F#12: Finances (The Sequel)

So now that jewelry has been received, it's time to officially begin melding lives, and that includes discussing who makes how much, and what sorts of bills we have that the other person doesn't know about.

I know lots of couples go about this differently: I have some friends who have completely separate checking and savings accounts and one person just writes the other a check when bills come due.  Other couples share everything: checking, savings, and credit cards.  I find this second thing somewhat problematic when it comes to buying each other presents, especially if one person (ex: my sister-in-law, whom I love) is a triple-checker of receipts.  My parents have a combination of the two: most of their money is joint, but they each have "their" credit card for surprises of the Christmas, Birthday, and Anniversary varieties.  

S.O. and I already have partially melded accounts, to avoid the first situation of having to ask for money directly.  But now, with a wedding to save for, and a new life to try to pursue together, for reals, we have to look at our numbers: who owes what to whom.  How much of this is "joint" debt, and how much of it is "solo" debt?  And how quickly can we collectively get out of that debt so we can start using our money for more important/interesting things than car and student loans (you know, FUN stuff)?

My goal as I try to crunch numbers, which makes my head hurt, is to low-ball our income and high-ball (is that even a phrase in this case?) our outcome.  Then, hopefully, we can eat for two weeks until the next paycheck comes in.  And occasionally go have outings with other people and not just stare at the cats (see first Finances post).

(Tangentially--freakin' electric bills!  Does anyone else just ask themselves how it's even possible to spend that much money on something one is not home to use for nine hours at a clip--at the least?)

Also, the numbers never fall quite right.  If one looks at the totally monthly income, everything is fine.  But to look at how the income is split, versus when the bills are due, there is always some sort of discrepancy. (Or maybe that's just us.)

(Tangentially the Second--I don't know why I am the person who is dealing with the bills, either.  Numbers...not so much my forte.  My mother was the bill payer when I was growing up, so I guess I just assumed the role because that was all I knew.)

So, if we can't eat, but we can be debt free, at least I'll look really good in my wedding dress. :)