Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Whose Job Is It?

What to do on a rainy day when you don't want to clean house, you've finished your puzzle, you've done your exercise and you're feeling too lazy to do anything else?    I balanced the check books.  In a weird sort of way I actually enjoy doing it.  I handle the small "books" here and Mac does the big ones.  Which means that I pay the bills and keep the check books in a reasonable state.
He handles the investment accounts and deals with the taxes.  I would hate doing that--keeping track of investment expenses and figuring out how to get some of our money back from Uncle Sam--too much math.  But I think he just taps into his inner Uncle Scrooge.
I don't mind the day to day expenses, getting everything paid on time or early, making sure we carry no balances on credit cards, deciding when we can afford some new item (a new computer) and budgeting for it.
He likes scouring through obscure tax laws and finding us the most deductions he can, figuring out which dividends we don't need to declare and which losses we can deduct and how he can keep the government's hands off of as much of our money as he can.
When I took early retirement and was filling out all my paperwork with my employer they suggested I hire a personal finance advisor.  I laughed and pointed to Mac, who had retired a year ahead of me, and told them he was the only advisor I needed, that he was the reason we could take early retirement.
We make a good pair.  We never argue over money, never have.

5 comments:

  1. Sounds like the perfect match!

    We decided who was best with finances would handle the checkbooks... I handle the checkbooks.

    Have to be careful in retirement, so I am.

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  2. I've always handled our finances, I think it comes from working in a bank all my life. It does get on my nerves though, I wish Mick would take over from me sometimes, but then I'd have to look over his shoulder to check he was doing it right.

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  3. We have a similar breakdown of duties but your Mac sounds as if he's really switched on with regard to big money matters.

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  4. It sounds like you're a perfect match, I do all our finances although I don't always do them very well! Wish it was someone else's job!

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  5. I think you have a system going there .
    Perfect arrangement
    Lovely to have you visit , don't eat too many Easter eggs
    xx

    ReplyDelete

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