Does anyone here have a household whereby
rather than a joint account, each partner has their own bank account where their own wages get paid into it. Then the bills, shopping, mortgage/rent gets split and each have their own disposable income?
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:36, 29 replies)

Almost.
I pay my other half some money for all the bills and rent, but we have totally separate bank accounts and disposable incomes.
( Bats, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:37, closed)

Even if your disposable income is your own to do with whatever you like
do you get rebuked if you decide to spunk a huge amount of cash up the wall on something your other half doesn't approve of?
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:41, closed)

What - like coke and hookers? Yeah - she does get a bit prissy about that sometimes.

( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:47, closed)

I don't often buy expensive things
but often I buy things he doesn't always appreciate: new Hello Kitty trainers, Sailor Moon comics (I'm collecting) etc. Still, he never tries to stop me using my own money. If I wanted to buy a rare San Diego Comic Con edition of Sailor Moon graphic novel no. 11, even if it was £200 or something he would wonder why maybe but not say 'no you're not allowed, it's stupid'.
( Bats, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:49, closed)

Not preventing you
just disapproving, tutting and whinging about it
( sandettie light vessel automatic New Twitter - @bollocksreally, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 12:21, closed)

Depends.
He doesn't really understand why I like hello kitty, but the most I get usually is a playful eyeroll and a shake of the head and it's left alone. If it was "Well now why did you buy that? It's a waste of money. You didn't need a new pair of gloves, why buy those? What possible good is that going to do you..." etc then that's different.

I had an eyeroll and a "Wtf?" when he rolled up with an iphone but then I left him to it.
( Bats, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:12, closed)

Snap(ish)
We both draw a wage through our company for our own uses, into separate accounts. Then I give her "housekeeping" for essential items like food, clothes, mouthwash and vodka.

I tend to pay the bills from my own pot, in exchange for not having anything to do with shopping.

We have a joint account for mortgage and school fees.

We share household chores. She loads the dishwasher/clotheswasher and I press the start button. Our neighbour takes our bins out, god bless 'im.

She is allowed cushions. She has this special injection every quarter that stops her vag bleeding. She still gets as mad as a drawer divan full of scorpions. She has many boots, and not many shoes. And she can ice skate!

Yet, even after having all this good dealz... I still have to wait for a brew in the morning and never, never ever arrive home to find my tea on the table. Fucking gratitude.
( Piper Alpha is being a grumpy northerm bastard on:, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:49, closed)

That's exactly what Mrs Vagabond and I do.
It's like you can ... hey wait! You can't see these, can you?
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 11:46, closed)

yes
but I live on my own!
(Halfy By light alone, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 12:20, closed)

I find this works very well for me, too.
Although sometimes me disagrees with me and complains about the way me wants to spend some of the hard earned money me brings home.

In these instances me gets a slap and no nookie til me apologises for being such a moany little shit.

That usually learns me.

I need to get out more.
( Moey, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:02, closed)

used to
these days everything goes into the joint account, and we keep some back for ourselves for individual purposes. most of mine goes on pot.

find this way works better, as splitting the bills etc. was ok, but splitting the shopping costs was a pain in the arse and always ended up uneven
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 12:25, closed)

My friends version...
Similar, but they worked the other way round in that all pay goes into a joint 'household' account to pay for the bills and to keep something in reserve for emergencies, and after everything important is dealt with then whatever remains gets split into two and put into their own separate accounts.

I guess the main difference is that they each take 50% of the money, rather than it being dependant on what each person earns, so nobody has more than the other.
Slightly unfair if one does a huge amount of work, but evens it out if one does more work at home, or has passed up opportunities in the past to stay together (moving away for a new job or whatever).
(442, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 12:46, closed)

we split it all equally
I'm earning more at the moment, but could easily change once the mrs gets chartered.

currently pay it all into one account, bar £100 each for whatever. few hundred goes in savings, and the rest is used for things. leftovers go into savings too.

we aren't limited to the £100 each to spend on stuff though. things like clothes and booze etc. comes out of the joint account too
( Vipros. clever got me this far, then tricky got me in, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:41, closed)

Bit of both
We have out wages paid into our own accounts, and also have a joint account into which we both pay the same amount every month out of our own accounts. The joint account pays for mortgage, food, &c. with some left over for holiday savings.

If I wanted to spunk a wad of cash on a new toy, I might have to justify it a bit, but wouldn't get much argument.
(thefuckestuppest cheapened this, on, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:06, closed)

same
Wages get paid into our own accounts, and we both transfer the same amount into a joint account which has direct debits set up for rent, bils etc. Any left over in the joint account at the end of the month goes on joint purchases, meals out together etc, and money in our personal accounts is totally for our own use.

I wouldn't dream of having a go at Mr no way hose for buying expensive stuff with his own money, it's his business! And the same with me if I want to spunk MY cash up the wall on shoes, I wouldn't expect to have to justify it to anyone as long as the bills are getting paid.
(no way hose is staring unemployment in the face on, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:33, closed)

Similar
We each have our own current and savings accounts. The joint account is for rent and bills, which we pay into equally as needed. We get the food shopping in with our own cash, tot up how much we've spent at the end of each month and whoever's paid less settles up.
(lolwhites, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 15:13, closed)

Exacctly the same method as Mr Bez and I
except our mortgage shrank so we actually managed to pay for our wedding and save a bit last year. Don't know how long this "saving" business can go on for though I need an holiday!
(Bezmina, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 15:19, closed)

same here
Joint account for bills, both pay in an equal amount. Only we don't pay for takeaways out of the joint account but just take it in turns to shout for it.

As long as the bills are paid, we spend our own cash on whatever we want, no justification needed (although I am prone to the odd tut at yet another RC car part!).
( fluffymitten NAN, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 17:33, closed)

Our only joint money
Is our wedding fund, which I think is reasonable.
(Mrs Ballunatic counting calories, not votes., Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:13, closed)

Similar
We each have a personal account, and tfr half the bill / mortgage money in to a joint account. She buys the shopping, I buy the AV stuff.
(The Boy Monders I have ginger bits in my beard., Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:19, closed)

LIES.
You've never bought any of my stuff.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 13:31, closed)

Yeah, we have that.
We each have separate bank accounts, she gives me some money towards to rent/bills, and buys the food shopping - and we both have our own disposable income. This works quite well, and neither of us moans at the other for spending money, infact we're more likely to be egging each other on!
(comrade^, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 14:26, closed)

Nope, it all comes out of the same pot for us
My missus doesn't actually work so she actually just has a credit card on my account and just buys everything on that (it is a cashback card so all of our spending goes on - we make about £500 out of it). I just then pay it off at the end of the month. I also put a chunk into a joint account that pays the bills and the mortgage and she gets cash from there.

The best thing about the credit card is that everytime she goes on a spending spree, they actually call me to check that it is legit. She hates that. I love it!
(Tom Jones's Mojo Hasn't had any since, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 15:22, closed)

Bonkers
Are you lot bonkers, why faf around with moving bits back and forth when a joint account just deals with it all. Surely maintaining separate accounts within married couples (obviously the rest of you heathens can do what you like) is symptomatic of the vapid, transient nature of commitment in the tens/teens/decas/whatever the hell we are going to call this frigging decade . When I was just cohabiting with some old nutter I used to have different accounts and a household account into which we both paid £500 a month with any left rolling over into a euromillions style bonus for unforseen carpet/boiler/roofing emergencies but once knot tied seemed rather petty to be honest. You bunch of flaky beggars!
( number5 has been fighting tramps and losing., Wed 6 Jan 2010, 18:52, closed)

not quite
i have my account, and we also have a joint account. as it happens though, i just let her do whatever she wants with all the money, which means she usually has the bank card for my account anyway. we rarely have much spare, but what we do have is usually enjoyed together on a night out or something like that.
i'm glad i don't care about money :D
( the brass moustache putting the ass moust in brache since, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 21:41, closed)

who said "let"
what the fucking fuck business is it of anyone in a relationship as to what The Other One does with their money once the mortgage/rent/council tax/utility bills are paid? if Partner A wants to collect Hulk comics and Partner B likes handbags, then so be it ... this changes a tad when kids come along as most people simply aren't rich and need to devote a bigger proportion of cash to living expenses and the kid(s) BUT otherwise, it would be a shitty day in Hades when one partner even conceived of the notion "i'll *let you* spend that" ... what the fuck is this? the 1950s?
( writerblock ... embedding disabled by request on, Wed 6 Jan 2010, 23:52, closed)

Yep
This method works for us.
The mortgage is split. I pay the utilities, Sky bill and insurance.
She buys the food.
Best bit is, she's a much better saver than I am, so my disposable income gets wasted on books, DVDs and beer.
She saves loads of hers, and pays for holidays.
Result.
(greatoldone Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl f'tagn, Thu 7 Jan 2010, 7:06, closed)

Yes
Works well. All of our accounts are technically joint accounts with both of our names on them but we each control our own money.
(MichaelS wasn't picked again, Thu 7 Jan 2010, 12:14, closed)

Got a joint account
And happy with it. Married, have a child, a mortgage, all sorts of bills and stuff like that. The vast majority of the stuff we buy (or otherwise spend money on) is for the 2 or 3 of us, so it's just easier to do it like that. Plus if we spend more on something in one particular month, we're less likely to go overdrawn on the account.

Edit: I'm not saying every married couple should have one, but it doesn't automatically mean that it restricts the buying of luxuries in any way.

Edit2: Plus I earn more than twice as much as the Mrs because she works part time and does more housey stuff than me, so it's nicer all round to not "tally up" what we do and decide who pays for what.
( Mike Fishcake teamfishcake.co.uk - better than your mum's face, Thu 7 Jan 2010, 13:42, closed)