Permission to Spend: Why A Budget is This Couple's Secret To Reaching Their Goals
Your budgeting game is about to change.
Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Welcome to this special episode of WorkParty titled Money Talks, a Budget Broadcast Series in partnership with You Need a Budget (YNAB), designed to educate everyone on the power of building a budget.
Whether it’s starting the business, going on the trip, or renovation projects at home, a budget (of all sizes) can help you accomplish those dreams. YNAB is the leading personal finance platform that has helped hundreds of thousands of people take control of their finances–including our guests today.
In the second episode of the WorkParty and YNAB Budget Broadcast Series, Jaclyn sits down with Chris and Julia Marcum, the duo behind the dreamy home renovation, DIY project and lifestyle blog, Chris Loves Julia, to chat about how to use a budget to plan, prioritize, and not only set–but actualize–your financial goals, and why you should start today.
Get your notepad ready and press play on episode one! Your budgeting game is about to change. Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com.
Try YNAB Free for 34 Days
Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.
How to Stress Less, and Find Joy in Your Finances with Ashley Brooke
Your budgeting game is about to change.
Welcome to this special episode of WorkParty as part of our Budget Broadcast Series in partnership with You Need a Budget (YNAB), designed to educate everyone on the power of building a budget.
Whether it’s starting a business, saving for a trip, or taking control of your finances once and for all, a budget (of all sizes) can help you accomplish those dreams. YNAB is the leading personal finance platform that has helped hundreds of thousands of people take control of their finances–including our guest today.
In this third and final episode of the WorkParty and YNAB Budget Broadcast Series, I’m sitting down with Ashley Brooke to chat about money mindset–how to overcome common obstacles, manage money stress, and budget for fun–not just for fear. Join the party on social @workparty and stay in-the-know at workparty.com.
Try YNAB Free for 34 Days
Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.
How to Take Control of Your Finances and Cultivate Confidence Around Money
Your budgeting game is about to change.
Welcome to this special episode of WorkParty titled Money Talks, a Budget Broadcast Series in partnership with You Need a Budget (YNAB), designed to educate everyone on the power of building a budget.
Whether your financial goals are aimed at booking the vacation in Europe you’ve been dreaming about pre-lockdown, paying off your high interest credit card debt, or simply starting to save for the future—a budget (of all sizes) can help you accomplish those dreams.
To kick off our first of three Money Talks episodes, Jaclyn is joined by Jesse Mecham, the founder of YNAB, the app designed to be your best money-saving friend.
Get your notepad ready and press play on episode one! Your budgeting game is about to change.
Try YNAB Free for 34 Days
Subscribe to WorkParty and never miss an episode.
Sharing Finances? Here Are 5 Ways to Do It Right
Joint lives? Joint account?
Photo: Retha Ferguson for Pexels
In April of 1975, Judy Hendren Mello created the First Women’s Bank in Manhattan.
It was the first bank in the United States to be run by and operated for women, during a period where women were highly discriminated against by banks. (Fun fact: Betty Friedan had an account there.) Just one year prior, banks required single, widowed, or divorced women to bring a man to co-sign any credit application, regardless of their income.
Thankfully, much has changed since then, and more women are household breadwinners than ever before, as well as finding ways to to split costs with their partners. Given that wedding season is rapidly approaching, we figured there’s no better time to break down five different approaches to sharing finances that have worked well for couples.
The 2:1 Approach
This is a scenario in which you keep most of your finances separate, but have one joint account you both contribute to equally.
You can choose to contribute a dollar amount or a percentage of monthly earnings to that account. With one joint account, you are taking baby steps to trusting your significant other with your money. You get to see how they spend and if you’re comfortable giving them purchasing power with your hard earned cash.
Most often, couples who live together and are fairly evenly matched when it comes to income and debt favor this approach. That way the joint account is what you use for household purchases—everything from toilet paper to a new couch.
The Solo Dolo
Some couples keep all finances separate, and it works for them. If each of you are financially independent, have no desire to share finances and would rather split household expenses in a way that makes you the most comfortable, this is an easy option.
Sometimes that means splitting things 50-50. Sometimes that’s not the case. If it’s not, we suggest having a conversation, especially if one side of the equation makes a significant amount more. What you don’t want is to commit to a living or a financial situation where you feel taken advantage of, or where you resent how much the other person is making and contributing.
If you really like keeping everything solo, but your incomes are vastly disparate—we suggest the next approach to avoid future disagreements.
The Pick-and-Choose
This approach is best for couples who share everything, except comparable salaries. When you don’t want to let one person “handle it all” (which, is certainly another way to go), but rather want each party to contributing their “fair share,” each person picks certain bills and expenses.
These don’t have to be equal shares.
For instance, if you own a house together, one person pays the mortgage and the other fills the fridge. Or perhaps, one of you pays the rent and the other handles electric, gas, and the WiFi situation.
This works for both unmarried and married couples. The most important part of this arrangement, is that each person is getting a fair shake, not a shake down.
With the pick-and-choose, and all the above options, individual debts remain the responsibility of the indebted, however, this could (and often should) be considered when splitting up costs.
The Spend One, Save One
This is an interesting approach being taken by couples who have not yet made those major life purchases, but are working toward them.
They will live on one salary—typically the larger—and save the entirety of the rest. This is also a useful approach for couples who haven’t yet been able to put away that rainy day money or save for retirement. It typically involves living below your means, but is a smart investment to make in your future.
