Allowance

Amanda and I are trying something new. We just started this month. I gave her $100 cash for the month and she can spend it any way she wants. Its hard to coordinate the use of finances in a marriage in a way that leaves both husband and wife satisfied so we came up with this solution.

Each month, Amanda gets $100 cash to use as she wishes. If she wants to buy fabric or ribbons for making baby stuff, she uses it. If she wants to go to Cafe Rio for lunch, she uses it. If she wants to buy something cute she saw in a store, she uses it. The best part is, she doesn't have to account for it in any way. She doesn't have to tell me how she spent it. She doesn't have to spend it only after talking to me. Its just "free" money thats all hers and with the added benefit of keeping a budget on that kind of thing.

So far it has worked out great. She has the cash so she can always see exactly how much she has left at any given time. It also helps her (I think) make wiser choices on what she will spend the money on. It will also keep us from getting any deeper into debt.

So just an idea for those married couples out there. It could go both ways too (except I don't really need an allowance cause I'm pretty low maintenance. I'm not saying Amanda is high maintenance but... JK), but the husband could get an allowance too if thats how you wanted to do it.