This isn't applicable to most people but what I did was take my normal salary and put it in the shared accounts. Basically we pay insurance, mortgage, weekly groceries, big things like that out of it. Then we both started side businesses. Our gas, individual meals, fun things, etc. each come out of these accounts. So basically we can each handle our own finances and do whatever we want without jeopardizing the mortgage or grocery bill.
So yeah separate checking accounts is wonderful, but only if you have separate incomes coming in. If one partner is dependent upon the other, it doesn't work.
madre stayed home with the ankle biters. I brought home the bacon and she cooked it! She makes a few dollars here and there as a contract musician for a few local public schools but for the most part I am the sole wage earner. She planned on working outside the home once the kids were all gone. Our oldest is disabled and didn't move out of the house until he was in his 20's. He moved out, my Mamma died and we got Dad. Dad had a stroke and is in a nursing home and......
We ended up with our grandson to raise. He was 4 months old at the time. That was 4 years ago. Guess who gets to be the sole wage earner still?
This is what I find hard to understand about this topic: how do folks get so upside down in their finances? I've been bi-vocational for most of my 22 years in ministry. I have never made over $30,000 in all that time combining what income I derive from the church and my secular employment. We have all the same expenses like everybody else: rent, utilities, taxes, insurance, groceries, education debt, diapers...
We have no debt. madre makes car payments to ourselves so when it's time to get a car we have cash on hand to pay for it. We don't have the newest cars on the block but they are both safe and reliable. Our son's illness wiped out the previous 20 years worth of hard work and investments so we've managed the last 20 through good stewardship.
