The Minnesota Farm Woman

My husband and I keep separate checking accounts. It is one of the things we do to stay happily married. Experts say one of the most common marital arguments is about money, and our problem went so much deeper than that. For some reason, he thinks that when you write a check or use your debit card, you must immediately write it down and subtract it. Yes, right away. He also thinks that a checkbook should be balanced every month.

I haven’t balanced a checkbook since 1987.  Getting out of the habit was caused by multitasking, I think.  You women will know what I mean. I would be at the grocery store checkout lane, pushing a shopping cart with a squirmy toddler inside who was  grabbing the candy bars off the rack and sitting on the bread.   I would  simultaneously unload  the groceries to  the belt, return the candy to the proper place and try to remember both my debit card code and the store account numbers.  Any change and/or receipts would be crammed into my purse.   I then had to drive home, getting gas along the way which generates yet another receipt, put the groceries away and start supper while making sure the toddler wasn’t  into the dog’s water bowl.  Oh, no! Is that the receipt she is dipping in there? I was going to write that down! Even though my toddler is now 26, it seems like it was just yesterday and I am still not subtracting the amount, or even writing it down.  Old habits die hard, and besides, I know how much money is in there.   I think.

When my husband  shops, he needs to buy only a few  things. Beer.  Chips. Ice cream.  Simply paid for with a $20 bill, the change neatly put in his billfold and pocket. If he uses a check or debit card, he subtracts it right away.  His checkbook even has a pen inside.  He  opens those statements the credit union sends him and balances his account  each and every month.  I’ll bet the cash in his wallet is arranged from smallest to largest bills. I love him despite this borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder, and besides, he does the dishes every night. (If I may digress here, this is another tip for a long and happy marriage.)

Despite the separate accounts, the money in them is shared equally.  Just the other day, he asked me if I had any extra to put into our retirement fund before tax time.  Of course I do. You betcha. I think so.  Well, maybe.  I’ll know for sure after a quick trip to the ATM to check my balance.