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| [MONEY MATTERS] |
| by [Irmee] |
Priest: Hold the arrhae in your hands as a sign that your blessings will no longer be held separately but together.....
Groom: Accept this arrhae as a token of my dedication to your welfare; as a symbol of my total and free offering to you....
Bride: I accept them and I am also making the same free and joyous offering of myself to you and all that I am and all that I have....
Do you remember these promises you made when you exchanged vows? Do you still keep these promises? Ideally, the man brings home the dough and the lady of the house bakes them and feeds them to the family.
In our society nowadays, both the husband and wife works and share the financial obligations of the household. With the onset of technology and both husband and wife earns, the question of who's going to handle the money if not the biggest, becomes one of the major concerns newlyweds face. Most couples still follow the traditional style even if both works, the wife gets all the money and handles them. Others, choose the one who handles the money better, definitely not the spender; while others decide on a "kanya-kanya" or some prefer pooling of resources then budgets the money jointly.
The ways of handling the couples money has evolved. Couples compromise and choose the one that works best for them. So, what about your family's style? Who's the money-ger? As the wife, do you have it all? or if not, do you keep some for yourself? Let the wife speak on money matters...
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| Ganito kami noon, ganito na kami ngayon... |
| by [Jeanny] |
During my singlehood, I was a real spendthrift. I spend my money with my wants, mostly on clothes, shoes, trip at the salon and gimmicks. I was like that for years. Then when I got married, things suddenly changed. My hubby has no job that time, he was about to flew abroad but decided to marry me first and look for a job here na lang. He did his really best to find a job in any semicon company but he wasn't in luck for months. During those times, I was the one who spend for the household expenses. His financial contribution wasn't that regular. It was really hard for me to budget and we dont have any savings that time. My luho was then gone.
As I was saying, after 7 months hubby found a good job and earn much more than I do.
He give all his earnings and leaves some for his 2 weeks allowance. Yup, I do the budgeting. I have a planner where I list down all our expenses, which is divided into 2 parts. The things to pay list and the consumables' list. I wrote them all and allot an amount for each item. Then what so ever is left will be put in our savings account. Aside from that, everytime we go out and spend money, I make it a point to ask for a receipt, I staple it in my planner so I can determine, where did our money went. So basically that is how we manage our spending and it works for us.
By the way, I still do have the privilege of buying clothes or shoes but not that often na. I still can go at the salon but mostly for haircut na lang muna. Mag susuklay na lang ako ng maigi bago umalis ng bahay. He he he.
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| Baligtaran |
| by [jen] |
When J and I were planning for our wedding, I was the financial manager. I admit, I am a bit of a miser when I was still single. I spent very little on clothes or shoes when I was still unmarried. My only vice is electronics, once a year, and a good set of rubber shoes, once a year also. So it seemed that I was the best choice to handle the finances.
However, when we got married, everything seemed to have changed. I tried to handle our finances during the first month, but I got confused. :D J took over and it seems that everything is now better.
In traditional households, the woman handles the money and the husband gives part of his salary to her. Ours is reversed. Every pay day, we deposit to our joint household account a fixed amount and J manages that for us. We put a separate fixed amount to our joint savings account also.
