I would hope that there is more trust and respect between the husband and wife than to hide money from each other, but I am not naive enough to think it doesn't happen.

In our family, we both bring home bacons. We put everything into our joint account and take out money as we need it. I take care of the bills and little things, and my husband does the investing. On bigger purchases, like a car or a Louis Vuitton purse ;-), we plan the purchase together.

I'd like to do the same as Sandy when married, but as of now I have my own bank account and pay for everything separately.

In my home we both make the moolah and both invest in our futures equally. We have joint accounts and dump the money into it. From there it gets allocated. After the bills are paid and the savings are stashed away, if he wants to save for a new motor on his boat or I want to save for a new convertible we discuss our wants and how we plan to make it happen.

I am happy to contribute to his savings for his boat because it makes him a happy husband. I love seeing him captain his boat in the summer! He also is glad to fork over the cheddar for my new plaything because he knows I'll look adorable in a new convertible. He likes showing me off and wants me to be happy. It works really well for us. We both want each other to have happy mates so we contribute to making their dreams come true.

Lotsa Love
LL