Who handles the budgeting and billpaying in your household?

[yourbeginnings]

I handle all actually paying the bills. We have individual personal accounts and a 3rd account for household expenses. Every month we deposit a fixed amount into the household account and pay the bills. We generally have money left over each month in this account that we let accumulate, which is then used for a vacation.

[Livingalmostlarge]

I do, but it's not unlikely right? Everyone here is more probably the partner more responsible with paying bills and being more involved in finances. The other partner may not be irresponsible (like my DH), but they just are not interested in the day to day budget or being involved.

[Frugal Fannie]

I do all the bill paying and make all the deposits to savings. DH's paycheck is direct deposited. If there's a particular project that we need to save for (like a new roof), I figure out how much I need to put away in our HSBC Direct account each month. I keep a spread sheet which shows how much we have saved for different areas like the 3 month SHTF fund, emergency home repair fund, car purchase fund, vacation fund, and home project fund.

As far as spending, we generally discuss any purchase over $50 unless it's something like a Christmas gift. But even then we decide ahead of time how much we're going to spend on each other.

Several times a year, we'll sit down and go over how much we have saved and whether we need to trim our spending in any areas.

[hermione]

Originally Posted by frozemud

Oh, and I do the taxes. Just because I like to do them.

Me too. I mean, I do the taxes for both of us and our small business. Not because I like to do them. I gripe about it the whole way, especially when writing out the checks. But I didn't do it, my sister certainly wouldn't because she has form-filling complexes, and unfortunately, I have a sort of psychotic liking for filling out forms and doing spreadsheets.

[BamaRo]

I handle the day to day things like paying the bills. We talk about what's going on with it. And we plan the budget together, although I have a better idea of the actual figures because of doing the day to day stuff.

[frozemud]

Originally Posted by hermione

unfortunately, I have a sort of psychotic liking for filling out forms and doing spreadsheets.

Yeah, that's more what I meant by "liking" doing taxes. I think it's cool putting all the little numbers so neatly in the little boxes, looking up things on tables, stapling, filing... it's an OCD thing maybe.

[rstlne]

Originally Posted by KelR1

I'm just curious. You? Significant other? Or is it a shared responsibility?

I do that. Well, I have to since I'm the only one here.

[Xin Lu]

I'm definitely the one doing it in my household, but I tell my hubby what I do. He has a budget on how much he can spend on entertainment and now he says he goes into a store and buys less because he sees my face in his head.

[Brenna]

We share the responsibilities and have weekly updates to go over our finances. We have our own checking accounts as well as a joint checking and various savings accounts.We use Quicken to show our accounts and track our monthly budget at a glance. We have setup automatic bill payments and save at least 10% of our income. We plan ahead for upcoming expenses and discuss purchases prior to buying them. My husband and I practically have daily money talks to see where we can change our habits for the best.

[amyschiff]

Originally Posted by ajeh

I'm a one-person household (college student) so I have no choice but to handle all the budgeting and billpaying here. In my parents' home, my mother handles it.

Same here, no longer a college student but still living on my own. Like ajeh, mom does it all back at home.

My boyfriend and i plan to move in together eventually, and we're both very frugal and budget conscious, so I'm wondering how we will work out the bills and budgeting.