When you administer your individual budget, you are responsible for decision-making. Question is raised in family matters – who should manage the family budget? May be, husband as main breadwinner, wife as the hearth keeper, or all together – since the family budget is concern of everyone. Shall it be individual for every family member of common?
There are no general or specific answers on questions outlined above. There are numerous various options and details in the household money management.
It is important that family budget management must be convenient, clear and satisfy all members of your family. Regardless of responsibility for family budget, all members must be happy. Very contradictory opinions exist regarding money entrusting – either men or women, very contradictory views. But women and men are different; everyone has his/her characteristics – something is good, and something is bad. Somebody is very committed, and other person can bear responsibility, and some other people try to put responsibility on other shoulders.
Therefore, decision on who will be in charge of the family budget shall be made jointly. For instance, the husband is ready to undertake responsibility for accounting, and the wife prefers to do housekeeping work and does not wish to deal with money. Decision is made: the husband does domestic book-keeping. Or another case; the wife has significant position at work and easily handles with higher responsibility, and the husband does not want to overload himself with any record keeping. Conclusion will be following: the wife takes domestic finance management in her hands. Again, it is worth to mention – both spouses shall be satisfied.
Structure of household finance shall be approved by all parties also. First, all cost items must be identified. It is crucial to remember that every member of the family needs some money allocated for personal thing without getting advice from other members of the family. Every person knows better what he/she needs as essential things hard to live without. It means that part of the budget can be spent for small things of every member of the family.
If you would not have such cost item in your budget, you would have various types of “stashes”. Actually, people always need personal expenses; otherwise money will be spent from other items. So, it is better to envisage cost item “Personal” from the beginning. It will be much clear when cost and benefit records will be kept transparently, without concealing anything.
As to input of every member of the family in common budget, it is also individual approach. Remember, it should be comfortable to all members. It can be completely separate budgets of the spouses, and all money in one “box” and in portions. It is important to avoid offences. For example, such cases occur when the husband gets more than the wife, and he gives whole salary in the family budget, and the wife is paid less, but she spends her salary only for herself (make-up, pantyhose, jewelry, etc.). It is crucial to reach a compromise in this issue in order to avoid family troubles.