How are the shooting finances handled at your home?

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Smaug

Smaug

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Just curious how it works with the rest of you.

My wife (my third) and I have a house checking account, from which we pay the major bills, a house savings account, with which we save for home improvements, then we each have our own personal checking and savings accounts.

We’re also saving for our daughters’ college separately, as they are from previous marriages.

In my previous marriages, my wives and I would often fight when I wanted to blow my money on hobby stuff, like guns. Now, it’s no problem with this method.

How is it handled in YOUR home, to keep the peace and keep your spending under control?
 
Married to the same beautiful lady 57 years. We have our money. Not mine. Not hers. Ours. I get what I want. Anytime I want it. She gets what she wants. Anytime she wants it. If, If WE, WE can afford it.
We are not two six year old spoiled brats that think we should get what we want just because. That's the way we raised our 3 kids. One family doing what needs to be done for The Family and each other.
I have two safes full of guns. She has what she wants. The family has always had what The Family needs. Just the average income family.
Not just two spoiled brats that think they should have just because.
 
When we first were married we had one joint account and I was responsible for paying the bills. She stayed home to raise our two kids for 10 years so money was often extremely tight. Once she went back to work, my micro managing of expenditures was a needless source of tension so she opened her own account for her personal use. While who pays what expense has varied over the years that system has pretty much worked for us for 4 decades. I guess you could say we have "our money" and "her money".

To answer the question posed in the thread title: "How are shooting expenses handled". In our house it is on a "strict need to know basis".:)
 
40 years married. Single budget that we decide together that, except for the very early years, has always had some slack in it. We have always had an "undesignated savings" fund. We talk about all major purchases, guns or otherwise. She knows my shooting hobby is important to me, so suggested what she calls a "2A fund" as a line item in the budget; it's a couple hundred dollars a month. In addition, we each have a "personal" fund that we take each month in cash that requires no further accounting. So if I want something that costs more than my personal+2A fund, I save for it, like we would any other major purchase. If I'd like something that costs more, we discuss it. If we can work it into the budget or agree to spend undesignated savings, I buy it. If I sell a gun, she assumes the proceeds are mine to use on other hobby related things. However, when her iPhone 11 Plus was stolen, I used some of my accumulated gun money to buy her a replacement. We have no secrets from each other, which makes life a whole lot easier.
 
My wife and I have a joint account. As long as our bills are paid, neither of us complains about the other spending money on things that make us happy. She honestly wants me to be happy and I honestly want her to be happy, so it works pretty well. I’ve also reached a point where I have plenty of guns, so I don’t mind selling guns to afford new guns.
 
We divided the bills up according to income over the years. We worked out who would pay what bill, and as long as those are covered, I don't question her purchases, and she doesn't question mine.
Ironically, she will still run her larger or 'unnecessary' purchases by me before acting. I do not usually return the favor. The only time this really came back and bit me in the butt is when I borrowed against my 401k to buy my younger son an F350 diesel, which he traded off after a couple months for a Chevy Heavy Half diesel, which he promptly crashed. But she doesn't question gun or ammo (or reloading supplies) buys.
 
I am the sole income in my household so all decisions over a couple hundred bucks are jointly made but when I want a new gun I get it, we may save a while for it but I’ll get it. Same when she wants something.

we do play little games so to speak, she wanted something a year or so ago that was $1600 bucks, well we got it but I she wrote me a letter saying I was free to spend $1600 on any gun I wanted at any time… no questions asked. I still have the letter, she knows I want spend that much money without consulting her first.
Just last week I asked her about buying an Anschutz 22. She was all for it but I didn’t end up buying it. We are saving for something else and I hate to take much out of the savings.
 
tws3b2 said:
Married to the same beautiful lady 57 years. We have our money. Not mine. Not hers. Ours. I get what I want. Anytime I want it. She gets what she wants. Anytime she wants it. If, If WE, WE can afford it.
We are not two six year old spoiled brats that think we should get what we want just because. That's the way we raised our 3 kids. One family doing what needs to be done for The Family and each other.
I have two safes full of guns. She has what she wants. The family has always had what The Family needs. Just the average income family.
Not just two spoiled brats that think they should have just because.
Click to expand...

Like you I have been married to the same beautiful lady except for 63 years. It's always been our money. One bank account. We have never been repossessed, NEVER. Why? We lived within our income which wasn't so great back in the early days. Now we buy what we have to have and then buy the goodies. She is a quilter. Just a tip for anyone if their wife decides she wants to take up quilting. It is an expensive hobby just like shooting. If mine had taken up knitting or crochet I could have a lot more guns. Neither of us has ever hid a purchase from the other and neither has ever gotten mad about something the other bought. WE, both of us, are responsible adults and do not live beyond our means.
 
My hobbies are separate from home and business expenses. My own rule, for me, is that they need to be self sufficient in that I take no money from the family pot to support them. Guns, motorcycles, music. Sometimes, something has to go to make room and coin for something new.
 
Insignificant bill said:
I spend every cent we have on guns
Click to expand...
YOU DA MAN!!!! :rofl::rofl:

I'm retired, have an IRA, plus I work for "fun" and those 2 things fund my gun habit. My SS and pension go in the kitty with my wife's salary to keep us in groceries and pay the bills. She don't ask, and I don't volunteer what I spend on my hobby. She buys what she wants and doesn't ask permission either. Why fuss about money?
 
It’s always been ‘our’ money. Back when we were young and raising kids a couple hundred dollars was a serious amount of money and required discussion with the In-house CinC before being redirected towards a gun.

Those days are long gone. Kids have moved on. We’re doing well financially. Gun purchases no longer even merit discussion. I cover my numerous hobby’s costs with my ‘allowance’ which is by my estimation more than generous.

We’ve been married for 40 years.
 
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My wife and I generally speaking buy what qe want after the bills and weekly household expenses are paid. We each work so she takes care of monthly bills and I do weekly expenses. , which greatly increased this past year,. Our empty nest filled up with one of our daughters and 4 of our grandchildren.

When I purchase a gun it's normally a layaway deal. Reloading supplies are bought in smaller quantities depending on how much my weekly expenses were that week.
 
[QUOTE="CoalCrackerAl, I don't gripe when she gets a snake. And she don't when i buy a gun.[/QUOTE]

So long as you don’t shoot one of her snakes…
 
My wifes hobby is horses.
What I spend on my hobbies is a drop in the bucket.
She sets money aside, and I set money aside. From there, as long the bills get paid, we stay out each others fun funds.
 
Smaug said:
house checking account, from which we pay the major bills, a house savings account, with which we save for home improvements, then we each have our own personal checking and savings accounts.
Click to expand...


Yep

It has always been budgeted house money, her money, my money. There may not have been much left after the house was "paid" early on, but there were no question on what she does with hers or I with mine.
 
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Early in the marriage money was tight, and we discussed almost every purchase, and for a very long time I did not have many guns (half dozen), or a big shooting budget. 38 years later, it's a lot better, and I am basically like @hso. Retirement savings are paid first, bills are paid second, house/car/busted TV/etc money is saved next, then we have my money and her money, we are very fortunate. We also worked very hard for 3+ decades, were very frugal, lived within our means, drove cars forever, and eventually got far enough in front of the eight ball to be very comfortable.
 
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