By Emily Yo, Journalist
Talking openly with your spouse about how you share your finances is taboo, even among friends.
As a result, it can be tricky to know how to approach those conversations with our spouse or what’s fairer, especially if there’s a large pay imbalance.
Research by Hargreaves Lansdown suggests that in an average couple’s household, 3 quarters of the source of income is earned through a single person.
Even if there is a large disparity, some couples will have to pay the same amount for their expenses because they want to contribute equally.
But for others, one spouse would likely feel green with envy if they spent all their money on expenses while the other has much more to spend and lives a different lifestyle.
At what level of dating can we communicate about money?
“We have officially agreed that there is a point in an appointment where you start talking about young people; there’s no agreed time to start talking about money,” said Sarah Coles, director of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown. .
Some couples may never communicate about it, leading to “unbalanced finances. ”
Ms. Coles says that if you need to stay on top of your finances with your partner, you can set an express date in the year to get through it all.
“If it’s in the journal and it’s not emotional or personal, then you can convey it correctly,” he says.
“It’s not about ‘do you want to make more weight. ‘ It is simply what was agreed upon, those are the calculations and that is how we have to do it. ”
While many other people start talking about finances as Christmas approaches, Coles suggests that it can be a “tough time” for couples, so February may simply be a “less emotional time to get depressed. ”
How do you conduct the verbal exchange if you believe the existing agreement is unfair?
Peter Saddington, dating coach at Relate, says calling the balance “unfair” is the starting point.
You want to be fair about your position, he says, but your verbal exchange is about negotiating as a couple what works for both of you.
Before starting the conversation, about:
Saddington says if your spouse is rarely willing to help you, research the reasons or ask yourself if there are other things in the relationship that need to be addressed.
If they have repeated arguments about money, he says they have opposite communication styles that cause them to “keep butting heads. ”
Another explanation for why may also simply be that there is a “big resentment” lurking deep down, and you may need a third party, such as a counselor, therapist, or mediator, to help you.
Saddington says he wants there to be a “safe space” to have those conversations and that a third party can untangle any hard feelings around what’s happening now.
It also suggests any of his attitudes towards money, which he believes can be shaped through his formative years and his family.
“It’s vital to perceive what influences you when it comes to cash before you have important conversations about it. “
What are the other tactics for allocating your finances?
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, but there are many tactics for doing it: Money Blog readers reach out to us to share their approach. . .
1. Separate private accounts: Both deposit the same amount into a joint account, regardless of their income.
Paul Fuller, 40, earns around £40,000 a year, while his spouse earns around £70,000.
They have separate accounts, in addition to savings accounts, but they pay the same amount (£900) per month into a joint account to pay their bills.
Paul says he’ll pay for things they make a profit from or have obligations for, but when it comes to other expenses, his spouse will be able to spend as she sees fit.
“It is not for me to turn to my spouse and expect her to justify why she thinks it is appropriate to spend £150 on a hairdresser. She works hard and has a very stressful job,” he says.
However, its design remains flexible. His loan will soon amount to £350 per month, so his spouse agreed to pay £200 of that sum.
And if your spouse needs takeout but he can’t, she’ll say it’s hers.
“What a lot of other people go through is not being able to have those conversations,” Paul says.
2. Separate accounts: whoever earns more puts more into a joint account
This is a more formal arrangement than the hybrid technique Paul and his wife use, and many Money blog readers seem to do it one way or the other judging by our inbox.
There is no right or way to do the calculations: you can put in the same percentage of your individual salaries, or come up with a figure that you think is fair, or make sure you have the same amount of cash left over to spend later. every payday.
3. Everything is shared
Gordon Hurd and his Brenda make a living from their spreadsheets.
Brenda earns around £800 a month more because she works full-time, while Gordon is self-employed. Previously, Gordon was the breadwinner, so this is a big change.
They have separate accounts at other banks, but they can access any of them.
The remaining amount in the account – as well as its inputs and outputs – is detailed in the spreadsheet, which is monitored weekly.
Whenever they want to buy something, they can see how much is left in the account and pay from any of them.
Gordon says that “everyone knows how much cash is available” and that “everyone’s cash belongs to the other. ”
“We’ve never had the slightest war of words in the last decade over cash and that’s because of this strategy,” he says.
Money blog reader Shredder79 reached out to us to tell us he’s taking a similar approach.
