My wife and I have been maintaining separate checking accounts for about two years. We divided up the bills so that we have approximately the same amount of spending money. We chose to keep our accounts separate to maintain some degree of privacy when making purchases. I do not want her to know how much I spend when I buy for her, and she feels the same when buying for me. I also like that we are not questioning each other about every little purchase.
Yesterday she informed me that her schedule has been too hectic for her to balanced her checking account . She said she would like me to manage her account. I also found out that we had a balance on a credit card that I thought was inactive of about $1400. Needless to say this temporarly knocked me off my diet and exercise program. I immediately withdraw money from savings and paid off the card giving us a free and clear starting point. Here is how I am planning to manage both accounts.
I added her as an authorized signer on my rewards credit card. I asked her to use the card for all purchases she makes. I feel that if there is no activity in her checking account for a period of time, I will be able to quickly balance it. I also feel that this will give her privacy as I will only look at the total balance when paying the bill. She also agreed to inform me if she makes any ATM withdrawals.
Because I have such an interest in saving and investing, I feel better to know our total household picture of income and outgo. I chose to keep both checking accounts open because our paychecks are direct deposited into our separate accounts and I find it a pain to change this. I have set up all the bills she was paying on automatic bank draft. I also set up a monthly payment to her Roth IRA, I believe I will have the account balanced in a short period of time and at the same time relive my wife from the obligation of maintaining the account
A Few Money Surprises
October 20th, 2007 at 04:32 am
October 20th, 2007 at 02:42 pm 1192887736
October 21st, 2007 at 04:21 am 1192936869
October 22nd, 2007 at 03:56 pm 1193065009
October 23rd, 2007 at 01:20 am 1193098855