How to conduct the family budget, that all were satisfied

A simple technique which will allow each spouse to spend money on something that he wants.

Scott Hanselman

for Microsoft web technologies expert. In his blog, Podcasts and videos he talks about gadgets, IT and personal effectiveness.

I recently bought a game console, which had long dreamed of. I brought home purchase and shamelessly bragged to my wife. She, by the way, absolutely not interested in such entertainment.

"It's great - she said. - This is a new set-top box, has been talked about on the radio, "No condemnation?. Any questions about the price. No morals. How is this possible?

The thing is that my wife and I give each other cash out of pocket expenses.

When we get paid, we put a certain amount of money to the account. Then take the same amount for personal expenses. After that, pay bills and taxes. The remaining money goes into savings.

We used to accuse each other of that spend a lot of money for a personal whim. I - in the game, and his wife - on clothes. These costs were an obstacle to our larger goals.

Therefore my wife have a great idea. First you need to pay yourself. Private money can be spent as you wish. And for that, no one will blame. Each of us is free to dispose of the pocket means at its discretion.

This system has many advantages. We have minimized the expenses with credit cards. We know exactly how much money we have and how much we can afford to spend. And we show the children a good example financial planning.