Hellobee Boards Topic: Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?

Hellobee Boards Topic: Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household? https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sat, 18 Apr 2026 21:36:56 +0000 Sapphiresun on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/3#post-1191849 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 20:58:01 +0000 Sapphiresun 1191849@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Ummm... him I guess? I do all the day to day bill paying, and budgeting for the household, and manage our RESP/RRSP/Other investments with only a little input from him. But he essentially has veto power over the big decisions like if can afford a vacation and when we'll sell our apartment. bpcmarj on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191667 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 18:49:59 +0000 bpcmarj 1191667@https://boards.hellobee.com/ DH, for sure. I have made some pretty poor financial decisions in the past (when we were still dating/not yet married) and we decided it would be best if he be in charge of the money. I have no issues with it since whatever I need or want I get and DH figures it out! lol. But, we live really frugally in general and I am cheap so it's not like I am ever out spending hundreds of dollars at a time. yoursilverlining on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191592 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 17:48:26 +0000 yoursilverlining 1191592@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @PurplePeony: We still keep separate accounts and credit cards, too. I pay them all but we never merged our finances and we don't consult each other about purchases at all. My money, my choice how to spend it. Same for him. (After the bills get paid and the savings get bumped, of course!). PurplePeony on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191569 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 17:30:39 +0000 PurplePeony 1191569@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @Mamaof2: I'm glad to hear someone else has a similar setup to ours -- it seems pretty unusual. But it pretty much ensures that my hubby and I never fight about money, which is great! Also, it's nice to hear that you have kids and have still managed to keep it up, gives me hope ;) Vegmama on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191540 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 17:18:52 +0000 Vegmama 1191540@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MamaMoose: I wish there was a "both of us" button. I saw why you didn't include it ... But in our house, we are equally involved in all financial decisions. We both make about the same amount of money, we both have the same financial goals, and we'd never make a decision without talking to each other. We share bank accounts, and have our bills set up for auto pay (which means one of us doesn't really have more responsibility in that arena). SugarplumsMom on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191504 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 17:01:06 +0000 SugarplumsMom 1191504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ DH manages our finances, but all purchases run past me. He just doesn't buy anything on his own. I chose me. Freckles on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191497 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:58:48 +0000 Freckles 1191497@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @MamaMoose: In Korea, it's actually the woman who controls all the finances, at least for my mom's generation! I am in charge of budgeting, but DH is better at checking our accounts. We both make investment decisions together. sarac on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191489 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:55:54 +0000 sarac 1191489@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Me, just because I manage the bills and such. We have an equal voice, but I'm the one who takes the lead on decision making, especially when we're already in agreement. erinpye on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191467 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:40:33 +0000 erinpye 1191467@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We're split pretty evenly, and have both taken over the bills at times, just depending on our workloads/ parental responsibilities, etc. We have joint accounts and credit cards, make all large purchase decisions together, and don't worry about small ones made by either of us. Mrs Hedgehog on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191438 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:22:57 +0000 Mrs Hedgehog 1191438@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Really is both of us. When it comes to big purchases or things we don't really need, we usually consult eachother to decide if it's worth it or if we can afford it right now. I honestly can't pinpoint asingle time when one of us has taken the lead. I tell him no when i have to and he does the same. He physically pays the bills though. I suck at remembering to do that. But it's bills we jointly researched and agreed on. jhd on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191431 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:21:36 +0000 jhd 1191431@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We make decisions together but DH is the one with the numbers smarts and enjoys the research & financial plans etc. Mrs.Someone on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191427 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:18:50 +0000 Mrs.Someone 1191427@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We're equal for large purchases, but he is the one who deals with stocks, retirement, etc. They all stem from his job and he is the one who has the patience to understand it all. cyndistar3 on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191425 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:18:14 +0000 cyndistar3 1191425@https://boards.hellobee.com/ We typically talk about everything and make decisions together but in the end my husband makes the desicisions. HLK208 on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191415 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:13:40 +0000 HLK208 1191415@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Me!! I'm the accountant in our relationship. I pay every single bill, budget and manage the money. He usually asks to buy something, which I feel bad about. heartonastring on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191414 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:12:51 +0000 heartonastring 1191414@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @plantains: yeah, we each pay different bills. He pays gas, electric, mortgage. I pay cable, phone, internet. So we both pay bills.... Rainbow Sprinkles