It’s a classic from sitcoms, and I even remember it showing up in cartoons when I was a child- After the husband makes some bone-headed mistake that costs the family their grocery or rent money- which they cannot afford to lose- by buying something foolish or getting scammed by a con man, the wife pulls out the proverbial “cookie jar” and has enough money to take care of the family emergency caused by the husband’s mistake.
I am sure there were some cartoon episodes where George Jetson or Fred Flintstone did this very same thing. And for the younger, hip generation (which I probably include myself erroneously 
, I remember an episode or two of the The Simpsons where Marge pulls out the jar from her hair and saves the day after one of Homer Simpson’s escapades.
But is it really OK to hide money from your spouse?
There are certain cases I am sure, when it is absolutely justified, like a wife planning on leaving
an abusive husband, etc. But what about a seemingly healthy relationship?
I am sure it happens a lot more than people think.
And quite a bit of it my not be intentional. Everyone is different. One person may see a need to stockpile or stash some cash, while the other feels perfectly secure with their finances.
Personally I don’t really have a problem with it, if it is done with one spouse’s allowance, or fun money, or if it is done in small increments over time with no malicious intent, I don’t see the big deal.
But if one person is taking significant amounts out of the household budget for some specific, secret purpose, or even for an undefined future use, I do not think that it is a good idea for a relationship.
What is your take on hiding money from your spouse?
Is it OK in moderation or as long as there is no sinister intent? Or is it never a good idea–or somewhere in between?
Similar Posts:
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- Don’t Wait on Someone Else or Some Future Event to Fix Your Finances
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I say it’s never acceptable. Your spouse should be the one person you never have to lie to about anything.
My dad would stash money away for something he thought we needed. He thought it was the right thing to do so that we could have these things. The problem was that the things we needed was a new computer or a vacation. Meanwhile we’re past due on the electric bill. Not exactly like the cartoons.
@ Slinky- I understand your point- hiding money, without paying attention to bills and such can lead to big problems.
i think one should share money matters when they are in a relationship
because money can cause serious problems and i do agree that some couples do not prefer to share their money matters with each other
but there is a trick that you can learn in order to get rid of this problem
leran it here