ILLUSTRATION: CORBIS STATISTICS: * TESCO FINANCE SURVEY AND AMERICAN EXPRESS SPENDING AND SAVING TRACKER SURVEY
THE 50:50
COUPLE
Caroline
Keetch, 30, is a
researcher. She
lives in London
with husband,
Alex, 30, a
recruitment
consultant.
Balance Caroline Alex
Monthly income £2,800 £2,800
Mortgage £860 £860
Electricity/gas £55 £55
Internet/phone Personal Personal
Food shopping £200 £200
Joint savings £200 £200
Total outgoings £1,315 £1,315
CAROLINE SAYS:
“We’re being really careful with
money as we got married earlier this
year, so it can be frustrating when
needless expenses crop up. A couple
of weeks ago, Alex’s work suits
weren’t ready from the dry cleaner
and we had to fork out £300 from our
joint savings on a Monday morning to
buy emergency work wear! We had a
massive row about that.
“I’d say I control the purse strings in
this relationship but we always work
things out as a team. At the moment
we rent out our old flat which is
a leasehold and we’re spending
thousands extending the lease in
order to sell. But it’s important to me
that we’re financially independent
and that we keep our own money for
socialising, personal stuff and food.”
ALEX SAYS:
“Caroline is far more organised with
money. She sorts out all our Direct
Debits, while I’ve been meaning to set
up broadband for six months now! Her
attitude is gradually rubbing off on me,
although I still hold off checking my
bank balance and splash out regularly.
We rarely talked about our finances
before, but now that we’re married we
talk more about money in relation to
planning for the future. We don’t sit
down once a month to go over things
– although that’s not actually a bad
idea – but the topic of money
inevitably comes up fairly often.”
CONCLUSION
Caroline says: “I control the purse
strings but we’ve learnt to work things
out as a team. I do struggle with our
different attitudes though and I want
to retain my financial independence.”
THE ‘SOLE
PROVIDER’
Katherine
Fielden, 30, is
a full-time mum.
She lives in
Melton Mowbray
with husband,
Chris, 33, a
manager.
Balance Katherine Chris
Monthly income £0 £2,180
Mortgage £0 £1,420
Electricity/gas £0 £100
Internet/phone £0 £90
Food shopping £0 £225
Joint savings £0 £180
Total outgoings £0 £2,015
KATHERINE SAYS:
“I’ve never been a big spender and
ever since I went to university, I’ve
stuck to a budget. I record everything
Chris and I spend in a log book and
on a spreadsheet, and once a week
I check that everything tallies with
our online bank statement. It’s been a
shock living on one wage since I gave
up work and I feel like I’m spending
someone else’s money. I felt so guilty
recently when I bought a new baby
changing bag and a maternity dress.
“Chris makes me laugh when he
does the food shopping. He usually
comes home thinking he’s got a
bargain but in reality, he’s bought
stuff we don’t need like a football for
Thomas when he went out for milk!”
CHRIS SAYS:
“Before I met Kath, I was never in
control of my finances. We do argue
about money but it’s usually because
Katherine’s trying not to spend any
while I’ll tell her that buying a new
dress when her others don’t fit is an
essential item! Living on one wage
can be difficult at times and I noticed
the difference when we went to
a wedding recently. I’d usually take
enough cash to buy rounds of drinks
but this time, £40 was my limit. We
have to keep reminding ourselves that
Kath being able to take a break from
work is a lucky position for us to be in.
It’s nice to know that we can afford to
live without relying on credit cards.”
CONCLUSION
Katherine says: “We do argue about
money but only really because I feel
guilty about spending it now that I
don’t contribute. Dropping down to
one wage has been tough.”
THE FISCAL
OPPOSITES
Catherine Ross,
30, is a support
supervisor
who lives in
Nottingham
with boyfriend,
Paul Honey, 33,
a teacher.
Balance Catherine Paul
Monthly income £1,500 £1,700
Mortgage £0 £570
Electricity/gas £70 £70
Internet/phone £30 £30
Food shopping £80 £80
Joint savings Separate Separate
Total outgoings £180 £750
CATHERINE SAYS:
“I’ve found it tricky adapting
financially to living with Paul. Our
joint finances extend only as far as
household bills, food and stuff for
the house, but he bought a new
printer recently which I chipped in
for. But to be honest, I’d rather spend
my money on other things!
“I have a spreadsheet which I
update quarterly and I think Paul
finds this quite amusing. We do have
similar attitudes towards money,
although I’m more likely to suggest
splurging on a night out. I’m much
better at food shopping because
when Paul goes to Tesco it’s a
disaster. He’ll come home with three
special offer pizzas when there are
already six in the freezer, so we’ll
have to eat pizza every night for the
next week.”
PAUL SAYS:
“I don’t ask Cath for a contribution
towards my mortgage because she
has her own mortgage to pay for
her flat in Hull.
“I always steer clear of her
when she’s updating her budget
spreadsheet as she can get quite
stressed, so I’ll watch TV in another
room or see if anyone’s available for
a quick drink down the pub. I don’t
know what Cath means when she
says it’s always her who suggests
going out for dinner. I’m always
treating her to expensive meals!”
CONCLUSION
Catherine says: “It’s hard living with
someone financially but we’re getting
there and trying to focus on
discussing money rather than just
arguing about it.”
MONEY
THE SPENDER
AND SAVER
Eleanor
Eldergill, 30,
a lettings agent,
lives in London
with husband,
Chris Eldergill,
29, a sports
TV producer.
Balance Eleanor Chris
Monthly income £1,600 £2,400
Mortgage £505 £756
Electricity/gas £44 £66
Internet/phone £18 £27
Food shopping £100 £150
Joint savings Separate Separate
Total outgoings £667 £999
ELEANOR SAYS:
“Chris is way better than me at
managing money. He keeps a budget
spreadsheet and he has definitely
taught me a thing or two about
money. For example, we need a new
washing machine so Chris recently
sat me down and showed me how
we’re going to afford it by making
cutbacks in our spending elsewhere.
“I do budget in my own way, though.
I save £5 a day by bringing my own
lunch to work and I use this money to
treat myself to something at the
weekend. I do enjoy shopping which
can get me into trouble sometimes and
yes, I’ve hidden purchases from Chris.
We’re moving house soon so I’m
stocking up on nice new things. I
recently bought a gorgeous quilt in
Laura Ashley which was reduced from
£175 to £130. I’m getting a bonus from
work soon, so it’s a justified purchase.”
CHRIS SAYS:
“Any time we have an argument, it’s
usually over finances because we’re
rather different. Elle is a material girl
while I prefer to spend money
on things like socialising. Perhaps
I’m a bit obsessive but I like to be
organised and to know what’s coming
in and what’s going out. This diligent
approach often winds up the missus.
Elle’s attitude is spend, spend, spend
on credit cards and worry about
the debt later on. I’m sure that last
comment will get me into trouble!”
CONCLUSION
Eleanor says: “Chris is definitely
better at managing his money than
me, he’s ridiculously organised but
living with him has taught me
how to budget.”
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