So Who Controls The Purse Strings?

[GuestHouse]

What do TV members do about organizing family finances, is it pocket money/house keeping for the wife while the husband controls the purse strings or shared bank accounts and shared responsibility for the family budget?

For the record, the latter in our house.

[angiud]

The second in my family

[Spoonman]

I make the money, I spend the money.

I flick my missus 200b a day for whatever she does whilst im at work, when the bills come in i give her the money to square them up.

[robblok]

I make the money, I spend the money.

I flick my missus 200b a day for whatever she does whilst im at work, when the bills come in i give her the money to square them up.

I let my wife beg on the steet and when i get home i give her a bowl of rice and take the money.

So beat that

[ThailandLovr]

In the beginning I would turn over 20,000 baht per month to her and let her pay for the basics. But as the months passed (now 2+ years) I realized some of this money was going for reasons I could not get comfortable with, so now I pay for everything and it works best. I'd rather have it the other way but I didn't like seeing so much money going as handouts to the family or being spent unwisely.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

I basically hand it all over to the Mrs, and keep my own allowance for personal expenses (most of them beer related. )

She's much better with money than I am.. (She actually cares enough about the stuff to keep track, organize & plan.

[MJP]

In the beginning I would turn over 20,000 baht per month to her and let her pay for the basics. But as the months passed (now 2+ years) I realized some of this money was going for reasons I could not get comfortable with, so now I pay for everything and it works best. I'd rather have it the other way but I didn't like seeing so much money going as handouts to the family or being spent unwisely.

Absolutely the correct method.

For money to have any value it must be earned. Otherwise it's like handing people firewood.

The next really big transaction is being handled by the third member of my family . . . my lawyer.

[WinnieTheKhwai]

[duplicate post for some reason.. removed it. ]

Edited January 7, 2010 by WinnieTheKhwai

[MJP]

I basically hand it all over to the Mrs, and keep my own allowance for personal expenses (most of them beer related. )

She's much better with money than I am.. (She actually cares enough about the stuff to keep track, organize & plan.

Does she have a sister?

In fact I do continue to hand money over, albeit only 5000 THB a month, to my mother-in-law to look after daughter. This has been working well.

[ThailandLovr]

I basically hand it all over to the Mrs, and keep my own allowance for personal expenses (most of them beer related. )

She's much better with money than I am.. (She actually cares enough about the stuff to keep track, organize & plan.

You're lucky Winnie. I have seen little evidence that money "planning" existed here from those I've been around. Many Thais spend money like kids. As long as there is money in the mobile and a beer and a cigarette covered, not much more matters.

Edited January 7, 2010 by ThailandLovr

[Beardog]

Since it's my dime I control the finances. She likes to think shes the boss, but where I am from the one paying the way calls the shots. I do let her help on decisions as she does have valid points. But I decide on what goes on in my world. She gets her monthly allowance & believe me she works for it on the almost 3 rai we are growing veggies fruit trees & flowers. Even if she gets uppity I remind her the boss is always the one who pays the bin or at least it always was when I lived in the U.S. no need to change it now.

[ronz28]

Shared accounts but separate check registers reconciled monthly. My Thai wife spends/saves her money- now mostly on clothes and stuff she likes for the house, presents for our children and grandchild and I spend/save mine. I pay utilities, property taxes, insurance, car & house maintenance and miscellaneous. She used to pay utilities bills and her car payment when we had house and car payments and we were working. This has worked for us for 40 years living and both working in the US- now both retired.

[givenall]

I basically hand it all over to the Mrs, and keep my own allowance for personal expenses (most of them beer related. )

She's much better with money than I am.. (She actually cares enough about the stuff to keep track, organize & plan.

This is surprise to me. Most of Thai I know can’t keep any money they spend it all so I give her allowance for almost everything.

I mostly make the money through the investment I made and she work a bit in the business. I control most of the finances and make sure we have some saving left over every month. I don’t want to be hand to mouth over here

[jaiyenyen]

My wife says I can't be trusted with money. But who ever listens to wives?

[IanForbes]

I make the money, I spend the money.

