This week, Jason and I had..."the talk". The least favorable topic any two people could discuss (well, in my opinion at least) had to be done.
It took (almost) ten months, but I finally got the hubs to agree to merging our cash. And since I am losing my job in T-5 days, it just made that much more sense. At first, you look at a joint bank account and think, "Holy crap, we have a lot of money"...not.so.much. Once our bills are paid, however and we still have quite a bit of money leftover and I have NO idea where it is all going!
J and I are so very different (have I not said that a bazillion times on here?) when it comes to just about everythang. So of course that means the way we spend and save our loot is no exception.
But we sat down, hashed it all out and it went pretty smooth, I think (this time last year, we were arguing over music for our wedding. For serious, like I was stressed and having temper tantrums for our first dance song and J did not like any of my selections. We have come a long way, ya'll).
Not gonna lie, before we merged, Jason still paid most of the time we went anywhere (he's good like that) and it made me feel good and also saved me some cash!
But, we are a team now and even though part of me finds this budget talk un-romantic (I mean does talking about paying off debt float your boat? Eh, not mine), I am also seriouslsy stoked for this challenge we get to face together (cheesy, I know) as partners.
We've given ourselves an allowance. I will get $50/week to do whatever I want with (J will get a little more because he makes more money than I do). I don't know who you are, but sometimes $50/week seems like plenty and some weeks, I'm going to struggle with it. But you know what? Not all that long ago, I was working two jobs (60 hour work weeks), attempting school and still struggling to stay afloat and pay all of my bills. So really, what the hell am I whining about? We're pretty lucky to have extra money left over to even pay our stuff off, let alone a friggin' allowance.
I'm ready for the next challenge as married folks. Bring it on!!
How do you manage your finances? Do you give yourself an allowance...or what?
right now we don't give ourselves allowances because hubby is laid off for the next month so cash is tight, but normally we do. A good tip for your allowance that I learned & still try to tell my hubby, you don't HAVE to spend $50 each week! IDK what is included in your budget and what you have to get with your $50, but I'd stash some of mine away each week so I could get something really nice later =)
ReplyDeleteI think an allowance is a good idea. Are you going to take out cash each week or just mentally know what it is and use credit? We are constantly trying to improve on our saving and still working on figuring it all out. Even with all the cutbacks we have made I still feel like we waste so much money. I'm hoping maybe February will get us back on track. I'm over budget on EVERYTHING on mint right now.
ReplyDeleteGood job hashing it out. Getting started with being on a budget is the hardest part! It's like dieting though, once you get in a groove it gets easier and easier to stick with it!
ReplyDeleteWe sort of have an allowance system. We have a miscellaneous budget and it gets worked out from there.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you remember you are a TEAM as you said you will be fine and work through any issues ;-) I'm trying to stay within a $50 limit for myself too and I have made it every week of the month except this week I might go over a little bc of girls night tomorrow and a much need pedicure haha!
ReplyDeleteI don't really have a budget for myself except, when I get a paycheck, I transfer all the money that I had in there before the new paycheck into savings. So, I feel like I'm living paycheck to paycheck, but I have a good savings :)
ReplyDeleteThe boyfriend and I will never merge accounts, even when we are married. We are weird like that haha
Good luck with your allowance. I've tried that a few times, but never works out for me. It seems like all my cosmetics and beauty products run out at the same time and it's so expensive to restock!
ReplyDeleteI hope it's easier for you! xxx
ah! budgeting is NOT my strong point. have you tried mint.com? you can link all your accounts to the secured website and it categorizes and keeps track of spending, you can make goals, and set up budgets (I have it, but don't always use it).
ReplyDeleteThe hubster and I decided to put our accounts together the minute we got married because we knew that the longer we waited the more we WOULDN'T DO IT! Haha! I am also on a budget of $50 a week and I know exactly what you mean that some weeks are easier than others. Also, I agree 100% with Lauren that mint.com is great for non-budgeters to start!
ReplyDeleteI'm sure the husband would love a $50 allowance ; ) We each get $20 but that's only supposed to cover our own outings with friends--like happy hour for me, and energy drinks and beers for him. It doesn't count clothes or beauty stuff.
ReplyDeleteLove this! My hubby and I started our budget in January...we call our allowance our "fun fund"!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your budgeting! Joining finances is definitely not easy. After my hubby and I tied the knot in June, we started budgeting and it was an eye-opener. My husband's paychecks from his second job are his allowance and I budget X hundred dollars per pay period for us to live on (groceries, gas, eating out, etc.) and it seems to be working pretty well. It definitely gets easier the longer you do it!
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