There have been a lot of threads lately that have made me curious about this question.

DH and I have done a zero based budget where we write down our monthly income and then plan out every category of our budget every month since we got married. For the most part it stays the same month to month, but we tweak it as needed based on the month and upcoming expenses.

We do each have a very small weekly "blow money" amout that goes to random things like getting coffee or a lunch out, and we dont tell eachother every dollar spent out of that category, but for everything else we both know where our money is going. I do most of our shopping for items since I SAH, but we are both in agreement about the amount that goes into each category and what those categories should be spent on.

I litterally cannot fathom managing our finances without doing it this way. I didnt think that it was that unusual, but i get the impression from reading on here lately is that it is not the norm to do this. DH and I have never had a big fight about money, and rarely even disagree because we have the same goals and our budget is a plan we come up with together.

Do you budget with your SO? I dont mean that both people have access to look at accounts, but do you actually plan how much will be spent in different areas of your budget before the month begins?

If not, do you find that money disagreements cause stress in your relationship?