get something if I want it. as long as the bills are paid, it's all good. Besides, he makes more money then me

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same with me- if I had to ask him to buy something reasonable - like shoes or a shirt- i would go nuts

I do check with him on major purchases- over $1K

but he really doesn't buy anything- I ususally pick things up for him

and he doesn't know where the supermarket is - seriously - he never goes

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by jenniesunshine

We have a system that seems to work pretty well. Each paycheck, we have a certain amount deposited into our 'personal' accounts (even though they're technically joint, so we both have access). This money is for the things that we want to buy for ourselves and the other isn't allowed to question the purchase - so if I want to waste money on a designer bag, that's where it would come out of. If he wanted to buy some games for his Xbox, they'd come out of his personal account. For larger things though that are for both of us, we'd have a discussion about whether it was something we should spend the money on.

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This is what we talked about doing although right now everything is separate except for our wedding gift $ (which we have no plans to touch). I think he has more of a problem with the way I spend $, but since I make more $ and we have separate accounts, he can't say anything.

Re: Newlywed money question

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Posted by jenniesunshine

We have a system that seems to work pretty well. Each paycheck, we have a certain amount deposited into our 'personal' accounts (even though they're technically joint, so we both have access). This money is for the things that we want to buy for ourselves and the other isn't allowed to question the purchase - so if I want to waste money on a designer bag, that's where it would come out of. If he wanted to buy some games for his Xbox, they'd come out of his personal account. For larger things though that are for both of us, we'd have a discussion about whether it was something we should spend the money on.

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this is exactly what we do, and it works out really well. DH makes more than i do, and he figured it out so that we each put in an equal percentage of our salaries into a joint account that we use for groceries, all the house bills get debited out of this account, if we go out to eat just for the heck of it, we'll use this account. but, we also each have a 'personal' account that we can use for things we want for ourselves- new clothes for me, electronic gadgets and DVDs for him- so that we don't have to question each other
this way, we are each contributing to the necessary bills, and we still have some freedom with our own personal money...