Who manages what?

Today's posting is on the division of labor in our financial life.

James:

James usually handles keeping an eye on the investment accounts, and handles his own banking and phone bill. Since we are doing the long distance marriage, James is also in charge of the physical upkeep of our apartments and paying for repairs, maintenance, etc. He also pays the power bill. James additionally manages the accounts and the bills for the investment property.

Miel:

Miel keeps an eye on her personal accounts such as her student loan payments, mobile phone, checking accounts and travel credit card bills. Miel also manages the mortgage payments, internet bill, and condo fees.

Jointly:

Utilities: James handles the power bill, Miel pays the internet service bill.

Second Mortgage: We are both chipping away at this.

It's sort of an evolved system. Previously we had more of a division of household expenses, but that has changed by living apart. Now we each handle out own expenses separately.

Lessons learned in who does what:

• If it works, don't mess with it. If all are happy, then don't juggling the system around.
• Take time to touch base every once in a while to make sure that everything is still working for both of you.
• It's a good idea that both partners have an understanding of where things stand with the other's areas of responsibility. This helps in case of emergencies or what not.
• We like to keep a password protected speadsheet with account and login info so we can access things we normally don't handle if need be.
• From our experience it is much better to split the responsibility rather than going back and forth, or wondering who is going to pay a bill each month.
• If systems are broken, then make sure to address the issue and ensure that both partners are satisfied with the outcome.

Hope this gives folks an idea of how we break things down in our marriage. We'd love to hear what works well for you.

Best,

Miel