“I earn £50,000 and my spouse earns just under £150,000. We have a common bank account that our salaries go to and where all our expenses come from. Some friends can’t understand it, but for us it’s general. “
Another reader, Curtis, deposits his salary in a joint account with his spouse’s.
“After all, when you have a circle of relatives (three children), it doesn’t matter who earns more or less!” He says.
Reader Alec goes further and says he questions “the authenticity of any long-term relationship or the certainty of a marriage if a couple does not make an absolute percentage of all earnings and expenses from a bank account. ”
“As for earning a lot more than the other person, so what? If you’re a couple or a long-term partnership, you’re a team and you just share everything,” he says.
“Personally, I couldn’t believe I would do it any other way and I instinctively wonder what issues or insecurities, whether accepted as truth or not, are behind the desire to feel like you want to keep your finances separate from others. Especially if you are a couple married
A reader through the lljdc call agrees and says: “I make part of what my husband makes because I paint part time. Neither of us have an individual account. We have a joint account and everything goes to that and we just spend as we want. All expenses also result from it. Sometimes I spend more, he spends more.
4. Segregated accounts: however, the higher source of income will pay an “allowance” to its partner
If one partner earns much more than the other, or if one partner earns for some reason, they can maintain separate accounts and ask the higher earner to pay their partner a stipend.
This would allow them to transfer an agreed-upon amount per week or per month to their partner’s account.
Let us know how you and your spouse communicate and spread your finances in the comment box; We’ll be introducing some of the most productive ones next week.
By Jimmy Rice, Money Blog Editor
The focal point of a vital week for the economy is inflation data, released on Wednesday morning, which showed that value inflation accelerated in July to 2. 2%.
Economists attribute a component of the rise to energy prices, which have fallen this year, albeit at a much slower pace than last year.
As our economic correspondent Paul Kelso pointed out, this seems to be the kind of slight swing we can expect from month to month now that we’re experiencing skyrocketing prices, even as analysts expect inflation to rise further for the rest of the year. the year. . .
Inside, inflation in services, restaurants and hotels fell from 5. 7% to 5. 2%.
That’s because much of that has to do with wages, and they’re a fear for the Bank of England as it charts the course for interest rates.
On Tuesday we learned that the average weekly wage had fallen: according to the latest statistics, from 5. 7% to 5. 4%.
High wages can be inflationary (1/ other people have more to spend, 2/ employers increase costs to cover payroll costs), so any easing will only advocate for a less restrictive financial policy. Or, to put it in the words that other people use most, the arguments in favor of cutting interest rates.
In the markets there will be two more cuts this year; Nothing has changed.
Beyond the economy, official data also illustrates the pain felt by renters across the UK.
The ONS said:
Yesterday we saw the UK economy grow by 0. 6% over the three months to the end of June.
This expansion rate is the highest at the moment in the G7 industrialized countries. Only the United States made greater progress with 0. 7%, Japan and Germany have not yet published their latest data.
Curiously, there was no expansion in June, the Office for National Statistics said, as businesses postponed purchases until after the general election.
“In a variety of sectors of the economy, companies said their consumers were delaying strike calls until the outcome of the election was known,” the ONS said.
Finally, a thank you for this investigation from business presenter Ian King looking at what’s happening with Asda. It’s one of our most read articles this week and will value five minutes of your Friday or weekend trip. . .
We will be logging out of normal updates until Monday; However, check out our weekend reading starting at 8 a. m. m. of Saturday. This week, we take a look at how couples who earn other amounts distribute their finances.
Each week, we feature comments from Money blog readers about the story or stories that were given the maximum number of matches.
Our weekend investigation into the myriad reasons for pub closures in the United Kingdom generated a lot of comment.
Homeowners and activists, researchers and locals have revealed to Sky News the “thousand cuts” that are killing British alcoholics and what that attack entails.
Here’s your take on the subject. . .
I have been a tavern keeper for 19 years. This article is timely!It’s like listening to my conversations with my clients: COVID, living expenses, salaries, the classic British drunk that’s going out of style. (My place: no food, no small children).
Hello jood
I own a small craft beer bar or micropub as other people say. The current time is disgusting for the entire hotel sector. This summer has been ridiculously quiet for the previous ones. Micropubs were on the rise before COVID, but that’s not the case now, even as we fight to survive. . .
Laurent
I am a former owner. It’s ridiculous that you can now buy 10 cans for £10 or a pint for £5. It’s not complicated, it’s obvious: to counteract the situation. Make supermarket beer more expensive than pub beer, then other people will pass out again. and mix instead of making it at home.
