How much money?

[Andry]

I thought about this while reading another thread about a husband's pay stub but didn't want to sidetrack that thread.

But it seemed odd to me that the husband didn't want his wife to know how much money he was making.

So my questions: Do you know how much your spouse makes? Do you care? Do they care that you know?

My wife knows how much I make and vice versa. We have a number of bank accounts, most of them joint accounts. She also has a few accounts with her mother. And I have a few accounts under my own name. But she knows them all; I don't have any secret accounts.

So in terms of our finances, we are completely transparent with one another, and believe that's the way it ought to be.

Why someone wouldn't want their spouse to know how much money they make is beyond me. To me it shows a deeper issue in the relationship that they haven't truly become 'one' as a couple. But that's just IMO.

How about you guys?

 

[brokenbananas]

We're transparent about our accounts, and we have a number of accounts....It works this way for us.

 

[andiesmama]

We only have a checking & savings account...I don't think Ty really knows how much is in each one, but he just trusts me with the finances, it's not that I'm keeping it from him! lol

And I do know what he makes...since I take care of Andie & don't have a job outside the home, Ty's the one who brings home a paycheck. So he just hands it over to me so I can pay bills & stuff like that.

I think that's part of a marriage, sharing in the finances...

 

[WolfGate]

It's our money - not my money. Of course she knows.

 

[Mirelys]

I know exactly how much my husband makes and where it goes. At this point, he is handling the money, because I think he needs to know how to (also I am a miser, and he'd get frustrated if I was handling it). I keep track of him in order to offer my advice if he is headed for trouble.

 

[Hooch]

My wife and I keep separate accounts. She keeps what she has/makes- I keep what I make. I pay most of the bills as I make more- but sometimes I offload them onto her if I have little to no cash on hand.

This works because we don't live anywhere near our income level. We live as minimally as possible materialwise as the Lord dictates.

I know what she makes- she knows approximately what I make. She has to sign the tax return every year- so there is always the opportunity once a year to find out for sure (assuming you are a W2 wage earner or don't cheat).

 

[LiberatedChick]

I know how much he makes and he knows how much I make. We currently have two separate current accounts and one savings account. We're planning on setting up a joint account and using that to start regularly saving as much as possible. We're completely open about our money though. If I want to know how much he has in his account and what still needs to be paid out all I have to do is ask and he'll tell me. Likewise I'd do the same if he wanted to know and often tell him without him asking. We don't see it as "my money" and "your money" we see it as "our money" no matter whose bank account it's in.

 

[searle29678]

The reason my husband doesn't want me to know how much he makes from week to week is he wants to be able to keep a certain amount that I don't know about for whatever he chooses. If he tells me he only made 200 dollars when he really made 250 dollars and then does away with the pay stub, how do I know otherwise? I don't, so he has 50 or more dollars in his pocket to pay for things I normally wouldn't approve of as a use of our money.

 

[karla]

We have only a joint savings and checking account. Yes, I know how much he makes and it has to be that way because I am in charge of the finances. Even if I weren't in charge of the finances, I would still know how much he makes because we are open with one another about everything and what would be the point in "hiding" it.

 

[Hooch]

The reason my husband doesn't want me to know how much he makes from week to week is he wants to be able to keep a certain amount that I don't know about for whatever he chooses. If he tells me he only made 200 dollars when he really made 250 dollars and then does away with the pay stub, how do I know otherwise? I don't, so he has 50 or more dollars in his pocket to pay for things I normally wouldn't approve of as a use of our money.

Do you file a joint tax return? Simply look at it- and see if it adds up.

 

[redwing030]

I couldn't imagine being in a life long partnership with someone and not knowing what they make. Just doesn't make sense to me. I probably know more about how much my husband makes than he does. He knows what I make as well. Since I am in charge of the finances, he doesn't pay that close of attention to the money to know exactly how much we have in our joint savings and checking at all time but he definitely can look at it whenever he wants. Also, there's really no way for either of us to skim some off the top of our checks without the other knowing, both of our paychecks are automatically deposited into our checking account. That's a nice feature that he sometime jokingly grumbles about But it all works for us.

 

[LynnMcG]

I handle our finances, simply because I'm a little bit better at it than my husband and because that's how he wants it so I know how much money we have. I tease him on occassion that he doesn't even know where our money is, let alone how much. But I keep our books on the computer so he has access to it all the time. No secrets here.

We've talked about this before, and if we were deceitful in how we handled finances with eachother than it wouldn't be long before we were deceitful in other areas. We are ONE. There is no need to one up the other. A marriage isn't going to get anywhere if one or both spouses is unsure of what the other is up to.

 

[searle29678]

Do you file a joint tax return? Simply look at it- and see if it adds up.

