Archive for Random Musings

How Do You and Your Partner Divide Your Money?

Money

MoneyMoney and relationships is always an interesting topic to discuss. I think there are a number of reasons why, but mainly I think it has to do with the fact that there is no real ?right? way for two people in a relationship to divide their money.

Personally speaking, my wife and I combined our finances shortly before marriage, and haven?t looked back. We view marriage as being teammates so it only makes sense to have combined finances. However, what is going to work for us isn?t necessarily going to be the best thing for your given situation and vice versa. The key, in my opinion, is to find what works best for you and your situation and communicate. In fact, I?d say communication is the overall key regardless of how you and your partner divide your money.

With all that being said, I always find it interesting to learn how other couples share their financial resources which is what brought me to this infographic from Visual.ly. The infographic, as you can see, compares younger couples (aged 30 and under, college educated and making more than $50,000 per year) and those they consider affluent (making more than $100,000 per year) to what is considered the general population.

What I found interesting was that that the younger population tended to be somewhat higher in terms of dividing their money, generally speaking, than the general population. What I also found intriguing was the number of couples who would classify their financial communication as good or excellent ? 77%, especially considering money matters are a huge factor when it comes to divorce.

What I did like was seeing couples recommend joint decision making. Other things, like emergency funds?and retirement planning?were covered, so it spans a wide spectrum. Ultimately, I just think this infographic points back to the fact that how you manage your money is largely personal and that you need to apply it to your given situation.

How Do Couples Divide Their Money

 

 

How do you and your partner divide your money? Has it changed since being married or will it change once you do get married? How much can you spend without clearing it with your partner?

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of: Fylkesarkivet

Do You Make More Than a Stripper?

make more than a stripper

make more than a stripperCatchy title, huh?! 😉 No, we’re not talking about stripping today here on?Wise Dollar?as we’re a family-friendly site,?but while everyone is busy recovering from the holiday weekend, I thought I’d lighten it up a little today and share this interesting little infographic I found over at Visual.ly. I’ve always been intrigued by how people end up on the career paths that they do.

I’ve written about that before over at Frugal Rules as I think it’s interesting to hear readers’ back stories to see what they’ve done in the past. Going with the same theme, it is always interesting to see how or why some professions pay the salaries they do. For example, my youngest brother just finished his first full year as a high school teacher in May. He was relatively happy with the salary he got, especially in relation to where he lives. But, when you look at what he makes on a per hour basis it’s a bit on the ridiculous side.

The politics of salaries aside I found this infographic interesting as it compares what people earn in various?professions. Admittedly, some of the comparisons are a bit over the top like a teacher vs. a stripper or Creative Director vs. a Submarine Cook but I think it’s interesting to see the comparison. I don’t know what numbers exactly they’re using to claim such salaries, though I did read that strippers in North Dakota have made as much as $2,000 per night,?as of a couple of years ago. That said, I think it goes without saying that it doesn’t really matter what your salary is, it’s how you manage it that counts. Making more money is better, of course, but I’d much rather be a teacher who is seriously saving money and investing it for a rainy day?as opposed to a hot dog vendor who lives the YOLO lifestyle without a second thought about his future.

Surprisingly these people make more money than you!

by borisbenko. Explore more visuals like this one on the web’s largest information design community – Visually.

 

What salary surprised you most out of the ones shown? What was your first job? Do you make more than a stripper? 😉