Ivanlordpars
I bought 4 pints of my same drink in a supermarket for less than a pint in our local pub. It is a luxury to go through a pub on those days.
David Torquay
Traditional pubs are being taken over by conglomerates that do not sell classic beer, but only very expensive beers, foreign beers and other similar drinks. How can you call them classic pubs?
Bronze straw
The main explanation for pub closures is twofold!1: Rentals that giant teams qualify as off-limits to landlords. 2: Owners are informed about the inventory they would possibly have and the restrictions on where they can buy it. Strange, but maximum Of the classified ads belonged to the same teams!
a lover
There are fewer and fewer controlled pubs, as pub corporations are turning them into controlled societies, putting pressure on young, eco-friendly former managers. Locals complain about the disappearance of their local pub, but they don’t use it enough. Can the government pay rents and beer costs to business owners?
John Darkins
I was a tenant in a brewery in Scotland for many years and was held hostage due to the constant hoarding of my money by greedy brewers looking for more and more. I made my pub with wonderful luck and got penalized through the brewery.
James MacQuarrie
The only explanation for why pubs close is that locals only use them on Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, and one Sunday a year. Also, breweries don’t want pubs, they sell enough in supermarkets!Use them or lose them.
Peter Smith
The closure of pubs is a real shame. I still pass by my place and have wonderful memories of visiting many places in my hometown. These are vital positions in society. As someone once said, “No clever story ever began with a salad. “»
Kevin K.
It is the person in charge of taxes who puts an end to the advertisements. 1 pound out of every 3 pounds is sold. A general shame.
Stephen
I drive my girlfriend, Prue, to my office every day. It is a shame what is being transferred to costs. Before, it was full of people and joy, but now the town is a ghost in the pub because the prices are now too high. I wish we could go back in time and figure out what went wrong.
Niall Benson
allan7777blue
Unfortunately, the other people who have made paintings of those institutions over the years (the painters) have been excluded and are paying the price.
Dandexter
Pubs are too expensive for other people to pass out like we did a decade ago. People’s priorities are survival, not leisure. Until the living wage rises beyond an inflation that wages haven’t surpassed in years, then we’ll move on to the shops. , pubs, etc. close.
J. D.
Who needs to spend their hard-earned money to move into a pub that’s almost empty?This takes away one of the greatest attractions: socialization.
Miguel
Monzo has been named the UK’s top bank in terms of visitor satisfaction, according to a primary survey.
More than 17,000 users of existing private accounts rated their bank based on the quality of the account and how likely they would be to introduce it to friends or family.
Digital banks made up the top three, with Monzo in first place, followed by Starling Bank and then Chase.
Around 80% of Monzo consumers said they would go to the bank.
The online banking app said topping the charts “over and over again” is not something it would “ever take for granted. ”
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will remain at the bottom of the ratings for another year.
The banks that offered the most productive branch were Nationwide, Lloyds Bank and Metro Bank.
The Gail bakery chain has been criticised for turning unsold pastries into croissants and promoting them for almost £4 the next day.
The store lists the “twice-baked” chocolate almond croissants in its “Waste Not” line, meaning they’re made from leftover croissants that are then “topped with almond and almond frangipane. “conical”.
The task has been criticised online, with many pointing out that the £3. 90 value is 95p more than the original croissant.
An more than yesterday.
“I don’t know if I’m inspired or horrified that someone came up with a concept to take advantage of products with yellow stickers and make more profits. “
However, it’s worth adding that this practice wasn’t invented by Gail’s, and that almond croissants were originally created in French bakeries to repurpose the previous day’s croissants and prevent them from going stale.
Considering the additional ingredients (almond frangipane and sliced almonds) and baking time, the bakery chain will most likely protect the accumulation of value by indicating the additional costs incurred.
It comes as citizens of a London community signed a petition against opening a Gail’s bakery in their community.
After (unconfirmed) rumors began to circulate that the chain was planning to open a site in the town of Walthamstow, more than six hundred people signed a petition opposing the project.
The petition states that the village “faces a risk to its uniqueness” if Gail moves to (see yesterday’s 11:54am post for more information).
Gail has been reached for comment.
British stores recorded sales last month after the boom of Euro 2024 and summer discounts, according to official figures.
Major retailers said sales of soccer jerseys, electronics such as TVs and alcoholic beverages were strongest in the Three Lions’ race to the final.
