Do you know how much your spouse makes?

[QuarterMillionMan]

According to this article 4 out of 10 couples don't have a clue.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2015/06/24/four-in-ten-couples-dont-know-how-much-their-partner-makes/29168151/

If you fall into that 4 out of 10, it might be a good time to get financially naked with your significant other. I'm single but dating another public sector employee such as myself so I have a general idea what she makes which is about the same as me.

[kork13]

Interestingly, I actually know my wife's income probably better than she does... I'm a finance nut, whereas she isn't terribly concerned about the particulars of our money. She's happy to let me mostly manage our finances, and I basically just keep her informed of what's going on. I keep her involved/informed of what I'm doing, especially when I'm fiddling with stuff such as her personal retirement accounts (Roth IRA & TSP), but as long as she knows we're doing good in the big picture, she doesn't worry too much about the particulars.

Thinking about it, though, I realize that we might be one of "those couples" anyway, because I'm not sure if she knows exactly (or perhaps even approximately) what I earn... But she does know that I earn somewhat more than her, and that if needed, we could subsist on either one of our incomes alone. Which is probably sufficient for now, I suppose.

One thing I think that DOES help her stay informed is that our bank allows us to monitor a litany of outside accounts in one screen, basically by letting the bank's website login & download balances/transactions from all of our various accounts (between 3 banks plus Vanguard & our TSP accounts). Anytime either of us login to our bank accounts, we see all of our accounts listed in one place, which I think gives us both a simple way of knowing where we stand, at least on the assets/liabilities side.

[phantom]

I wonder how the question is asked: current salary or how much was earned in 2014? I also wonder whether or not people were allowed to go look, and how precise they were expected to be. Off the top of my head, I could tell you within 2k what my husband and I each make in a year. But, I might be off by as much as 6k if I tried to remember exactly how much either of us made in 2014. Maybe with some thought and a calculator, I could get the numbers closer. My husband has a better memory for numbers than I do, so he might have an easier time than me.

The same goes for questions about how much we have saved. We both have a ballpark idea, but we'd need to go look some things up to be sure. As for when we'll retire, how comfortable we want to be when we do it, and thus how much we need to save, we know we're on slightly different pages about that. But, we're content to save lots now and fine tune our expectations and plan when retirement gets closer.

The important thing is that my husband and I both know where to go look up the numbers when it matters, specifically when we need to review our plan. But, within a few days of planning, all of those numbers fade from my mind. That's what Mint, GnuCash, and spreadsheets are for.

[bjl584]

Yes.

I think it would be insane to not know. But then again, this is a financial forum. Most people on here are going to answer "yes" to that question.

[scfr]

More or less, yes. My husband is self-employed so his income fluctuates. I always have a general sense of how things are going (OK, not the best year, an awesome year, etc) but don't want or need a formal accounting until he gives me the numbers for the tax return. I show my husband my pay stub periodically (if he's around when I print it out). We have an "open book" policy with each other when it comes to our finances.

[disneysteve]

I know exactly how much my wife makes to the penny: $0.00. What do I win?

Interestingly, I actually know my wife's income probably better than she does... I'm a finance nut, whereas she isn't terribly concerned about the particulars of our money.

When she was working, this would have fit us as well. I manage the financial stuff so I was the one dealing with this on a day to day basis. Her paychecks were direct deposited so she never saw them. She pretty much knew her hourly wage but if you asked her how much she made a week or a month, I don't think she could have told you.

[Singuy]

Yes, being a financial forum, I think your will end up getting some skewed results. I do my wife's payroll and taxes.

[tripods68]

I think the biggest problem today is not enough communications between husband and wife about finances. Hence, most end up in divorce and #1 reason.

Both wife and I are in sync doing our monthly budgets...I don't see us going back the old ways and number reason our marriage have flourish---now that we are debt free except the mortgage. It is the MAIN reason we got rid of all our debt. Planning and Budgeting are the key reasons.

[dawnwes]

Yes. I can't imagine NOT knowing. I do all the bills.

[rob62521]

Like others, yes, both of us know what each other makes.

[riverwed070707]

Interestingly, I actually know my wife's income probably better than she does... I'm a finance nut, whereas she isn't terribly concerned about the particulars of our money. She's happy to let me mostly manage our finances, and I basically just keep her informed of what's going on. I keep her involved/informed of what I'm doing, especially when I'm fiddling with stuff such as her personal retirement accounts (Roth IRA & TSP), but as long as she knows we're doing good in the big picture, she doesn't worry too much about the particulars.

Thinking about it, though, I realize that we might be one of "those couples" anyway, because I'm not sure if she knows exactly (or perhaps even approximately) what I earn... But she does know that I earn somewhat more than her, and that if needed, we could subsist on either one of our incomes alone. Which is probably sufficient for now, I suppose.

Ditto this. It's not a secret - we both have our checks direct deposited and either could log in and see what's been made or spent at any time but I'm more interested in analyzing it than he is.

[MonkeyMama]

Yes, we've always had a team mentality about our finances. This would be hard to do if you didn't know what spouse was bringing in. We are both very aware of our entire financial picture together.

[Like2Plan]

Yes, I know how much my spouse makes. I keep track of his pay slips. He knows approximately what I make in retirement, but he doesn't really drill down to the level of detail that I do. (I verify that the proper deductions and so on are being made on DH's pay.)

[summerdsea]

That seems crazy to me haha. I know how much my spouse makes. I am in charge of all of our finances.