How are the shooting finances handled at your home?

[lightman]

I've run a sideline business most of my adult life. I buy what I want when I want. Saying that, I've paid for several joint hunting trips, family vacations, paid cash for 2 college educations and have probably spent an amount on jewelry for her that equals my gun purchases. Due to health reasons She has only worked about half of our married life while I have been blessed with a decent paying job with a pension.

 

[Bfh_auto]

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?

We have one account with an emergency fund.
My wife is very much an enabler when it comes to guns, hunting, fishing, horses, and Jeep parts.
I've found the more I tithe and give back. The more I seem to have in my account.
I've also found not blowing my money on drugs and alcohol, and tobacco freed up a lot of money.

 

[Creed Bennett]

I’ve been married for 23 year (I’m 55) and she’s a cougar (57). I’ve been a HVAC and commercial refrigeration tech for 38 years and she’s been a lab tech for 35. We both make almost the same amount of money. I pay the bills and she does the grocery shopping. The house, farm, vehicles and garage are all paid for. I buy my guns and parts for the hot rod when I want and she buys her crafting and music related items and travels when she wants. We have separate bank accounts in different banks. I encourage her hobbie spending and she encourages mine. Our dogs are split 50/50 on their vet bills. As long as we eat, the dogs eat and the utilities are paid nobody cares what the other spends their money on. I’m a blessed man!

 

[ojh]

Married 36 years. We both work and the salaries of our main jobs go to two joint accounts. One is used for everyday household outlay and the other saving money for bigger expenditures. We are debt free. In addition I have my own account for the wages from a few side projects. They bring in plenty enough to finance my passions (guns, guitars, cameras and a motorbike) and still some is left for common good. My dear wife fully supports my hobbies and shows no interest of knowing how much "fun money" I spend. We have seen harder times but even back then we hardly ever argued about money.

 

[thump_rrr]

Not Married, and never have been.

I don’t seem to have those problems.

 

[Demi-human]

Not Married, and never have been.

I don’t seem to have those problems.

I got rid of my problem, now, money doesn’t seem to be one…

(Seriously, my truck is paid off, the house is too, my safe is bulging and the kids don’t wear rags when they ride their mini bikes. How is this easier with one less human?

Never mind, I’m building a 10/22 from scratch by hand. Just because. I don’t want to know.)

 

[trekker73]

I only keep three long guns and they cover me from small to large game. I handload and my shooting is mostly only for hunting, some load testing.

 

[Ks5shooter]

My wife has a 92-acre horse farm in which she trains horses and teaches clients how to do dressage. Her business pays for the entire farm plus all our other bills. I got in the union early at 18 retired at 43 with a very nice pension. Been working since so money is not a problem. She loves guns and hunting as well I often buy her a gun just because I saw it caught her eye. And she never gives me a problem about buying a gun. We are fortunate to be in this situation monetarily to buy what we like. She is definitely addicted.

 

[Pat Riot]

I have been married 42 years. My wife and I have one account. We decided that early due to experiences we had as kids with parents fighting over money.
When times were tight I bought guns but there was some give and take negotiations.
Today, money is still an issue, always is, but I truly have most of the guns I want or need…

Who am I kidding. No I don’t, but now our expenses don’t include money for work; fuel, food, clothing, car maintenance, etc. We just retired so I should be able to afford a gun or two on occasion now.

 

[AlexanderA]

As can be seen in this thread, there are many solutions to this "problem." In my case, my wife has zero interest in guns -- pro or con -- and therefore doesn't care what I buy. That said, being a thrifty person, remarks about the increasing value of the collection tend to carry great weight with her. I can see the dollar signs in her eyes in anticipation of my death. (Been married 44 years.)

 

[JFrank]

I raised four daughters and now have thirteen grandkids, nuff said.

 

[Speedo66]

We've been fortunate to have had decent paying jobs, and now both retired, decent retirement funds.

I tend to be the frugal one and overthink everything before I buy something. Her usual comment when I talk about purchasing something, whether it's a gun, a collector car, or a motorcycle is "you know our finances, if you think we can afford it, buy it".

 

[Elkins45]

She has her income and I have mine. We have no debt other than the monthly bills which we share. Any big shared purchase like an appliance we discuss and split the cost. Beyond that we spend our incomes independently.

 

[Howland937]

I get the occasional "how much of that do you really need?"
I also made a promise to not buy any more guns or supplies until I was done remodeling the kitchen and bathroom. That one wasn't so much about money as the time I spend in search. My kid knows how to pull her strings, so when I mention a gun shop coming up on the left, he immediately chimes in that he wants to try some different ammo...needs new targets...stretch his legs. Whatever.