I flick my missus 200b a day for whatever she does whilst im at work, when the bills come in i give her the money to square them up.

I let my wife beg on the steet and when i get home i give her a bowl of rice and take the money.

So beat that

Hey Rob, don't tell anyone I told you, but it ain't "begging" she's doing on the street. And, she is holding out on you with what she makes.

[dumball]

Nobody realy 'Controls' anything in particular in our household , it is more of a share thing and the one who proves most able does whatever it takes , actually that works good for me , I have become such a fumble bum , I am hardly allowed to do much other than trips to the toilet . More later , the good lady has just brought a dish of fruit and a pot of tea to the computer table , please excuse me .

[yabaaaa]

Wife takes care of all the money I dont even ask she could be bankrolling Osama Bin Laden for all I know she gets about 80k a month.

[sokal]

The Thai girls that I have met don't seem to know how to be responsible with money.

[fletchsmile]

Being a wizard - also in money matters- I look after the investments. Day to day on spending each of us spends what we think is reasonable on what we want - mainly from a joint account. The Mrs spends less than me though and is pretty careful, whereas I'm better at making money "disappear" with a larger view of what's "reasonable". In all the time I've known her I can't ever remember her spending an amount of money on something I'd object to.

Edited January 7, 2010 by fletchsmile

[up-country_sinclair]

Nobody realy 'Controls' anything in particular in our household , it is more of a share thing

This is similar to my situation.

[draggons]

Nobody controls as such but the other half is far better at organising the funds than I am and have no problem with her doing it.

still keep the majority of it under my control though

[a2396]

I never had any shared accounts with my two previous wives, who were gainfully employed in USA. We shared some household expenses, with myself paying the larger portion. Most of what they earned was their money. When we were divorced, there was no squabbling over money or property. I never met a Thai woman, who I have had any relationship with, who made more than "peanut" money. The bulk of their "income" came from me.

[TheJoker12]

Why do you care OP?

[TheJoker12]

Being a wizard - also in money matters- I look after the investments. Day to day on spending each of us spends what we think is reasonable on what we want - mainly from a joint account. The Mrs spends less than me though and is pretty careful, whereas I'm better at making money "disappear" with a larger view of what's "reasonable". In all the time I've known her I can't ever remember her spending an amount of money on something I'd object to.

This is my situation as well.

[Brunus]

I wrote this somewhere else. My wife works, but I had to take control of our money in order to avoid to become the proud owner of a mountain of shoes

[Moonrakers]

My wife and I don't have a "yours" and "mine" in our relationship and I wouldn't want it any other way, she is my wife after all.

Before any wants to comment how convenient the arrangement may be for her, she is the major breadwinner at the moment and has been for a while as I struggle to get back on my own feet.

Anyway, who controls the purse strings?

Probably me but that is only because I am not a spender by nature and therefore most cash gets transferred to my account because it usually stays there (I detest shopping). My misses has a weakness of buying random stuff, 90% of the time for my daughter and I and so she chooses to put cash where it is not too easily accessible for her (She leaves my ATM with me when she goes shopping).

[JSixpack]

I remind her the boss is always the one who pays the bin or at least it always was when I lived in the U.S. no need to change it now.

Was that back in the 1940s perhaps?

[PattayaParent]

I put 500,000 Baht in the wife's account and she deals with all the household expenses, gives me pocket money and tells me when it needs a top up again, which is usually 3 times a year.

Edited January 8, 2010 by PattayaParent

[Samuian]

Who got the dosh, makes the rulez!

She earns less then a third of my income and works much harder and longer hours for this -

but still insist to contribute on this or that...

now go figure from here.

[Dakhar]

I basically hand it all over to the Mrs, and keep my own allowance for personal expenses (most of them beer related. )

She's much better with money than I am.. (She actually cares enough about the stuff to keep track, organize & plan.

Same here, she is so tight fisted with money it is really pathetic. When I was in the states I gave her total control of the money. Now in Thailand I keep 20K for pocket money and she gets the rest (around 80K). I retain some money because Thailand is a cash based country and I have to spend a lot of money on fuel costs, and I was really getting tired of having to as "momy" for some more of my money!