When my wife was pregnant she worked part-time in our business and had very little side income for a short amount of time. Every time I read someone talk about how they “pay” money to their stay at home spouse every two weeks, I actually want to scream. I feel like one spouse “paying” another by writing a check or transferring money is degrading.I mean, is budgeting this category really that much harder than working out the details of splitting household bills and percentages of income? There’s nothing wrong with having money that each spouse can spend on whatever they fancy, but it seems akward to separate your finances just to accomplish this. Whether you call it “blow money,” “personal spending,” or “his and her cash,” it is an essential part of budgeting. There are many ways to budget “his/her” money, without separating finances.I love the fact that we have one shared plan and are constantly working together to implement it. Our financial goals are our financial goals. Once we were married though it was our debt. I entered the marriage with more credit card debt and my wife entered it with much more student loan debt. How in the world can people have separate finances and still avoid slipping into his bills, her bills, his debt, her debt, his spending, her retirement? I find it hard to find how this system promotes unity and communication. On the surface it can seem like separating accounts is a way to avoid money fights, however I believe many people use this as an excuse to delay working through the real issues behind the fighting. In fact, the majority of times I’ve neglected an issue it has become far worse, before finally coming back to bite me in the butt. In my life, ignoring or avoiding any issue has very rarely led to a positive resolution. It seems like many couples settle for separate finances because they desire avoiding “tough” conversations up front.I just don’t get it… My biggest beefs with separate finances in marriage: I’m often annoyed at several of the comments on sites who’ve tackled this subject in the past. But on a practical level, my stomach turns when I hear or read people talking about this issue. On an intellectual level, I believe people should do whatever system works for them. In fact, I would go as far as claiming that I lose a piece of respect for some people when I hear that they have separate finances. Neither my wife, nor I can imagine having separate accounts. For me… I just can’t wrap my head around ‘separate finances’! There are some pretty intense feelings on both sides, which almost always leads into interesting articles and ensuing comments. This week’s topic is on “Couple’s Finances.” Whenever this topic is presented, the discussion usually drifts to the pros and cons of Joint Finances vs.
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