The total retail sales volume rose by as much as 0. 5% in July, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said. However, it is lower than expected and economists expect a 0. 7% increase.
This follows a 0. 9% drop in volumes in June as retail companies blamed the uncertainty on the general election and bad weather.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Retail sales rose in July, driven by higher sales in retail branches and sports equipment retailers, with the euro and discounts in many outlets driving sales.
“These increases were offset by a bad month for clothing and furniture stores, and by a drop in fuel sales, despite declining costs at the pump. “
The data showed that non-food retail outlets posted 1. 4% growth, driven by strong functionality through retail branches, whose sales rose 4% during the month as summer sales helped drive demand.
However, clothing and footwear retailers fell by 0. 6%, while family stores also recorded a 0. 6% drop in volumes. Meanwhile, grocery retailers saw their sales remain strong during the month.
There are fears the £2 cap on bus fares for singles could be scrapped after the government refused to say whether the policy would continue beyond December.
Bus companies said it was imperative that the price of their facilities was kept low so that young people could “improve their access to education and employment”.
Alison Edwards, director of policy and external relations at the Confederation of Passenger Transport, said: “Bus operators are working hard with the government so that together we can find a way back from the cliff with advertised fares.
“Research has shown that raising rates, which can be achieved in many other ways, represents the right price for cash and can achieve many of the government’s other goals.
“For example, keeping fares low for young people would improve their access to education and employment, while encouraging them to expand sustainable travel behavior that will last a lifetime. “
Transportation Secretary Louise Haigh said in a recent interview with the Palestinian Authority news firm that her officials were “looking at options” related to the cap, adding whether they could “better target it. “
It has been a very busy week financially.
There has been no major update to the overall outlook: since Monday we have had confirmation that the United Kingdom economy has lower inflation and stronger expansion than in the last two years, while wages have risen faster than the overall rate of price increases.
After all this news, the pound sterling has been against the dollar since the beginning of the month, valuing at 1. 2882 dollars, and since July when buying euros with a pound equivalent to 1. 1733 euros.
Signs of a recovery from last week’s Monday global market sell-off can be seen in the percentage of corporations indexed on the London Stock Exchange.
Share prices have risen among the most valuable companies on the stock market, those that make up the list of the hundred most valuable companies on the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE).
However, today this UK benchmark fell 0. 19% and still ends the week higher than it started.
Most United Kingdom-based companies on the FTSE 250 (the highest-value companies between the 101st and 250th positions on the London Stock Exchange) also ended the week above the beginning.
On Friday morning, this index rose by 0. 08%.
As tensions rise in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, as Iran considers a retaliatory strike against Israel, and as Ukraine makes incursions into Russian territory, considerations have been raised about skyrocketing energy prices.
But the price of benchmark oil remained solid at $80. 13 a barrel of Brent crude.
Gas prices remained below Monday’s high of one hundred pence per therm (the measure of heating) and now sit at 94. 50 pence per therm.
A Cabinet Office minister said it was “unfair” to recommend that more public sector staff ask for a pay rise after the government introduced a 15% rise for exercise drivers and junior doctors.
“That’s an unfair characterization too,” treasurer-general Nick Thomas-Symonds told Times Radio.
“I think what is clear is that once we return to being a government that respects the promises we made in the opposition.
“We promised that we would find solutions and other people expressed skepticism about it, but in reality that’s exactly what we did in government. “
Last month, the government and the British Medical Association agreed an increased pay deal for junior doctors in England, an average of 22% over two years.
Meanwhile, drivers will vote on a new wage agreement following discussions between representatives of the drivers’ union ASLEF and the Ministry of Transport.
The new offer is for a retroactive salary increase of 5% for 2022/23, 4. 75% for 23/24 and 4. 5% for 24/25.
Dartford Crossing is the United Kingdom’s most lucrative toll road, according to new data.
The Kent-Essex management had a turnover of £215. 9 million last year, 2,159 times more than the Whitney toll bridge in Hereford.
The crossing, which was intended to avoid charging consumers in 2003, costs between £2 and £6 per use (depending on the vehicle you drive) between 10am. and 6 p. m. Every day.
Car finance company Moneybarn found that it earned over £209 million in 2022.
It tops the ratings of the country’s thirteen toll roads, earning more than £100 million more than the second-highest revenue road in 2023 – the M6 toll in the West Midlands.
In third place, the Mersey Gateway Bridge between Halton and Cheshire, which raised £48. 9 million.
You can see below how the rest of the toll highways have behaved. . .