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I think part of the challenge is going to be getting your husband to track his spending, if he does cash and he's not willing to do it.

Is he techy? Would he respond well to something like Mint or You Need a Budget?

I couldn't get my husband to track his little purchases (food, beer) but what we decided was he could have a specific budget for his spending. He gets $60 every two weeks. His video games, fast food, beer, etc come out of that and it's in his personal account so it doesn't affect my budgeting.

I'm kinda new to this too. I am using the free trial with YNAB. I have a lot of questions still, but it's a new concept for me! Tracking what you spend (even trying to categorize what you spent over the last couple months) will really help you forecast what you need to set aside for certain things. The key is being honest with yourself on this though, not saying 'ohhh...I never need Starbucks again' because we all have the moments we want to indulge, we just have to plan ahead!

@mamimami: we do a spreadsheet, it's very basic, just the months of the year across the top, the categories down the left side, a year per tab. Basically, the months in the future are the plan, the months in the past are the actual, and my husband updates it monthly.

We both have Mint on our phones, but honestly, I don't use it that much. My husband likes the categories and likes to point out how much I spent on clothes per month, but it just makes more work because the categories never line up with the spend somehow.

@mamimami: I actually think using your credit card for EVERYTHING is the easiest way to track your spending.

@mamimami: we made it even, we both gift the same exact amount. So say, I want some new makeup or a fun pair of shoes, it comes from my 'allowance' and doesn't affect our monthly budget. Or if I'm going out to lunch with coworkers or something like that. That way neither of us have that 'but you did x...' Feeling

@mamimami: LOL well we just looked at things we don't regularly account for in our 'budget' (that we didn't have) so if that's something he does maybe it's not what to put in the allowance category

@MamaMoose: yes! I use my credit card for everything! DH doesn't have a personal cc and he loves to use cash which makes me a little insane. At least he's somewhat good at keeping track of the cash he uses!