We do have differing priorities though. I don't spend money I don't have, but prefer to have something tangible to show for it. She prefers going places, doing things, and making memories. Yes, those things are important...but if the only way you remember it is from the pictures you took, it must not have been that memorable.

 

[GEM]

Major purchases (expensive guns) are discussed as done with other household major items. Minor things - more ammo, small gadgets - not so much. In general, expensive gun purchases are funded by side gig and other kinds of supplemental income. Selling something to fund something new is a procedure we both do.

Sometimes, there are trades for something we want but really don't need. For example, my 1911 is also known as the new drapes for the living room gun. If the money is there - then we can play.

Still waiting on the lottery to come through.

 

[dh1633pm]

I am older but still working. Wife too. We make a good living. Air Force Retirement pay doesn’t get touched. It adds up after a bit. I can afford most things. Wife doesn’t mind my habits. Firearms now and then. New knife or so every week. Bottle of single malt. Whoops off topic. I don’t handle the finances, so my accountant (wife) knows about all funds. Everything goes into the same account. I do like to trade.

 

[fjblair]

I have my account, she has her account.

 

[alsaqr]

My wife and i have been married for 45 years. We are both retired and our financial situation is excellent with everything paid for. My reloading costs are low. There is a large stockpile of primers, powder and bullets, most purchased decades ago. There was a couple hundred pounds of powder before i gave away and sold the handgun powder. i did run out of IMR 3031 powder and recently bought some with Cabela's points.

We discuss proposed purchases. My purchase of a Sig 210-9 Target model has been blessed but i can't find one.

 

[.308 Norma]

Early last summer, just as I was about ready to buy myself a new .257 Weatherby (which I need about as much as I need another hole in my head), our well crapped out. It cost us right at $9,000 - which is actually not quite half of what we thought it was going to cost us. Nevertheless, I joke about being able to look down our well, and if you have a strong enough flashlight, you'll be able to see my new .257 Weatherby down there. The truth is though, I took our well crapping out when I was getting ready to buy another gun I don't need as a "sign" - a sign that I shouldn't be buying it. And I haven't.
When it comes to "shooting finances," it seems like things have always gone that way for my wife (who likes guns as much as I do) and me. Our firearms are primary to our main hobbies of hunting and shooting. But our living expenses (which include putting $9,000 down our well) come before our hobbies.
Of course, some of the guns we have are for self/home defense (if the need arises), and we figure those guns are "necessities" - or at least they might become necessities sometime. But we already have enough of those kinds of guns, and we practice with them - probably not as much as some folks here might figure we should.
At any rate, my wife of 51 years and I share all of our "finances" - not just shooting "finances." And it's worked out pretty well. We're not rich, but we're comfortably retired.

 

[theotherwaldo]

Never married, no kids, no debt, share my home with my kid sister, still working, expenditures are down and I recently got an unexpected $10k raise.
If I want it, I can buy it... .

 

[stonebuster]

My wife used to call us DINKS (dual income,no kids). We never made a lot but bought a house we could afford & put extra money into our mortgage when we worked OT so by the time we both lost our jobs, the house was paid for. Did what we had to taking low paying jobs in the years before retiring but we're golden now. At 72yrs old it seems we won't outlive what we've saved so we buy what we want within reason and enjoy life.

 

[Casefull]

I’ve always taken care of my wife and I always purchase what I want. She is smart enough to know you let the golden goose do what he wants with the extra eggs.

 

[The Night Rider]

Mark 10:8 NKJV
and the two shall become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh.

Wife handles the finances

Tithe
Savings
Bills
Necessities
Incidentals
Fun.

There is no "Her" money or "My" money.

There really isn't "Our" money.

But we seem to have an abundance* of God's money.

*If you make the requirements have money left over you have an abundance.

 

[brunowbe]

If I have the money (read not credit), I get what I want, usually with the wife’s encouragement if I have doubts due to cost/price.

 

[Chuck R.]

Been married 31 years.

All joint accounts, with a family trust we established when our son was born. My wife currently doesn't work and is focused on maintaining our 80 acres. Major purchases over approx $500 we discuss, even minor purchases we discuss briefly. I can pretty much buy whatever I want, there's just nothing I really want. IF I really want something all I have to do is bring my wife a long and mention "it's a pretty good deal".

I still work for the Army as a civilian and collect my Army pension. Everything is paid off, to include our son's college s long as the market doesn't collapse completely.

The above might change in 17 months or so when I retire for the 2nd time.