Mary Gonzalez 🥉

Quick note - To keep it fair with mismatched incomes have each of you auto-transfer the same percentage of take-home pay to the joint bills account rather than the same dollar amount. Build a half-month buffer in that account first so mismatched paydays don’t cause timing stress, then keep a few round-number autopays there (rent, utilities, 1/12 sinking funds, and a weekly grocery transfer to a dedicated card). Biggest pitfall I’ve hit is shared purchases landing on personal cards; set a hard rule to use only the joint grocery card for groceries and immediately reimburse from the joint account if something slips.

Search the sub. This gets posted every week. Read the sticky on furnishing on a budget. Locked.

Learned the hard way when the braces deposit and a camp payment landed the same Friday my CD matured on Monday. The rate looked great until I could not touch it without a mess. For an emergency fund, I care about transfer speed, daily caps, and whether they can push to my checking fast. Turn off auto-renew the day you open the CD and put a reminder so you hit the grace period. If you share money, set it up as joint or add beneficiaries so the insurance and access are clean.

Price the fancy room, don't pretend it's equal. Utilities go thirds. Tiny household kitty buys consumables. Groceries are individual unless you like arguments.