tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post4380501143569286962..comments2023-06-18T06:03:54.348-07:00Comments on Racing Towards Retirement: How Do You Manage Family Finances?RAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04102249990885174107noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-88024037643804861552016-08-06T20:54:45.005-07:002016-08-06T20:54:45.005-07:00My parents were the last arrangement. That left a ...My parents were the last arrangement. That left a mess when Dad passed first. It took us three years to figure it all out.<br /><br />We have always been one pot. My husband made the majority of the money in our budget, I contributed when the job was available. There was never any discussion that I should work. <br />Before retirement I "ran the money". I made sure both had IRA's (I disagree that only the one with matching should have the account. That leaves a mess of taxes if the surviving spouse is not the account holder.) Cars are always in both names. We pay cash and replace about every 10 years. Motorcycle and boats are always in his- I have no interest to comply with the state to have them in mine. If he passes first- these will be sold immediately.<br />For the first twenty five years investing was my job. Investment decisions now sway between who is more interested at any given time. I am currently more risk adverse- so he does the investing. <br />Wills are drawn. Debt is gone.<br /><br />Thirty two of our thirty four year marriage, we have had allowances. this amount is come to after all bills are paid and money is placed into savings. At first allowance was only $10 or20 a month. Now it is closer to $300. We do not consult each other on how that money is spent. It is spent on whatever we choose. My husband has his woodworking and I have travel to see grands :) <br /><br />The best book ever was, "Master Your Money" by Ron Blue. We read it the second year of marriage and never looked back. <br /><br />Fun to read how others do it. My sisters think I am crazy :)Janettehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10054888725603183006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-76169525069613169932016-08-06T11:56:27.766-07:002016-08-06T11:56:27.766-07:00It's a second marriage for both us, but we are...It's a second marriage for both us, but we are all in together. We have similar financial values, which helps a lot, and don't feel the need for side accounts. We tend to discuss almost all of our purchases with each other anyway and we both work on tracking expenses and maintaining the budget. While I'm highly in favor of joint accounts, I think every couple needs to decide what works best for them.Gary @ Super Saving Tipshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06836802330933622256noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-27485681612722850882016-08-06T08:16:08.493-07:002016-08-06T08:16:08.493-07:00We have one joint account out of which we manage m...We have one joint account out of which we manage most expenses. We each get matching retirement plans from our employers, so we each have our own retirement accounts. We also each have a small "pocket money" fund.<br /><br />We came upon this approach because splitting up major expenses, like childcare and the mortgage, seemed silly. With direct deposit, it's easy to contribute money to different accounts, so we pool the bulk of our money in that joint account. <br /><br />I like having the separate side accounts because it allows each of us a little bit of spending money that we don't have to account to the other. I just think that's healthy. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-316583760554792907.post-48637610207880144402016-08-06T05:58:26.682-07:002016-08-06T05:58:26.682-07:00We married later, started separate and maintain se...We married later, started separate and maintain separate investment accounts but have slowly replaced individual checking and savings with joint accounts. I think it was a lot easier to let things evolve naturally rather than start with trying to combine everything at first.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10862388269789070509noreply@blogger.com