The Merge It All
This is an approach most often used by married couples who combine their lives, finances and all, entirely. Most often, neither party is entering into the marriage with significant assets—like a house—as this is a purchase that will be made together. Or debts, like student loans, that need to pay off.
However, even within “merge it all” it isn’t uncommon for couples to share one joint account while keeping individual checking accounts. What you put into those individual accounts? It varies. Bonuses or checks from grandma and grandpa could be considered “fun” individual money. Cash that doesn’t have to go toward life expenses and allows each person to feel like they’ve got some disposable income.
This post was published on May 23, 2017, and has since been updated.
The Sneaky Pink Tax You Probably Don't Know You're Paying
Not nearly as cute as it sounds.
Two years ago, my man and I moved in together. We’d taken it real slow, so when we were ready to cohabitate after four years, we’d already explored some of the less sexy territory of day-to-day domesticity. I knew what was critical to me in the arrangement: equality.
We would split resources down the middle – time, as well as money. We’d contribute an equal amount of cash toward buying household items and an equal number of hours toward keeping our home looking like adults live there. See, even though he makes more than I do, I wanted a down the middle split to ground the power dynamics that can surround money. I'm a modern woman, dammit! I was in for 50-50.
And then I realized: you can’t do life 50-50.
Because it costs more money to be a woman.
"You can't do life 50-50. Because it costs more money to be a woman."
Tweet this.
And no, not just because women are marketed to by the beauty and fashion industries more aggressively than men (though, that’s a real thing), and end up buying more shit that they arguably ‘don’t need’ because consumerism(!), and the unrelenting pressure put on women (by both men and other women alike) to always look pretty (though that’s also a real thing, even when it's very subtle).
What I’m talking about is far less nuanced: ordinary day-to-day products and services cost more money if the paying customer has a uterus. I’m talking really basic, gender-neutral stuff like razors, deodorant, and dry cleaning.
I first discovered this a couple of months into my new living situation. I was up for errand duty, picking up a few things at CVS for the house and for myself. Already beyond my cognitive load, I stood in front of about fifty deodorants (none of which seemed noticeably distinct) feeling annoyed that my usual choice was out of stock. I looked over at the significantly smaller selection in the men’s area and noticed, in passing, that the men’s version of the same deodorant, which my partner uses, was cheaper than the women’s.
I didn’t think too much of it. When you’re running on fumes, it’s easy to slide into ‘that’s just how things are’ complacency. I grabbed a women’s deodorant, threw it in the cart, and that was that.
It wasn’t until a couple of months later when a video caught my eye and gave both shape and name to what I had passively noticed: The Pink Tax, or the fact that essentially identical products cost more if dressed in gender-specific packaging that targets women.
So not only do women earn 79 cents on every dollar that men make, we are expected to spend more of our smaller earnings on the same basics that both men and women buy. In December 2015, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs published a study that found that, on average, women’s products cost 7 percent more than similar products for men.
It’s been documented for years, and I was only just now catching up.
As pointed out by the New York Times, the French Feminist collective Georgette Sand has been showcasing this ‘phenomenon’ on Tumblr, with side-by-side images of the same product, but packaged for girls and boys. It’s striking to see. Another article I found by the Washington Post cut right to the chase: Why you should always buy the men’s version of almost anything.
Now deep in this wormhole, I wanted to observe the Pink Tax in the wild. And not so passively this time.
I went back to the deodorant aisle at CVS to fact check my memory and corroborate my own story. The proof was in the price tag.
Not only does the basic version of Degree deodorant cost twenty cents more if it’s for women ($3.79 vs. $3.59), but the brand comes on strong with SO MANY OTHER OPTIONS for women. Some range as high as $5.99. This means that if you happen to be deodorant shopping while in the mood to cultivate your womaness (which, is a glorious part of the female experience), the black dress on that ‘ultra clear’ option (a very tired symbol of femininity) might sucker you into paying $2.40 more for a stick of deodorant than your male counterpart.
It seems to get worse when it comes to products that are only for women. There is an actual LEGAL tax (not just a subtle price increase) on tampons in most states, where they are categorized as ‘luxury items’ rather than basic necessities. Watch Thinx founder, Miki Agrawal, break it down in this video:
So what’s a girl to do? Continue to have this conversation. Especially about money. Especially with other women. Especially with your partner. Especially with your political representatives. And try your best to notice. Notice other subtle ways the world is unequal to women. Subtle ways that might not yet have been given a clever name, like The Pink Tax.
"Try your best to notice. Notice other subtle ways the world is unequal to women."
Tweet this.
I continue to navigate the meaning of equality in my relationship, especially as our identities as individuals evolve independently of our identity as a couple. Although some of these negotiations are very cut and dry, like the Pink Tax. Sometimes we can interpret the 50-50 split very literally. For example, I now use 50 percent of his deodorant, shampoo, and shaving cream.
Now I’m on to reconsidering how to think about an equal split of another important resource: time. I wonder if this clock would cost 7% more in pink.
About the author: Joanna Pawlowska is a curious human of many interests living in Silverlake, a neighborhood in Los Angeles, CA. Her experience ranges from tech startups to public radio, where she takes new ideas and brings them to life. She's passionate about issues and stories about the lives of women.
More from our blog:
