Do you have fun money or an allowance?

Tiger926

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Jun 21, 2000
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I keep reading on different threads about blow or fun money, or weekly allowances. Just wondering how many of you have these?

We do not do this, as I find the concept to be wasteful spending. All of our accounts are joint accounts, so if we need to purchase big things, they are reviewed and agreed upon by both of us. Middle of the road stuff, like new shoes for the kids or clothes, are mostly purchased by us together, as we shop together, but I do make online clothing purchases that DH doesn't know about, as I am mostly responsible for the kids' wardrobes. And we don't purchase things like coffee, fast food, manicures, etc. which is stuff that I see fun money being spent on. For me, since I can paint nails at home or make a cup of coffee for way cheaper, it's hard for me to justify fun spending money on these types of things.

Hubby has struggled with spending issues in the past - he has gotten much, much better, as they are emotional in nature, stemming from bad family issues, so if he had an allowance or fun money, it would get wasted, and this would bother me. I am a pretty mature and responsible gal, so the whole concept of money that gets spent on frivolous purchases just escapes me, as I would put mine into the savings account. Not having cash helps him, as he would waste money on little things that he didn't need like chocolate bars or milkshakes, as he used to do this, and it was a problem due to self control issues. So, he'd go and get gas, and instead of just getting gas, he'd buy 3 chocolate bars at the gas station, and eat those for lunch or a snack. These little purchases can end up costing a lot at the end of the month, so I need to watch this area.

At this point, I am in charge of finances, as I have no impulse or control issues, but neither of us really sees the need for individual fun money accounts/allowances, so I was just wondering how many of you do that, and why?

Tiger
 
Sorry, I could never live like that.....spending some money on a milkshake every now and then can NOT be a bad thing!!!
 
So the rest of us that might spend money on a manicure or starbucks aren't mature and responsible ? ;)

That is where this thread is going to go quickly.


We pay our bills, we don't create any credit card debt , we save money in retirement plans, emergency fund and college funds and donate to charity and what ever else we are saving for , trips, cars, new fridge etc. We also have fun with some, that includes hunting and fishing for hubby , a bit of shopping for me , spending some at bead shops or *gasp* wasting time at the spa on my nails and toes, goodies for the kiddo . Life is to short and my husband works to hard for me not to "allow" him to buy a Starbucks if he wants and he respects me enough not to even think about it .

Could we put more in the bank? Sure , but goodness how dull would life be .
 
We don't have impulse or control issues either, but I think that, if you have met your responsibilities, everybody should be able to buy a candy bar, or a milkshake, once in awhile. I mean, really, DH works just like I do, who am I to say the poor man can't buy a stinkin candy bar? That's why we each get money each month to do whatever we want. The bulk of our money is family money, for bills, savings, etc. I like having an amount set aside just for me. I can go to sonic every single day, or save up and buy something expensive, without feeling like I'm taking away from the family.
 

Not sure if this is a question or a brag, but no, I don't do blow, so I don't put money aside for it (if you do, well you have bigger issues than personal finance). We do spend money on fun things because you only live once and I would rather spend my money on happy memories for me and my kids. My kids do not get allowances, but earn money for doing specific things throughout the year.
 
Sorry, for the confusion.

No, it's not a brag at all. I just don't get the concept as necessary for us. I didn't say that we don't buy milkshakes or ice cream once in awhile, but I see blow or fun money as having to be spent, so that seems wasteful to me. I see people mentioning that they feel they have to spend that money on themselves, so I have a hard time with that, due to my saving nature.

I also didn't say that people who get manicures or buy daily coffee are not mature or responsible. I am frugal, and strict with our finances, so this was what I was referencing. The concept just alludes me...so spending money on little things that add up, such as coffee or manicures is not a good purchase for me, as I don't find value in them. I really don't feel the need to have money set aside for me, so I was just wondering how many people do have fun money accounts/allowances?

Sorry, as I didn't mean to offend or judge anyone. If we want to purchase an ice cream, we go as a family, and get ice cream. If we want to purchase a new DVD, we purchase it. I do have to watch DH's spending, so he doesn't really purchase these things on his own, as it was very problematic in the past. We just don't have individual fun money accounts that we get to spend on whatever we wish, so for those who have those accounts/allowances, it's interesting to me.

Thanks, Tiger
 
Ok - Reading your clarification, OP, seems to make a bit more sense to me.

However, what I think you MIGHT be missing, is that many of the people who have this type of account have almost everything else budgeted to keep finances under control. So, truly, what you would be saying by not having any 'fun' or 'miscellaneous' money on your budget - that you would, indeed, have to account for, plan for and budget in that $16.79 for milkshakes that you plan on purchasing next month. Honestly, to many - this might take the fun out of it.

So it sounds like you don't have a true budget or if I am reading this wrong and you do, what budget line do you take that milkshake out of? If you do - THAT is your 'fun money' account, even if you don't call it that.

One other thing that jumps out at me is that it sounds like you and your spouse never spend any money on your own - only joint purchases are made. That is great if you like to do it that way - but many spouses aren't able to spend that much time together. When dh takes dd to soccer and I go the opposite direction to take ds to baseball, each of us can decide to stop and get an ice cream treat for that child on the way home, no way are we ever all together every time we want to spend something - and honestly, no way would I want to be. If I go out with my girlfriends for a coffee or a glass of wine every once in awhile this is where I would grab from my own 'spending' account to pay for it.

I'm not sure if you're thinking it's money we spend that we don't want our spouse to know about?? That's not it at all - if he wants to see an itemized list of glass of wine, ice cream for kids, new earrings on clearance, lunch during work that I spent my money on - he can have at it. It's that I'm certain he doesn't want or need to know about every single penny.
 
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We each get $20/week allowance. (I agree the term is demeaning, but we don't seem to be able to choose and use a more positive one). We get it in cash every Friday.

It has been a huge help to our marriage.

DH was an impulsive spender. He has improved a lot, but we struggled with the issue for several years. Now, as long as he is only spending his allowance I've learned to keep my mouth shut.

I tend to squirrel mine away for a trip or just for having savings growing.

One big thing is that when we buy gifts for each other now, they are true gifts. I found it hard to feel romantic when DH gave me a dozen roses and then I had to figure out how that worked into the budget.

We also have a small "FUNd." That money we decide together how we are going to spend.
 
My live in boyfriend and I have seperate accounts and we both have our own money. He has money allotted for him to go out weekly with his best friend for dinner or a few beers. My splurge money is spent on getting my hair done /pedicures. I do buy clothing and shoes when I want to, but I am very thrifty and get everything on sale.
 
DH and I toss $ in a common pot. We save plenty and pay our bills and have what we need and plenty in retirement. Beyond that we spend what we please. I don't ask him and he doesn't ask me. It works for us; but then we are old. ;) FWIW I spend most of mine on WDW trips and he spends most of his on groceries!!!
 
A lot of our "fun" is budgeted. We have X for entertainment (movies, netflix, books from amazon) and Y for eating out each month. Neither of us buy clothes unless needed, and when we go out with friends (eating out, movies) that counts towards those catagories in the budget.

So really there isn't much left other than just the odd random low dollar purchse "oh I saw that in the store window and just had to have it" type thing, and those are so rare we don't budget for them. When those purchases happen I just move a few things around and shoe-horn them in for that month. But we have a lot of leeway in our budget, so that works for us. If we had to budget down to the penny, that would be tougher.
 
I don't think as fun money as money I have to spend. As a PP said, we have a budget. The fun money is for whatever we, as individuals, decide we want. One reason we started it is that we had a problem spending too much eating out. We have x amount budgeted, but were going over. Now, we still have the family budget for eating out, which comes to about once a week or so. If I have a bad day at work, I can grab pizza on the way home, which comes out of my money. Or we go out with friends, and pick up the check. Before, one of us would be upset at the check picker upper, because that is NOT in the budget. If DH grabs the check, it comes out of his money. Or we could decide to split it. Either way, the family budget is intact.
 
A set amount of "fun, blow, allowance money"?- no, we do not.

We don't budget that way. Once savings and bills are taken care of, we each spend as we need/want to. Neither of us has impulse issues, shops compulsivly (actually we both dislike shopping), or spends money that we don't have. We discuss large purchases but the rest just seems to take care of itself.

Honestly, I can't imagine begrudging my DH a candybar or milkshake.
 
We do. It is "fluid" in some ways....it is written in to our YNAB account as a set amount, but if we go over a bit it isn't a big deal.

DH uses his for golf and going to lunch with coworking occasionally (although his work often pays for both golf and lunch! :thumbsup2)

I used some of mine today for lunch out with a dear friend and some books I have been wanting to get.

We just like to know where all of our money is going. It helps keep us on track for paying off the house and getting the kids' college fund at a good rate of savings.

We are in decent financial shape and I want to stay that way.

Dawn
 
A set amount of "fun, blow, allowance money"?- no, we do not.

We don't budget that way. Once savings and bills are taken care of, we each spend as we need/want to. Neither of us has impulse issues, shops compulsivly (actually we both dislike shopping), or spends money that we don't have. We discuss large purchases but the rest just seems to take care of itself.

Honestly, I can't imagine begrudging my DH a candybar or milkshake.

Same situation in our family. We don't have an allowance and we don't have any situations where we have questioned what the other is spending money on.
However, neither dh nor I has the impulsive spending issues that OP said her husband has had in the past.
 
My hubby is the better one at dealing with finances and budgeting. To be honest i never really even learned how to balance a checkbook even though back when i was in middle school and high school they made us practice that like every single year.
I just spend what I want and if it gets to be too much for that month then hubby will tell me it's getting to be too much and to hold off on buying anything else just....although he has never actually told me that, so I guess I'm not spending enough to cause any kind of budget issue.
 
Yes, just like every other dollar in our budget. We each get $50 a month, enough for me to hit a few buckets of balls after work or for his fantasy football league. We don't stress or bemoan "waste" spending, it's ours to do as we please. He's even bought me a fancy coffee here and there, kinda like dating again.
 
So the rest of us that might spend money on a manicure or starbucks aren't mature and responsible ? ;)

That is where this thread is going to go quickly.


We pay our bills, we don't create any credit card debt , we save money in retirement plans, emergency fund and college funds and donate to charity and what ever else we are saving for , trips, cars, new fridge etc. We also have fun with some, that includes hunting and fishing for hubby , a bit of shopping for me , spending some at bead shops or *gasp* wasting time at the spa on my nails and toes, goodies for the kiddo . Life is to short and my husband works to hard for me not to "allow" him to buy a Starbucks if he wants and he respects me enough not to even think about it .

Could we put more in the bank? Sure , but goodness how dull would life be .

Couldn't have said it better myself.
 
Definately have a "fun" money in the budget to the tune of $50 bucks a week. It comes right out of my check and into a seperate account to be used for whatever purpose I want that is fun. Most of the time it goes in and stays there, but other times it gets spent. Took a weekend trip to Vegas beginning of May and the money came from the "fun" money. Other items could be birthday gifts for family, friends, special treats for the cats or if I really want say a movie, video game or vinylmations! :rotfl:

We don't have kids and it's already part of the budget, so I don't see it as wasteful spending at all. It's set aside to do what it's intended to have FUN!
 
We have a fun budget. Bowling, golfing, even pizza out can get expensive for a family of 4 so we set money aside and when we have enough to go we do. I don't think of this as bad at all. If anything I am teaching my children impulse control.

I also have my own savings account. Always have always will. We have a joint account that mostly everything comes out of but I like having a bit stashed away that is just for me.
 

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