Our setup is working for us so far. I still get to have money for my luho (which is clothes now), and J has money for his. In the future I hope we can make more long term investments. |
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| money, money, honey... |
| by [the voodoo doll] |
I quit my job 2 days before our wedding... I was planning to apply again after the wedding... But now a days, it's difficult to get a job and i think specially for experienced people (kasi demanding na! unlike froshies, kahit ano iga-grab). Good thing we are staying at my mom's place, so minus rent na yun... pero we have a share at home like the electricity (na laging tumataas), grocery every month, pamalengke every week, Cable (TV), gas and e-pass load (na pataas din ng pataas ) for the car and Mobile phone bill (own gastos). After a month of unsuccessful job hunting, I decided to start a small business. Even with the business, sa sweldo pa din ni hubby nanggagaling ang pang bayad sa expenses and savings. At first, binibigyan lang nya ko ng kailangan ko plus money for our savings account, tapos yung iba sa kanya (ibang bills sya na nagbabayad like globe and meralco, thru online payment). At some point ako ang nahirapan kasi magulo yung set-up namin. Ever since i was dalaga pa, gastador ako pero at the end of each (shopping) day, i compute all expenses even to the last cent. I know how much money i have in my wallet, my atm card and my credit card balance. In this way, na momonitor ko pa din ang gastos ko and kung tama pa ang natirang cash on hand sa kin, if not... sumasakit ang ulo ko... pero never pa naman nangyari na d ko nahanap ang kulang ko =) So one time, inayos ko yung budget namin and resolved our magulong set-up. Now, most of his salary goes to me and keep something for him to spend. Ako na ang bahala with all the expense and yung tira ita-transfer sa savings namin. Not only we were able to save properly, we also know where the money goes. And now that the shop earns enough, not only do I get to have my own salary from it, mas madali na... when there's no available cash to spend at home, sa shop muna namin kinukuha. With regards to other stuff like insurance, savings and investments. We discuss it first together. I ask him for his opinion and so does he. These are the needs... and for the wants... well... I'm really shopaholic nung dalaga pa ko... but i still know how to budget my money... budget kung how much para sa phone bill, cable, insurance and of course... shopping allowance! Now... inuuna ko muna talaga ang mga bills and basic needs namin... kung may tira.. then syaka mag shop... with hubby's consent. :) As for hubby... ang allowance nya is for gas, e-pass load, parking, food (but most of the time he has baon for lunch) and luho like DVD movies or PS2 games. When spending for food, no question asked na... galante kaming pareho basta pag dating sa kainan... :) |
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| our financial style |
| by [miuccia tarquin] |
My husband earns more than I do. So he gives me a cheque every month (he just leaves a small amount as his allowance for himself). I deposit this in our joint account. This is where I get the tuition of the kids, salaries for the yayas, payment of our joint credit cards, & other household expenses.
While I do have my own business, I am not earning as much as to be able to significantly contribute to our household expenses. The money that I earn from my business pays for my credit cards. I use my cards when I grocery shop & other non essential items that I buy for myself, husband & kids... The important thing here for me is that I can be financially independent on my husband. & he doesn't really meddle into my spending...
Oh yeah, he nags me alot about paying all the balances of my credit cards... But that's about it. I am not really into buying clothes or shoes or make up... My only passion is buying for books!!! That's where I do spend alot... As for his major spendings, we discuss this. Since he is into computers, & enjoys building his own personalized one, he really spends for this... That's why the budget has to pass congress hahahaha
As for managing our family finances (investments, savings, etc) for the future, I have to say that we are very delinquent here. We have a looooooong way to go..... |
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| SHOW ME THE MONEY!!! |
| by [simply me] |
We don't have a money-ger, cause we don't have much money to manage. teehee!
Actually, we have a simple way of handling our money. We add all expenses, then divide it by two. Whatever is left in our respective salaries, we are free to spend it in whatever we feel like buying. I don't ask hubby to give me all his money cause he worked for it, so he should also enjoy it. There is not much left to enjoy though :p And wouldn't it be weird if he gives me all his money then ask me for some so that he can buy me a surprise...
So far, this system works... all expenses are paid and we both have our own money to enjoy... on whatever, whenever! =)
** as for the title, wala lang... just remembered tom cruise in jerry maguire... =) |
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| MONEY DOESN'T MATTER |
| by [Maver] |
Hubby and I made a pact that money should never be an issue between us. So long as our monthly obligations (rent, utility payments, nanny's salary, groceries) are met, we're free to manage the "extra" money we have in whatever way we wish. Yun nga lang, bihira may extra :)
The set-up suits us fine. We both have our respective shares of the expense pie chart--with hubby in charge of a fraction (he splits the expenses with fil) of rent, gas, electricity/water bills, gas and the nanny's salary, while I'm in charge of groceries, weekly laundry, weekly drinking water, cable tv and all other miscellaenous expenses (family gimiks, gifts to loved ones etc).
I have been appointed as money-ger, not because I have grand ideas on how to make our money flourish, but simply because I work for a bank. It is more convenient for both of us, and most beneficial for me (especially if I need extra shopping money. Shhhh, that's our secret, teehee!). To tell you honestly though, I think hubby and I still have a long way to go as far as "financial maturity" is concerned. We frown upon educational plans and pension plans (thanks to my employer, my family is covered with medical and life insurance) and prefer to deposit our savings in a regular bank account. We see money as something that should be spent and shared. We believe that life is too short and that we should enjoy each moment to the fullest. The result? Measly savings for our future. It's tough, but we hope to improve along the way... |
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| What's yours is mine, what's mine is yours |
| by [marie] |
I can say that I am the self-appointed finance manager in our family. Primarily because at first I was the one earning in the first year and a half of our marriage. Reason for this, this beautiful law in the country where we are in that spouses of those with work visas are not allowed to work. But that's another story....
