Who Handles The Money In Your House?

[manchurianbrownbear]

DW and I were discussing responsibilities in the home and she felt that in most homes, managing the money; paying bills, balancing the checkbook, etc..., is handled by men. I wondered if that was true.

After we were married (17 years ago) she INSISTED that she manage the money. After a couple years, she was tired of it and handed off to me. A few years later, she wanted it back (fine with me!) and she's handled the job for probably over a decade now.

 

[browneyes]

I handle 99.9% of the money.

 

[tkyes]

I have the checkbook and I pay the bills.

I make DH make the phone calls if we have issues with bills or need to add or change service.



Tamie

 

[Wish Upon A Star]

I handle the money . . .if DH was in charge of it there would be none.

 

[disneygals]

I do the bills, insurance, etc. But my dh kinda knows what's going on.

Vivienne

 

[Beauty]

I always handled the money for the first 10 years of our marriage....but when we decided to buy this house with my mother I handed all bill paying, money management over to her. Its not that I ever couldn't handle the money but my mother can pinch a penny something unreal! DH and I could save money but we could also spend it!

We now have more money saved than we ever have in our life and it feels good!

 

[suzannen]

My DH and I split it. We each have our own separate checking accounts and checkbooks, so certain bills he pays each month (mortgage, cable TV), certain bills I pay (car insurance, phone). Each month we sit down and go over the month's expenses and if there are any unusually large or unexpected expenses, one of us will contribute additional funds to the other. This method has worked great for us for 13 years.

 

[cinmell]

My husband makes the money and I handle it . I pay all the bills and buy all we need/want. I tell him what we spend but he doesn't seem too interested. I can't tell you the last time he wrote a check.

 

[TerriP]

I handle all of the financial "stuff" in our family...checking, saving, bill paying, insurance, etc... DH is not good with money and asked me from the start to take care of it - he doesn't even have an ATM card, just gets a weekly lump sum. Most of the time I don't mind. Sometimes I get frustrated that such a big responsibility is left totally to me (he couldn't begin to tell you how to balance a checkbook or even where all our money is kept), but most of the time it is ok.

My sister, my mom, my MIL...all handle the money in their families. I don't really know any men who take on that job...weird, isn't it?

 

[SillyOldBear66]

Same as suzannen.
DH and I each have our own checking account and our own bills.
Extra expenses are shared.

Works for us.

 

[CamColt]

DH makes it, so DH pays the bills.
However, I get some money and thats for my stuff.

 

[Rajah]

For the most part, DH takes care of it for us. I only step in every once in a while.

 

[believe]

We both do!

We have separate bank accounts, which both of us are on, but neither of us wanted to part with our bank. DH pays the bills that don't change from month to month (mortage/house taxes, phone, gas for vehicles) and I pay the rest (gas/electric, water/sanitation, groceries/clothing). We split the vehicle payment, but I make the actual payment.

 

[Disneymoon04]

We both do. We have seperate checking that we use to purchase things for ourselves. All bills are split directly down the middle.

We do have joint savings, that we use to save for the wedding/honeymoon.. and will later be used to save for a house.

 

[Steve H.]

DW pays all the bills and handles the checkbook, etc. I deal with pretty much anything investment-wise.

 

[Buckalew]

I do it all. I would love to let him have the burden of it but I'm too much of a control freak for that.

 

[caitycaity]

i really want to do all of it, but we settled on a compromise that dh pays the bills, but keep track of everything in a spreadsheet on our home network, so i know what is going on. i handle my own retirement and investments.

 

[katerkat]

I handle everything but the cash. We, of course, jointly discuss investments and such, but I pay the bills, balance the checkbook and whatnot. DH is the one who gets the cash, so I'm always begging him for $20.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

I handle all of the finances. DH tried it, but would get frustrated. Plus I like to know first hand what is going on.

 

[manchurianbrownbear]

It looks like DW, who is a "lurker" on the DIS and has probably already read this thread, was wrong on this one . I love being right, just wish it happened more often!

I think DW manages our money because it doesn't bother me if we're a couple dollars off when we balance the checkbook, but if she can't get it to come out down to the penny, it drives her crazy! She's a better person than me!