allowances - say what?

Last week, our coach assigned us to set a budget for discretionary spending for things like clothes and self-care. As we began to discuss this topic and try to put a number on it, as well as a definition of what should fall into this category, we had been talking through what that right balance of independent spending should be in our relationship. Prior to starting Project Money, we each maintained separate checking accounts and transferred money into a joint account each payday to cover all of our bills. When we established our household budget this summer, we began transferring all of our paychecks into our joint account so that we could track every dollar and prioritize our spending together. After doing this for a few months, we realized that we both miss having some amount of money to spend however we choose, without having it impact the household budget or each other. 

The solution that we landed on for now is to give ourselves a type of "allowance" each month that we can spend however we want or need. We know some couples who keep their finances completely separate and some who pool all of their money together, and many other variations in between. It is always so fascinating to talk to other friends and families about how they handle finances in their households because it always reflects different habits and values. We are feeling great about our planned allowances because for us, it is important to maintain our individual autonomy while also ensuring that we are working together to meet our family budgeting goals. We feel confident and supported in trying this approach and will keep you posted on how it goes!