Separate budget in the family: let's consider all the pros and cons
Separate budgets are less popular in the post-Soviet countries than joint budgets.
However, no matter how separate the budget is, there are common expenses in the family, a basic income that is still planned and distributed among food, the child, utilities and other expenses.
The only difference between a separate budget and a joint one is the desire to be independent from each other, which, in fact, is the only advantage of such a family decision.
Often family members are so eager to maintain their independence that they don't even tell them how much they actually earn.
After all, when they were not yet in a family, each had their own income and spent a certain amount on themselves, but having become a team, they have to invest more in the family and keep less for themselves, which not every couple is ready for.
The advantage is that you have personal finances that your other half does not lay claim to.
If before it was like this, that stashes were formed, people hid, were found and couples quarreled, now, with a separate budget, no one lays claim to personal money, which everyone can spend on themselves, for their own pleasure, without receiving moralizing.
All purchases made for personal expenses are a personal matter for everyone.
The downside of a separate budget is the uneven division of income. It is generally accepted that since a man earns more, he contributes more to the family, and a woman keeps her earnings for her own needs.
However, it now happens that a woman can earn more than a man, but does not contribute to the family in proportion to her earnings, and vice versa, the wife earns for the family, and the husband does not work at all.
Normal family relationships are built on financial agreements. If it is a separate budget, everyone wants to earn and invest in the family, then the most convenient option is to invest in the general budget an amount proportional to personal income.
For example, each person gives half for family expenses or a certain percentage, and half for their own needs.
Here another disadvantage of a separate budget in the family comes up: this approach does not always suit both, because one will have an investment of 30 thousand, and the other 15 thousand, because personal income is uneven.
Some people earn more, some people earn less, this is everyone’s problem, but since it is impossible to invest the same amount in the family budget, conflicts usually occur.
It is also common for a woman to devote herself entirely to housework and motherhood, while the man bears the entire budget.
In this case, the woman depends on the man, asks him to give money, both for family needs and for her own. This story has an unpleasant side for both.
The woman constantly asks the man for money, and cannot afford much, she is dependent on him.
And the man, instead of putting half of his income into the family budget and spending the other half on personal needs, gives the money to his wife.
It’s good when he earns a lot, and for him it’s not considered a problem, but there are families where the income is not large, and such situations also cause conflicts, which pushes families to have separate budgets.
In general, there are the same number of pros and cons of a separate family budget, but each family decides for itself whether this option suits them or not. The main thing is to discuss and agree on financial matters, taking into account the capabilities and needs of each.
