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SAHMs
I am on my 5th week of being a SAHM & I am loving it! But...
I am worried about how to work our financial situation when my work savings have depleted. Questions for you SAHMs: How do you and your DH/SO handle your finances? i.e. does he give you an allowance (i hate that word), do you have a joint account that his pay goes too?
We are not yet at the point of figuring it out, but its safer to know what to do and talk about it before the time comes. TIA
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Re: SAHMs
We have a joint acccount where His paycheck goes to. no allowance we both know what's in the account and what each of us have to spend as "fun" money.
We have a joint account that DH's paycheck goes to, and online banking so we can both keep track. We set a budget together with all our bills, and if either one of us wants to buy something extra, we ask eachother.
Example: Groceries are in the budget so I buy what I want, but I'd ask for a hair cut, and he'd ask me to go golfing.
I let him know any purchases I make, even though he tracks it every other day with Quicken. If I need something for me only- pedicure, clothes I ask ahead of time but it's more like a "Hey I need to get my toes done it will be $30" and he says OK.
Eating out and going out are the places we've cut expenses the most. I belong to at least 50 cooking blogs and found a bunch of free activities in my area.
Francesca Pearl is here! Josephine Hope is almost 3!
Totally. We have date night usually once a month and that is pretty much the only time we go out to eat now. It just isn't fun with a baby in tow, and she has such an early bedtime that it isn't fair to her anyways. Definitely this was an easy place for us to save. I am also to the point where I like cooking and think alot of my dinners taste better than some things you get out anyways.
To answer the question we have a joint account. If I want to go get a pedicure or a haircut or starbucks, I do it. I don't do it often, but I don't feel the need to ask when I do. We saved for years before TTC because I knew I wanted to be a SAHM for a few years but I had no intention of totally sacrificing our old lifestyle to do it. Our rule has always been anything over 50 dollars we ask out of courtesy. Otherwise, no big deal.
You'll figure out a system that works for you.
We have a joint account. I buy what I want when I want it. Nothing has changed in how we handle finances since I stopped working. I've pretty much always been in charge of paying bills, buying groceries and most household items, and have free reign for shopping. However, he knows that we have very similar views about money so there's no need to attempt to control me with an allowance. We still contribute to multiple retirement accounts and our various savings accounts, and it was extremely important to us that we could still do this when I stayed home.
Personally, I recommend keeping track of everything you spend for a couple weeks and coming up with a budget so you know how much money you have for living expenses and how much you can put into savings.
Wait, let me see if I understand you correctly. You're dipping into savings to be a SAHM?
To answer the question, we had always planned our bills around one salary, so it's pretty easy. I dont have an "allowance"-I just buy what the kids/house needs. If I wanted to get something extra for me (like a shopping spree for clothes or something), I'd just let DH know so he could plan for it.
I would not be depleting savings to be a SAHM. That's a terrible financial choice.
We have a joint account, but we use the "jar method" as our way to budget. (We are huge fans of the show Til Debt Do Us Part) All of our variable expenses (Groceries, Gas, Home Renos, Misc fun money) has their own jar and we put a specific amount cash in them every week. Get to the end of the week before you get to the end of the money.
We discuss almost every purchase. Well, there isn't always a discussion exactly, but we tell each other what the money is going towards, and we track every penny.
This.
We knew ahead of time that we could live on what my DH makes. I wouldn't stay home if that wasn't the case. I actually work on-call, so I can pick up hours if I want, but that money automatically goes into savings.
We do not dip into savings unless it is absolutely necessary. Ex: House repairs, car repairs, etc. We still try to budget that into our monthly budget, but there are times when we do dip into savings.
Our savings isn't for every day living expenses. I do the budget, and I pay the bills. We have a joint account that both our checks get deposited into, and we have a joint savings account.
If you're already a SAHM, then you need to figure out now how to make it work before you are suddenly faced with no more savings and no plan. Taking the time to work it out before you are at that point will save you a lot of frustration, and could actually save you money as well. Your savings wont last forever, so what are you going to do when it runs out? No offense, but did you really plan to be a SAHM by wiping out your savings? That's a horrible move and very short sighted.
I've been a SAHM for 6 years and we've always had joint accounts and I've always been the one "in charge" of the finances. All of it is "our" money, not based on who is making more (or any) or who does what. Some of the paycheck is deposited directly into savings, some into investments, and the rest into a checking account that pays for household bills along with personal spending for both of us. We dont have a set amount of money we are allotted, but we do check with each other if we plan to spend more than a few hundred on something out of the ordinary.
It's sounded to me like the OP has a savings of money she made while working that was saved specifically for this. I didn't take it as using up their lifetime savings so she could stay home. Either way--who are we to judge their choices?
DH and I have 1 acct where his paycheck goes. He pays the bills but I know how much is in there. I tell him about big purchases, but if I want starbucks or a pedicure I tell him about it, I dont ask if it's ok.
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No. I worded that incorrectly. My savings have not been touched, that's why we call them savings. I meant the last of my money earned from my old job that I actually put in my checking account. If I had to dip into my savings to get by, i wouldn't be a SAHM.
You got it right.
These are probably the questions you should have asked before you decided to be a SAHM.
But, that bridge has been crossed.
I ditto the eating out thing. We almost never ever eat out. That cuts into budgets very quickly. Also re-evaluate any frivulous things you have like large cable bills, phone data plans and such.
And no, my husband doesn't give me an allowance. We sat down and made our budget together. We decided how much money we would spend in each category, and that is our limit every month. So he has a limit on things that he cares about, as do I.
this
We have a joint account that DH's income goes into. We use our debit cards for everything (bills, groceries, shopping, ect.). We don't usually tell eachother what we bought unless it's a big purchase (over $150).
As far as making the money last, we've cut down on eating out and spending unecessary money. GL!
We have a joint account, but I'm better at managing money so I handle all the bills/buy what we need.
If he wants a cd or I want a cappucino we don't ask one another. Larger purchases, generally anything $100 or more, we discuss first.
We've cut our expenses wherever we could; cars are payed for, we don't use credit cards, just got rid of cable, etc.
You guys will figure out what works for you it just takes commitment.