Last week our bi-annual water bill arrived. In any household the sign of bills on the mat is always an unwelcome one but this one was a absolute whopper – over £550! Bloody hell. I was pretty sure either James had a secret bath obsession or we had a leak. I was convinced our usual bill equated to around £40 a month and that the was pretty normal but decided to check in with The Oracle, or rather our team instant messaging group to see what the general consensus was. Let me tell you there was a varied response.

Turns out for several reasons Lisa would prefer Rich didn’t get run over by a bus. One of those factors being that he’s in charge of the household bills and it’s the same in the O’Shea household. Our favourite cake baker, Lottie also hands over management of the finances to her other half too. That’s not to say they weren’t contributing to bills just neither of these lovely ladies could tell me what to expect from a water bill.
Laura on the other hand was on it like a shot and is still in possessions of every bill since the year dot. In her words, household finances were just another ‘lady job’.

It’t not a particularly stylish topic however personally I find how couples manage their households and finances utterly fascinating. In fact do you remember this post on splitting chores way back when we were in our infancy? I’m so nosy curious about the whole subject. As it happens we have got a leak and thankfully don’t have to pay the bill, but if we did it would come from the joint bookkeeping account which we both contribute to every month. In terms of actual management of these bills, it’s whoever gets there first, though most are paid by direct debit where the set-up was split between us equally.

If you’re curious to know how it works in the Coleman household then I’ll keep it brief. I divvy up my monthly income into four accounts; the joint to cover shopping, mortgage and bills; the tax bill fund and general savings. What’s left (which isn’t much) is mine to spend as I jolly well like. It works for us and means we both have a joint stake in financially running our home and the bills that come in as well as feeling guilt-free if either of gets invited on a solo trip.

How does it work around at your house? Do you split things equally or does it depend on your income? If you’ve got little ones, has this changed since you became a family?

The header image is taken from my old house but I’ve added a new blackboard and the same baskets to my new kitchen. Sadly the baskets are no longer available but Maisons Du Monde have some stupendous zingy yellow ones (which could be sprayed if you fancy another colour). On the subject of spraying, the wall lamp started life as the Clay Chiswick Wall Light from Garden Trading which James sprayed black.