I know how much he makes per hour and I know his schedule, but a lot of times he doesn't work as much as the schedule calls for and some times he works more and I don't always know about it. When we filed our tax returns this year it was the first time doing it jointly so I know how much he made last year, but without his complete honesty through the year, there is no way for me to know how much he makes week to week unless I pick up his check (which he nor his employer will let me do), call his job everyday to see if he was there and how long, (which would be pointless because I can't MAKE him go to work and work all day) so I'm at the mercy of his word. He thinks since I make signifigantly more than him (about 6 more dollars per hour) that it's ok for him to hold some of his finances for himself. I'm sort of at a standstill when it comes to finances and my husband.

 

[Living Stone]

I thought about this while reading another thread about a husband's pay stub but didn't want to sidetrack that thread.

But it seemed odd to me that the husband didn't want his wife to know how much money he was making.

So my questions: Do you know how much your spouse makes? Do you care? Do they care that you know?

My wife knows how much I make and vice versa. We have a number of bank accounts, most of them joint accounts. She also has a few accounts with her mother. And I have a few accounts under my own name. But she knows them all; I don't have any secret accounts.

So in terms of our finances, we are completely transparent with one another, and believe that's the way it ought to be.

Why someone wouldn't want their spouse to know how much money they make is beyond me. To me it shows a deeper issue in the relationship that they haven't truly become 'one' as a couple. But that's just IMO.

How about you guys?

because of my exwifes rampant spending, I had to be the one to make sure the bills were paid and then give her what we could afford each pay period for her personal spending.

But she always knew how much money we had.

I dont beleive in secrets in a marriage.
If she has say over my body, then she has say over our finances as well.

I even tried to coerce her into taking the money and paying the bills and being part of the finances.
That was the month she decided she didnt need we didnt need those silly things like electric, heat, water and food

I waited a while then tried again with her, but she has a problem.
She thinks as long as there was money to spend, then spending it is the only choice.

So I do say that she MUST be informed as to everything, but some women and some men arent capable of handling the finances themselves.

God help the household in which BOTH spouses have no control with spending.

I got it good now.
Laura is very careful with her money and doesnt feel the need to go by everything in site.

I think its a wonderful thing when a couple can sit down and share something as simple as home finances.
Id bet most wives would love to be able to sit at the kitchen table with their hubbies and plan out a budget.
Its funny, but just planning out your money spending together could easily be something that could make the two closer as they start to feel theyre working as a team on things.

 

[Oblivious]

Sorry, maybe it's just me, but how extremely odd is it not to know what your husband makes? What's the point of that? Is there no trust, envy, etc?

We have a checking and savings account, which is in both of our names, as is everything else (house, cars, etc.)

 

[searle29678]

Sorry, maybe it's just me, but how extremely odd is it not to know what your husband makes? What's the point of that? Is there no trust, envy, etc?

We have a checking and savings account, which is in both of our names, as is everything else (house, cars, etc.)

I think it's odd and I wish I could have the same sort of relationship you do. In my case my husband likes to spend money on things that don't contribute to bettering the household so he hides his true income from me. It sucks, but such is life.

 

[Redguard]

Mrs. Redguard knows exactly how much I make.

When I started my new job, we talked about how much of a salary I'd negotiate for and she knows how much I ended up with. We have to fill out forms all the time where we state how much income we make. Especially when it comes to applying for car loans, financing, etc.

Anybody trying to keep that stuff secret is up to something. Mmm Hmm!

 

[Andry]

The responses have been fairly unanimous thus far.

One disadvantage about putting all the money in the same pot so to speak, is that my wife can find out how much her birthday gift was if she wanted to! . Men, it keeps us honest .

I also find it interesting that the vast majority of wives are the ones who do the finances. My wife does our day to day finances too.

 

[If Not For Grace]

When I married my husband, I learned what the term "dirt poor farmer" meant.

We live in a small beautiful home right on the river in Alabama. For any agnostic reading this come down and see the view and you will KNOW there is a creator behind this.

My hubby works daylight to dark 6 days a week, and if he is guilty of any bad chirstian habit sometimes he works 7. He has a "job" at the local Paper Mill and I know exactly what he makes an hour. BUT what he is IS A FARMER and he makes exactly NOTHING, in fact we loose a little each year.

When he proposed to me he said "I promise you, you will never be Homless and you will never go hungry., but if you think there is any money in this deal, forget it. The land is only worth what it would sell for and I will NEVER sell it, or mortgage it. (Family land for 12 generations) HE HAS BEEN TRUE TO HIS WORD.

We are as happy today as when we started out. Ain't LOVE GREAT!!!

 

[IceCrystalH2O]

My husband does the finances in our home. He is great with numbers and me....well...its better that I stay as far way from anything "mathematical" as I can...LOL.

I know approximately how much my husband makes and I have access to all his pay stubs if I want to see them. He has our budget on the computer so I can always look and see whats going on. He has tried a time or two to explain how it all works but I just don't have the time to learn it all now. Some day in the future I will find out though.