Ideas for Finances

[maribel]

I was wondering how others made arrangements with their finances and to share how we do it (a system my husband came up with) and how are planning to when we add our sister-wife.

What we do now is:

his salary
+my salary
- all household expenses
- savings
= discretionary spending total

we divide that total evenly between my husband and I and that goes into our personal accounts (vs the household account) as our personal money.

when my sister joins our marriage we would just add her to the tally.
his salary
+sister-wife 1's salary
+sister-wife 2's salary
- all household expenses
- savings
= discretionary spending total

and divide that in 3 .

And when one or both of us stops working to care for children it would still remain the sum of available salaries - expenses and savings /3. Thankfully my husband makes enough to support us all so my salary and my sisters are not critical. We would each of us contribute to the household with salaries or responsibilities and at the same time have some level of economic liberty.

I'd be curious to know how other people have solved this sort of thing or if they have any suggestions.

Maribel

 

[steve]

in my thinking it would depend on the amount going into savings.
if 90% is going into savings and the other 10 is going into pocket-money, it may work well

our money is so tight that any extra spending is pretty much arbitrary by the benevolent dictator

 

[kmeltonlnc]

yeah, steve, in my family there is only one wife and my benevolent dictator makes all final economic decisions big or small after my imput, which may or may not influence his decision. i know that may not sit well with all women, but since he is responsible for everything, it is the way it is. and i love not having the responsibility. i just tell him what i need and want and he decides if he agrees!

 

[The Duke Of Marshall]

Maribel,
I am SOOOOO glad you asked that question. I love talking about this kind of thing. Almost as much as I love discussing scripture. Here is a basic summary of the advice that I would highly advise you to consider.

No matter what you decide to do with your money get on and stay on a detailed budget. That way you can tell every penny of your money where you want it to go. If you do not then that money will undoubtedly find a way to get spent. Here is a basic budget plan that I suggest you use.

Total income(husband + wife + wife + etc)
- 10% Tithing
- 10-15% Savings
- Housing

• Mortgage
  Repairs
  Utilities

- Clothing
- Food
- Transportation

• Car loan
  Repairs
  Gas
  Tires

- Medical Savings
- Blow Money
-Other Expenses(Student loans, credit cards, etc)
End Cash = $0.00

Always make sure that you end up with $0.00 at the bottom. If you have some left over then make sure to increase another category. My suggestion would be to increase the amount you are paying on debt such as credit cards, student loans, car loans, etc so that you get out of debt that much faster. Otherwise, put it in savings.

You can always add categories and subcategories as needed, but always keep your "four walls" there. Housing, clothing, transportation, and food.

I would keep tithing and savings at the very top and make sure they are the first categories to get funded. Otherwise most people will either forget them or ignore them altogether. With your savings account try not to go with a standard savings account at your local bank. Those are most always a waste of time. Instead put some savings in something rather liquid like a money market that gets a pretty good return. That way you have a backup in case of an emergency and for long term savings I would suggest finding a good mutual fund.

There is so much more that I could say and that I want to say, but I hate long posts just as much as the next guy so I will stop here. If there is something that you would like me to go into more detail on then do not hesitate to ask. I would highly suggest getting the book "Total Money Makeover" by Dave Ramsey and reading that as a family. That is the best financial advice that I have come across for getting out of debt, staying out of debt, and building wealth. If you can not afford it then just let me know and I will mail you a copy. I believe in it that much. You just have to promise to read it.

Take care and Yahuweh bless.

Proverbs 21:20 "Desirable treasure and oil, Are in the dwelling of the wise, But a foolish man swallows it up."
Philippians 4:19 "And my Elohim shall fill all your need according to His riches in esteem by Messiah Yahushua."

"The average millionaire can not tell you who got kicked off american idol last night"

 

[Melanie]

That's a very sensible budget, Todd!

I have 3 different pay days, 3 separate employers and additional payments from government family rebates and of course it is all different amounts depending on how much i have worked and for whom. I just pay each bill as it arrives with a little bit extra as a cushion for unexpected lean times. I can't juggle more than one account so i found that i wasn't saving anything. (Besides i really hate banks) To encourage saving i started putting all my change into a can the minute i get home... to open it you have to cut it so it's not easy to get at. When i had worked a lot and have extra cash i deliberately break bills so i can have more change to put in. We have $1 and $2 coins here so it adds up! When one gets full i start a new one.

I have lots of these cans (about 3x size of a soda can) hidden all through my house, one even serves as a doorstop! I know the money is there if i really need it... but at the same time i really am saving it. I know i will eventually have to get proper savings plan and account but for now it's teaching me to put money aside and forget about it.

However, i don't tithe properly. I don't go to a formal church so i have no one to give it to and there are so many contradictory opinions ...i do give at least 10% to various charitable organizations (I'm a sucker) so i guess thats what we Aussie's may call "Clayton's" tithing.

 

[The Duke Of Marshall]

Melanie,
Thanks! I have been so blessed from learning all this financial stuff from Dave Ramsey. Some people view a budget as a straight jacket when that is simply not the case. It is just a way to control your finances instead of letting your finances control you. Fund it however you want as long as you are responsible with it and YOU tell your money where it is going instead of it just going down some black hole that you have no idea where it went to.

lol, You sound a lot like me. I have three different "cookie jar" accounts that I fund plus a money market and bank account on top of tithing, saving, expenses, etc.

I do not think that a tithe HAS to go to a church. I personally give my tithe to a religious organization that I believe is doing the will of Yahuweh because I do not go to a church either. As long as it is going back to Yahuweh I do not see as how it HAS to go to one place or the other.

 

[Tlaloc]

Like everyone above we just sum income-sum expenses (including offerings, saving, and both personal and family spending money) then we talk about what to do about the excess.

Our offerings are a set amount rather than a 10% recalculated each month, but they get modified if our income varies up or down by a very substantial amount in any given month. It is typically paid to our church or our camp, both ministries that we receive full disclosure concerning (and really one should not give to any charity that does not disclose its information), but if we know someone who has a need personally they have higher priority and we just give the money to them. Its not often, but I find it to be more useful to give money to someone directly.