Financing Your Habit Or Hobby

Some of y'all are really smart...separate bank accounts, credit cards, purchases and such. Were I ever to marry...100% unlikely, I'd do the same thing. Until her health deteriorated and she can't work, my roomate and I paid on our home jointly from our separate incomes. I sold my other home and put down the down payment. I own the house, but it was half hers. Now thather paying for it alone isn't possible due to her health problems, I've willed the place jointly to Robin and my daughter and her family. If anything happens to me, hopefully between all of them they can keep the home by pooling resourses.

I don't need new furniture just because what is here is out of style. The stuff we have is nice but several years old. Some was hand me down and yard sale stuff, some new. I have a 10 year old 19" TV in my living room with a DVR, a 13" TV in my computer room, a 5 year old computer..it's state of the art enough for what I need and cable modem. I have a book shelf stereo, good appliances...just bought a new washer and other than our livng room carpet which was cheap stuff bought by the original owner, our home is nice. I didn't grow up in a fancy home, but we always had a boat, camper, several cars, took nice vacations and such.

Since I'm disabled, I can't work fulltime but do dealer car hiking and sell on eBay to pay for my cars. Circle track racing isn't cheap but my equipment is older and I have friends who help. If I need something, I'll trade, scrap or whatever for whatever it is.

Jan

Some of y'all are really smart...separate bank accounts, credit cards, purchases and such. Were I ever to marry...100% unlikely, I'd do the same thing. Until her health deteriorated and she can't work, my roomate and I paid on our home jointly from our separate incomes. I sold my other home and put down the down payment. I own the house, but it was half hers. Now thather paying for it alone isn't possible due to her health problems, I've willed the place jointly to Robin and my daughter and her family. If anything happens to me, hopefully between all of them they can keep the home by pooling resourses.

I don't need new furniture just because what is here is out of style. The stuff we have is nice but several years old. Some was hand me down and yard sale stuff, some new. I have a 10 year old 19" TV in my living room with a DVR, a 13" TV in my computer room, a 5 year old computer..it's state of the art enough for what I need and cable modem. I have a book shelf stereo, good appliances...just bought a new washer and other than our livng room carpet which was cheap stuff bought by the original owner, our home is nice. I didn't grow up in a fancy home, but we always had a boat, camper, several cars, took nice vacations and such.

Since I'm disabled, I can't work fulltime but do dealer car hiking and sell on eBay to pay for my cars. Circle track racing isn't cheap but my equipment is older and I have friends who help. If I need something, I'll trade, scrap or whatever for whatever it is.

Jan

We have three checking accounts too. Ours, hers and mine. Credit cards are seperate too. Has worked that way for 29 years.

She has her Tbird, w/payment, I have my stuff.

Really the arrangement I have sounds very similar to many of you. But, I think we missed one thing here.....It works because of mutual TRUST with everything, including finances.

I know my wife won't go "nuts" with a credit card and neither will I. Large purchases we discuss, most times. But when you have the trust in your spouse to make the correct descions makes like easier.

She know I'll always have "toys". That's just part of the gig.

thats cool you guys have that arangment.
wouldnt work in our house.
i work she stays home 3 children 14 month old and 5 yr and allmost 7yr old.
im suprised to hear of a wife that would split the bills.
of course that is unless she makes more money than her husband.
glad you all have such good arangments.
we got a few more years before my wife goes to work

Not to be lost in this discussion is that minus a few professions, it takes two incomes to live a middle class lifestyle today....

Bad news for single people and the American individualist.

S

what do you meen minus a few professions.
im a carpenter.
and living in newengland is not cheap.
this is what me and my whife wanted to do.
and it works so far

Originally Posted by 68sportcoup

what do you meen minus a few professions.
im a carpenter.
and living in newengland is not cheap.
this is what me and my whife wanted to do.
and it works so far

I'm glad things are working out for you. My brother is a Union Carpenter and though he makes something like $25/hour he does not get to work steady all year and his family struggles to make ends meet. What I was referring to is this, in my view, a middle class lifestyle today begins at 60k-80k depending on the local cost of living. A single person pretty much needs a masters, phd, md, or be a successful salesperson to make that kind of money. For the most part, a single earner can no longer make a middle class income in the trades or with a BA/BS degree. Even more distressing to me is the virtual wiping out of the true small business in America, which has been replaced by the corporate / factory outlet retail / service machine. In just my lifetime I have seen an entire way of life wiped out for small business in America.

Being a bachelor, here's how I work it: Everytime I buy something for one of the cars, the same week I buy something for one of the bikes. Everytime I spend a lot of time paying attention to one of the bikes I balance it out with attention to one of the cars. Seems to work reasonably well for all parties involved