There's a funny little joke about lawyers that the reason they go into law is because they can't stand the sight of blood or they're lousy in math. Let's just say, that's not a joke in my case. I'm very fortunate my kids don't get too many injuries and thank goodness for calculators! With this in mind, imagine my surprise (and terror!) when I was voted treasurer of the condo association we belong to (we own a condo that we use as a rental). I've been doing the books for about 2 years now and have managed to not mess things up too much. My only experience for this is that I pay the bills in our family. A matter of fact, I don't think my husband has a clue what we pay for electricity, water, etc. Hmmm, now that I think about it, I'm not sure he even knows how much he makes because his checks are automatically deposited. The one thing he does know for sure is if he puts his bank card in a machine it will kindly dispense cash. How nice of that machine . . . .
Anyway, all this is leading up to my question . . . who does the "books" in your family? I'm curious if more women or more men handle the finances.
8 comments:
Joe and I kind of split it up. He keeps track of our budget and I pay all the bills. He actually hasn't seen any of the utility bills in almost ten years, so we have to work together when he's doing the budget. I tell him how much everything costs, he figures it into the excel worksheet he has used for years, and tells me how much we have left to spend on each of the other expenses. Then I make sure we stay within that amount when making purchases. I kind of feel like we are a team when it comes to finanaces.
Great question Carolyn! I DO!!! Can't you tell by my wizened and pinched face, the ulcer that has me doubled over, and the unexplained twitch? Have you noticed that my husband has a serene happy-go-lucky look most of the time. That is the look of utter cluelessness...and apparently happiness. :)
I do all the finances and the budget. I guess I used to do it so I felt like I contributed something to the money situation...plus I was way to "liberated" be given an "allowance" by my man.
This used to be quite a hot topic of conversation between me and my best friend Tiffany. We were never going to be one of those women who didn't know how much money we had etc. Imagine my shock when Tiffany told me that after 12 years of doing all the finances she handed over all the stress and irration to her LAWYER husband. She says that doing that was quite LIBERATING and loves how carefree life is now...and the glee she gets over "reprimending" him when a bill is late! ;) Maybe she is on to something!!
HI Carolyn, this is Angie Richardson here. I am ashamed to admit that I have never once paid a bill in my life. Mark does everything with money, which is kind of scary since he, too, does not enjoy math. Come visit us at readingarmadillo.blogspot.com.
Jason and I both hate to do the bills, and the money thing. Very ironic since that is what Jason does for a job.
I used to handle most of it but now I make a little pile of paper and send it to work with Jason. He seems to handle it much better at the office.
Since we took the Financial Peace class we have done much better at sitting down together and discussing our finances and I would say that we are now pretty equal in the finance department.
Unfortunately, I am in charge of the books at our house. This arrangement gives me both self-satisfaction and endless grief. I have threatened to hand over the responsibilities to my hubby on more than one occasion, but my fear of being escorted to prison for financial negligence keep me going strong. I do not like this subject - especially since we bought a house.
I'm really a ray of sunshine today, aren't I?
I do. After Devin and I got married I tried to make him do it, but nothing got paid. I told him it wasn't fair of him to act like he didn't care just so the job would default to me!
Good question. In our family, Chad handles all the bills. I don't know if I would call it "doing the BOOKS". There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to his approach. If he gets a bill in the mail, he sends a check. I think that's all it consists of. I handle all the insurance, which I would gladly pass of to him also if he didn't insist that I needed to have a clue about something.
I used to do it all but it was frustrating to both of us. Now, we kind of do it together but I would say Jay is more officially in charge. Translation, if something doesn't get paid, it's his fault.
But, like Andrea, since Financial Peace, we are both totally aware of all of the bills and what we are doing.
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