on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191405 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 16:07:34 +0000 Rainbow Sprinkles 1191405@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sunny: I do know about our budget since we started using the mint app and have a great idea of where our money is going. I actually set our grocery budget since I'm the one who does that. But in terms of paying bills (I don't even know when stuff is due :() and making big decisions, I need to step up my game. I should ask him to make a calendar of when everything is due so I know, too. PurplePumps on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191372 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 15:55:34 +0000 PurplePumps 1191372@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it really is equal. We both agree to max out our retirement funds and set aside certain amount of savings. We both spend freely as we like (to a degree), but we never really say no to each other for big ticket items if we truly want it. But I voted me, only because I crunch numbers more just out of curiosity and I was the only that convinced him to up our house budget when we were looking after we had try to keep to a certain budget and just wasn't finding anything we liked. SweetMamaM on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191304 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 15:26:42 +0000 SweetMamaM 1191304@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I think it's probably me. We discuss money a lot (especially with dropping to one income next year) and the utilities are in his name from when we first moved in together, but I'm the one with the better general overview and who comes up with our strategic direction. photojane on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191280 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 15:13:37 +0000 photojane 1191280@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I manage the money - pay bills, write checks, watch our spending, do the shopping, etc. We make all of our financial decisions (outside of basic spending) together, and he has the final say on big purchases (though we seldom disagree). Mrs. Pen on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191213 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:54:40 +0000 Mrs. Pen 1191213@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I was 100% in charge of everything until about two months ago. I can't handle the obligations of school, motherhood, working, cooking/meal planning etc on top of finances so DH has slowly been working toward taking it over. I'm still pretty involved though. littlebug on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191212 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:53:50 +0000 littlebug 1191212@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Hubs, because I'm the WORST with money. Dandelion on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191210 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:52:53 +0000 Dandelion 1191210@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My DH. He makes all the money and is way better at planning and saving. He's not a tyrant about it, though. I can spend money on small things without having to run it by him, but I do check with him before buying anything major. Mrs. High Heels on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191175 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:43:33 +0000 Mrs. High Heels 1191175@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I voted him because although I manage our budget more and am obsessed with YNAB, he is soo much better and more knowledgeable about the big stuff, like which health insurance we should go with during open enrollment (he created this fancy spreadsheet to do a compare), when to refinance, interest rates, investments, and all those other things that give me a major headache. He's a financial consultant so numbers are his thing! littlek on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191172 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:43:06 +0000 littlek 1191172@https://boards.hellobee.com/ My husband. I hate dealing with money. lamariniere on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191103 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:29:38 +0000 lamariniere 1191103@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Hubs manages the money (investments, savings and so-forth). I'm just not interested enough. Although, I'm probably the primary decision maker on spending. :wink: Mrs. Lemon-Lime on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191084 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:25:34 +0000 Mrs. Lemon-Lime 1191084@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm giving the edge to Mr. Lime. Just today he gave me an update on our retirement. He secured our mortgage, does our taxes, and manages our investments. MrsBrewer on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191057 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:15:00 +0000 MrsBrewer 1191057@https://boards.hellobee.com/ I'm an accountant, so I figure out our budget ad pay the bills and whatnot. But DH definitely makes the final financial decisions when they are needed to be made. DH make all of our final decisions. BabyMats on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191037 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 14:05:01 +0000 BabyMats 1191037@https://boards.hellobee.com/ @sarbear: ditto! I shop without checking my account and hubs says oh I put money into your account because u went below x amount. He handles all things and in the end I give him final say on all big things because he is the reason we are debt free. I have a problem if it's there why not spend it? I'm working on it though Springtime on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191019 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:57:29 +0000 Springtime 1191019@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Me, for sure! DH really has no interest. IRunForFun on "Who is the primary financial decision maker in your household?" https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/who-is-the-primary-financial-decision-maker-in-your-household/page/2#post-1191015 Fri, 01 Nov 2013 13:55:45 +0000 IRunForFun 1191015@https://boards.hellobee.com/ Once we combined accounts, I took the lead on handling our finances. He just doesn't have time to focus on it right now, since he's in school + working part-time. I set up our formal budget, keep track of it, watch our accounts online, make the purchases, pay the bills, etc. We decide on "big" expenditures together, although for the most part when we're discussing things, he tells me to do whatever I think is best. I have a feeling once he's out of school and is the bigger earner again, the balance might shift a bit. We'll see. I feel more secure being the one that handles it, though.