@freesoul88 My wife and I each have our own spread sheet for monthly expenses, both how much we make and how much we spend, our assets are also listed there, so she can see how much I allocate to my stock portfolio and how it grows. She trust my investment decisions, recently I've manage to convince her to start dca into US etf as a form of hedge as I'm fully invested in bursa stocks. She has an investment property thats under her name that she bought with my advice. This is all after I manage to make 20% in my first year in bursa, I need to proof myself for her to trust me
Married couple, how do you handle finances?
- Thread starter freesoul88
- Start date
@freesoul88 RM3.2k income. Breakdown:
800 - house
150 - utilities
1000 - food & groceries
200 - dating
300 - petrol
300 - car
100 - give parents
total expenses rm2850
800 - house
150 - utilities
1000 - food & groceries
200 - dating
300 - petrol
300 - car
100 - give parents
total expenses rm2850
freesoul88
New member
@minhseomh My cashflow:
Gaji:
(a) Hutang:
Rm500
(b) Komitmen
rm930
(c) Invest
rm 1040
(d) Other expenses
Rm530
Total all:
Rm 3000
Gaji:
Code:
Rm 3000(a) Hutang:
- Unnecessary spending:
Rm500
(b) Komitmen
- Astro: Rm190
- Car loan (saga): Rm450
- Braces: RM100
- Medical card: rm210
rm930
(c) Invest
- ASB Financing 200k : rm890
- Bitcoin: rm 500
- Ethereum: rm100
- Solana: rm50
rm 1040
(d) Other expenses
- TouchNgo: Rm50 (parking/toll)
- Gunting rambut: Rm15
- Basuh kereta: Rm15
- Basuh motor: Rm10
- Eat: Rm300
- Petrol: Rm90
- Smoke/Vape: Rm50
Rm530
Total all:
Rm 3000
@freesoul88 You have significantly more spending than mine, so obviously you need higher income. If I have monthly investment of rm1040, I wouldn't be able to get married with 3.2k income
@freesoul88 oh, actually the biggest cost when getting married is
- the ceremony - typical malay marriage is 20k at the very minimum. You should expect 30k
- preparing the house is 10k at the absolute minimum. Steel doors/grill, bedroom & minimum basic furnitures, electronics like washing machine, fridge, etc. Should expect 15-20k to have proper furnitures like sofa, tabletop, etc. That's not even considering the house itself i.e. downpayment
@freesoul88 Is it just me, or do some things not add up?
freesoul88
New member
freesoul88
New member
@freesoul88 How do you pay the credit card debt? If you don't mind me asking, of course.
freesoul88
New member
@lissa001 I just want to say, in case you think I'm lying, and I'm being honest.
For every commitment and expenses I need to cover, I will pay my credit card immediately using my salaries. Then, I'll continue spending with it only using my credit card. Pay it back when it's due date.
Also, if I receive a bonus, I usually save it for emergencies, in case I can't pay the balance, I'll just pay it like usual.
I also have my investments as a backup.
For every commitment and expenses I need to cover, I will pay my credit card immediately using my salaries. Then, I'll continue spending with it only using my credit card. Pay it back when it's due date.
Also, if I receive a bonus, I usually save it for emergencies, in case I can't pay the balance, I'll just pay it like usual.
I also have my investments as a backup.
@freesoul88 Share according to percentage of income. Let's say you make 6k and wife makes 4k, or vice versa, then share everything 60-40.
Electric bill rm100? You pay rm60, she pays rm40.
Whatever left of your own salary after commitments you can spend or save.
I know a couple who do this anally, like Excel spreadsheet and everything, and never once heard them complain about money.
Electric bill rm100? You pay rm60, she pays rm40.
Whatever left of your own salary after commitments you can spend or save.
I know a couple who do this anally, like Excel spreadsheet and everything, and never once heard them complain about money.
freesoul88
New member
@freesoul88 Is she expecting you to be the provider and pay for everything?
Best thing is for you and your future spouse to sit down and discuss thoroughly. She might have a certain lifestyle that comes with her income. Are you prepared to maybe go 50-50 or is she OK to go 70-30 with you?
I too think the provider mindset is outdated. Both men and women work to earn a living now, so both should be able to supplement their own lives, before and after marriage. You're supposed to be sharing your lives, not one person providing for the other. But both of you should really manage each other's expectations before tying the knot.
Best thing is for you and your future spouse to sit down and discuss thoroughly. She might have a certain lifestyle that comes with her income. Are you prepared to maybe go 50-50 or is she OK to go 70-30 with you?
I too think the provider mindset is outdated. Both men and women work to earn a living now, so both should be able to supplement their own lives, before and after marriage. You're supposed to be sharing your lives, not one person providing for the other. But both of you should really manage each other's expectations before tying the knot.
davjjorton
New member
@freesoul88 Pool your money together into one bank account. And pay urself and your partner a “salary”. Everything else mortgage, car, petrol, groceries, food is paid from the joint account. Ur “salary” is purely yours to do as you wish.
paula135711
New member
@freesoul88 I'm not married myself, but here's what my married relative did with their finances: Both she and her husband have jobs.
They set up a joint account where they each deposit a portion of their salary every month. The money in that account is designated for their household/family expenses, or emergency funds. Any personal expenses would be taken from their personal accounts.
It's worth noting that they embrace a more westernized approach (her husband grew up in Australia) which may differ from Asian cultural norms - my locally married friends have differing views, they want to manage all of their husband’s salaries. They prefer their husbands to give them all their salaries and manage the household finances.
Personally, I lean towards my cousin’s method, as it seems more equitable for both partners.
They set up a joint account where they each deposit a portion of their salary every month. The money in that account is designated for their household/family expenses, or emergency funds. Any personal expenses would be taken from their personal accounts.
It's worth noting that they embrace a more westernized approach (her husband grew up in Australia) which may differ from Asian cultural norms - my locally married friends have differing views, they want to manage all of their husband’s salaries. They prefer their husbands to give them all their salaries and manage the household finances.
Personally, I lean towards my cousin’s method, as it seems more equitable for both partners.
milliekeeling23
New member
@freesoul88
- Personal account
- Joint account for bills
- Joint savings
@freesoul88 We have three envelopes - 65% into a joint account , 25% into a fund which we use to invest and 10% for our own spend .
Ok so that 10% is an envelope each so we have 4 envelopes .
Joint account handles almost everything that is daily expense related.
We both do some gig work every now and then and that goes 100% into our personal spending fund.
Ok so that 10% is an envelope each so we have 4 envelopes .
Joint account handles almost everything that is daily expense related.
We both do some gig work every now and then and that goes 100% into our personal spending fund.
@freesoul88 Not sure how applicable this is to you but here’s my situation:
I earn >RM25k/month and my partner earns roughly x2 of what I make.
We split finances equally (not proportionately). When we travel, we do 50/50. The only time we do a proportional split, is when we buy birthday presents - because I can’t buy what she can without incurring a big hole.
None of us have a “provider” mindset but we would definitely be willing and able to support the other party if we experienced any financial difficulties.
The key is to just pick better partners, instead of picking people that expects you to “provide” for them.
I earn >RM25k/month and my partner earns roughly x2 of what I make.
We split finances equally (not proportionately). When we travel, we do 50/50. The only time we do a proportional split, is when we buy birthday presents - because I can’t buy what she can without incurring a big hole.
None of us have a “provider” mindset but we would definitely be willing and able to support the other party if we experienced any financial difficulties.
The key is to just pick better partners, instead of picking people that expects you to “provide” for them.