What's your approach to money?

Haphazard is probably the mot juste, although I do keep detailed records neatly filed simply because I am self-employed.

As for money's approach to me – the mot juste in that case would be infrequent.

What's my approach to money?

Well, I rarely get to approach much of it!!

How do I manage money? I'm from Yorkshire. Nuff said.

We have a folder and everything is listed in it in case we are wiped out together and DDs have to sort out our(my) tangled accounts/ investments. I am also keeping up a disk of where everything is in case of need. It doesn't take much time if you have a short cut on the desktop and then every so often burn a disk if that is the right terminology

DH & I had no money really when first together (I was a student he was a new teacher) so not able to splurge or save..just got by and bought second hand/ used hand me downs etc etc. Cut according to our cloth! This was pretty much the pattern until kids left home!

We are in a more comfortable position now but never got into the habit of financial planning as we had so little to plan with! I know what the fixed outgoings are and what is left to spend /save for treats and that's what I do!!

as i'm close to picking up my pension yet still working as a full-time singer/musician,I have to be careful with my money especially as it's getting harder now to find work as younger singers are now having to perform in care-homes due to the closure of social clubs and pubs.

Wise words, Greatnan. When my dear DIL lost her father 10 years ago, it turned out that her mother couldn't even write a cheque and hadn't a clue about household finances. She was then a millstone round the poor girl's next for at least 2 or 3 years, phoning in tears every time a bill arrived or a form to be filled in.

I am also a spreadsheet person and track money carefully. I live frugally so that I can afford to travel a bit and enjoy my hobbies. I know that if I keep dipping into my savings sooner or later I will have to sell my house and downshift, but what the heck? Sometimes I think it would be great to know exactly how many years we have left, althouhg I know there's a downside to that.

if you look after the pennies, the pounds take care of themselves!

Pound foolish and penny wise I'm afraid.

Well she can be a know all anyway!

And mothers! Mine are all in order and dd knows all!

Not hard, just practical. When you are grieving, the last thing you need is anxiety about finances. I think the last loving thing you can do is to make sure your affairs are in good order. That goes for wives as well as husbands, of course.

When my husband knew he was dying I insisted he made lists and got everything up to date.
Seems hard I know, but am I glad idid!

Oh dear Greatnan perhaps you should tell DH that. I took over the finances 2 years after we married when I found out we were paying interest on the credit card. At one point when I wasn't working all our savings were in my name to save on tax and now all DH has is his ISAs, I have the rest.

I have everything on a spreadsheet with review dates when introductory bonuses run out etc. but can't get him to look at it all. I suppose he will just have to sort it out if I go first.

DH worries about money but I don't as I know what we have. I keep telling him not to but he still does.

I was also the one who bought and sold all our various houses as we moved around. I think he would be lost if he had to do these things.

Oh, Greatnan you are so right! I have my own ISAs etc, and my own credit card and bank account as well as the joint one; I am perfectly happy for Theseus to be my accountant but do need to know details. He is so happy to tell me! (At length, sometimes, until I call a halt and give him a Jamiesons)

One of my all time favourite CDs is Nigel Kennedy's Doors Concerto - Riders On The Storm. Absolutely beautiful.

I find it much more cost effective to buy my paperbacks from a supermarket

I hope that those of you who have husbands who take care of your finances do still know all the necessary information, about bank accounts, insurances, wills, pensions, etc.
When I worked in Brussels as a financial advisor, I was amazed at how many seemingly intelligent women had no idea of their family's financial situation - sometimes not even the name of their bank! I don't know what they would do if their husband died unexpectedly. One silly woman told me it was morbid to discuss insurance!

Got beyond track 2 and realised..it was rubbish after all. Will try Black Rebel Motorcycle Club next.

DD2 was mad on Nigel.

I've just dug Elton. DH out on Wednesdays so I can let it blare. (No close neighbours!)

No. Don't ditch your cd's.

crimson music is only rubbish sometimes and perfectly good at others depending what mood you are in. I drag old cd's out wondering "what the hell was I thinking when I bought that" and then other times I might stumble upon it and really enjoy it.

We recently moved house to be nearer grandchildren (never again) and couldn't believe the cr*p we had collected over the years !

......blimey; just dug Nigel out from the back of the cd shelf and it's quite listenableto; must've been into something else when I bought it [it was when he was on telly all the time years back].

As I'm [still] having my 'clear out' I'm finding so many things that I regret buying, usually clothes that have been bought for special occasions and then hardly worn. At such times I tend to go into town and get carried away, not sure what to buy and purchasing far too much, whereas I'd be better spending money on everyday clothes that I would get wear out of. My feet are my main problem; as soon as I find shoes that are comfortable and stock up on them something else goes wrong with me feet and I never wear them again. Bought a beautiful pair of shoes for my daughters wedding that looked so chic I couldn't believe that a] they didn't hurt and b] I could walk in them, only for my knee to go wonky which put paid to heels. Stocked up on Nike Air trainers whenever they were in a sale only to find one day that they hurt horribly, and this is after years of wearing them with no problem. As for everyday things I find that splashing out occasionally on something that I know will make me happy [I'm thinking at the moment about buying a pair of greyhounds [not real ones!] to put over the fireplace as I know I'll look at them and feel uplifted]. CD's are awful; am I the only person to have the world's largest collection of rubbish music? Like Nigel Kennedy [why oh why?]. As for food, the S.O. loves shoping and gets all the Sainsburys bargains so we're quite frugal in that respect. And I've stopped backing the horses because it was costing me more in petrol to get to the bookies than I was winning [sob]. 3 for 2 purcheses are a pain also; I think Waterstones have stopped that now [?] as I have piles of unread books. Maybe I should go into town more often and then I wouldn't go into a sort of buying frenzy when I do? Oh, and I'm very careful with using loyalty cards [good old Boots] and the the banks NEVER get interest out of me !

I have a rubbish relationship with money. I very rarely have any to spare and on the rare occasions that I do you can bet your bottom dollar that something will happen or breakdown that I will have to pay out for.

To be honest I have never expected to be or wished to be rich I just wish sometimes there was a little bit spare for a treat or dare I say a holiday. At the same time I can never see the point of hoarding money and examining bank balances just for the thrill of seeing the noughts and believe you me I know people who do just that ! I would give anyone anything and always fall for anyone'e hard luck tale so probably would always be broke anyway.

I like to spend a bit when I feel like it. But I like to feel our old age has been well catered for. Really don't want to be hard up in later life.