Now that hubby has a job here, he gives me most of his salary but he keeps some for his allowance for golf, tennis and what have you, and a certain amount to be sent to his family. As for me, my salary all goes to the common fund. There are advantages and disadvantages... I have no personal savings... but if I need to buy something for myself, I get from the general fund. hehehe
All decisions when it comes to finances has to be discussed whether for major spending on appliances, investing in real estate, or simple opening a bank account or applying for a loan. But I'm the one who always has the 'warning bells' when we tend to overspend. It's probably because of my traning... I know how to project our finances well into the future. Sometimes hubby has to remind me that it's nice to do projections, but what's more important is now, where do we stand financially.
So far, the setup has worked for us... it might need a little tweaking in the future but maybe minor ones. |
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| Joint Accountabilities |
| by [MrsPartyGirl] |
My hubby handles our expenses. If it were all up to me, napang-shopping ko na lahat ng sweldo niya, and he knows it! The one time he assigned me to take care of our rent, I missed the due date and bounced the check. Point delivered.
But we do talk about our expenses together, of course, and we try to stay within the budget so we can have some room for savings, recreation, and occasional splurges on the side. I don't mind, really, that hubby manages the household budget. As long as he puts a roof over our heads, feeds us, clothes us, gives me a shopping allowance (because he knows i HAVE to shop), and we have enough to go on savings, there's nothing for me to complain about. Of course, I still have access to our accounts. I keep a checkbook, a debit card, and a credit card handy, in case of emergencies. So as you can see, I am not totally devoid of purchasing power. Which is the way it should be.
Tip of the Day: Keep in mind that the wife HAS to know where her family stands financially. If your hubby keeps monetary secrets from you, you better demand to know. And vice versa. This has nothing to do with distrust, ok? It is simply an issue of security - your family's security. The more you know, the easier it is for you to sleep at night.
Anyway, as a housewife, I am not financially able to contribute anything to our family's economics. Although, I should be good for something. After all, I did hold that arrhae, too. As a former banker, my hubby turns to me for advice regarding investments. When it comes to our family's savings I am quite conservative. I pester him to set aside budgets for his 401k, our life, accident, and health insurance, pension and educational plans, and other options to ensure the future of our family. I badger him to use interest-earning checkbook accounts, trust funds, and the money market for some extra yield (pang-grocery din yung interest). And most of the time, I help distract him from his high-tech gadgetry salivations (na even worse than my penchant for designer bags).
In his own way, hubby has helped discipline me in my dalaga-way of spending, and at the same time, I am happy that through my inputs, he actually sees where his hard-earned money goes (glows and grows). It's really a match minted in heaven. We are happy, we are secure, and we never let money become an issue. After all, money is never worth fighting over.
And so, for a wife like me, I can say I have it all. |
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| Bye Bye Shopping Frenzy |
| by [mai] |
We haven't been married long enough for this to be an issue but we've discussed before getting married and come to an agreement on how to handle money.
We've decided to have a common fund that covers shared expenses (rent, food, electricity, groceries, etc), and a savings kitty - and we would both put in a fixed amount based on our incomes. This will not be an equal amount as my husband earns a lot more than I do, but generally the amount will be based on how much we are earning.
We get to keep an allowance for daily personal expenses, and some personal money (whatever is left over from our shared contributions to our expenses / savings) which we can use as we choose to (shopping, presents, personal savings, etc).
I have to confess we haven't tested this yet, but we hope to work within this framework, and make adjustments as necessary.
I am not sure if this is uncommon, but in our case my husband will be handling the shared money. I don't mind really, and am quite thankful he is taking the responsibility. He is more conscientious about budgeting and accounting for expenses. I am more of the "buy what you want to who cares how much it costs you can live on coffee and crackers until the next payday" -- which is why after working for 8 years I have hardly no savings, while he has made quite a nest egg and actually some investments. My method was ok for me as I was happy even if I was broke because my shoes were pretty (heeh), but there is no way this would work now that we are married. Hopefully, I make the transition to a mature spender quickly -- without too much pain. That would make the husband really happy. |
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| Kumusta, Kumare! |
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We have a mind of our own and we are not afraid to show it.
Besides (and won't you agree?)...
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totoo maver, life is too short. atsaka para saan pa na nagpapakahirap tayo magtrabaho kung hindi naman natin eenjoyin ang fruits ng ating pagod. (in my case, pagod ng asawa ko ahihihi) :D