Funny how different couples work out the best way to handle money. We celebrated our 49th this year. The first year we had separate checking accounts.
We've shared an account since then with the philosophy that all of our money belongs to both of us. There have been years when she made a lot more than I did and vice versa. She set up her own business when our son was born and after a few years became the full time home manager as my career did better.
Until I retired, we had a monthly budget that included an equal amount of discretionary allowance for both of us. As much of the budget as possible went into our son's college account and my retirement account.
Now, our agreement is that we just let each other know when we were going to spend more than $100 on a discretionary thing. Capital or large spending is planned out together years in advance (house painting, bathroom remodels, reroofing, trips, etc). Unplanned spending is discussed as it comes up.
The recent cost of a new starter for the speedster was one of those unplanned spends. She expressed unhappiness about how long the speedster was out of circulation while I did the repair.
She was almost tapping her feet at me yesterday because she was READY to get out of the house and take a ride. I see that as the best support I could want for owning one of our little cars.
We eventually ended up at Maui Brewing on the hill overlooking the south coast, drinking our favorite beverages (Big Swell IPA for me, chardonnay for her), eating happy hour food, and watching dozens of visitors enjoying their trips to paradise.
I'm a lucky guy...