Another argument this time it's about bills and money...
So I am arguing with my DH surprise, surprise and he feels that you should pay yourself first and then pay the bills. I say the opposite pay the bills first and whatever money you have left over you put into savings. What do you think and what has been working for you?
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Uhhhh... pay the bills
Uhhhh... pay the bills first... always....
Yeah bills come first. I mean
Yeah bills come first. I mean we make sure to get TINY little comforts in the way of cheap cookies or off brand soda that we like but bills come first. Then a little money to do stuff together with the kids (going to the city pool tomorrow), then what's left over is play money.
We should do better with savings but I do have a 401K set up so that is taking off the top. Because of some issues with my work the what's left over isn't much at all right now and I feel paying off my debt comes before savings. I do see the logic of the other side though.
Then you are paying yourself
Then you are paying yourself first. There seems to be some confusion on this thread about what this means. It means you put money into savings first, then pay your bills, then spend on the optional stuff.
I pay myself first but that
I pay myself first but that means that my 401K is paid first. This money goes in before any other bills are paid.
How is he paying himself first? If he keeping money for entertainment, I just consider that not paying your bills.
Agree about 401k but it comes
Agree about 401k but it comes out of my check automatically.
bills first. when we were
bills first. when we were better off financially, we included putting money into savings AS a bill.
I pay myself first, which
I pay myself first, which means it goes into a TFSA, it's not extra spending money.
Then I pay the bills. We are very fortunate that we have enough to do both. If I was short on the bills every month I'd redo the budget and see where I could save, groceries, car expenses, clothes, cable TV.
I would still pay myself first.
I used to pay the bills first
I used to pay the bills first and then try to save whatever is left over. That can work as long as you and your DH are both on the same page. It didn't work so well in my situation. I pay a majority of the bills and it seemed DH was getting very used to having extra cash in his pocket while I struggled. So I started taking a hefty chuck of my pay and putting it in a separate account in order to save. It works out great now. DH has to contribute more toward the monthly bills and I feel more relaxed knowing we have a nice little nest egg set aside. I have also been able to use the extra money I have set aside to pay cash for some smaller home improvements, pay off loans faster and take a few weekend long vacations. Had I never put that money aside immediately, DH would have found some reason to spend it on something frivolous or it would have ended up in BM's hands or on the SS's.
I have always made sure my
I have always made sure my bills were paid and I have always lived within my means so that I could afford to pay my bills AND put money into savings. And we give to charity every month. I have my direct deposit set up for a portion to go into checking and a portion to go into savings, so there really isn't a "first". Well, I guess my 401K is technically first.
When your DH pays himself first, does he have enough to pay all of the bills in full? Because it's stupid to pay late fees and/or interest, when not absolutely necessary.
ETA: I remember reading (a long time ago so the % may be off) that a person should be able to give 10% to charity (tithing), 10% to themselves (savings), and pay bills and live on the rest.
I do the same, direct deposit
I do the same, direct deposit to savings, 401K and charity comes right out my check. Then I pay bills.
We have a joint account that
We have a joint account that both of our checks go into. So here is the thing he wants to put so much money away out of our paychecks then have enough for the bills and that doesn't include groceries, gas or our own personal use and after he puts money into the savings account there is about $500 left between both of us to share? I think that is ridiculous and that doesn't include the expenses when the skids are with us either. I told that this thing is just downright nuts!!
Yeah I am just going to watch
Yeah I am just going to watch the drama unfold when he his kids start whining because they can't eat fast food or go somewhere fun and I am going to say well it's not my problem and we can't afford it because we are saving money. DH has way more expenses than I do. I just feel like he is trying to put me on a leash. I will admit I can be a little bit high maintenance when it comes to some things but I would like to be able to go on a shopping spree every couple of months. I don't think that is too much to ask considering I cook, clean and do the other things a good wife should do for my DH. Like I said I am just going to grab some popcorn and sit back and see how well this works out for him!!!
I like the idea about putting
I like the idea about putting whatever money is leftover into the savings before the next payday.
Good way of doing things I
Good way of doing things I have been trying this for a little while now. Too bad there is usually like no money at the end of the two weeks.
This is what I do as well -
This is what I do as well - all my retirement/investments come out of my pay at work automatically, then all my other outside of work investments/retirement come out like my monthly bills. THEN come the "household" bills that aren't automatic and our credit card/loan payoffs. I have a high set monthly amount to pay for those.
At the end of each month, I then am trying to put all the rest of my checking balance as "extra" payment to my personal credit card...I've been bad at that the last two months, but need to start it again.