Being married to a personal finance blogger can’t be easy. My better half must feel like every spending decision will be scrutinized and every transaction put under the microscope. Adding to her money anxiety is the fact that, as a stay-at-home partner, she doesn’t have her own income to spend on whatever she wants.
Even though we treat our household income as “our money” my wife still has spending needs that shouldn’t require an explanation or justification to her Mr. Multi-Category Budgeting Spreadsheet husband.
Fair enough. To get around this complicated issue my wife has her own credit card – not a joint credit card, but one in her name alone – along with her own chequing account and savings account. She chose Tangerine because, No Fees, obviously.
At the beginning of each month, when we’re moving money around to various accounts to meet our money goals, we also transfer $500 over to my wife’s chequing account, which we call the No Questions Asked spending account.
To the best of my knowledge that money gets spent on health and beauty products, home décor, coconut milk lattes, and Lululemon. She calls it self-care, which sounds good to me. Again, no questions asked.
About a year ago she applied for and started using the Tangerine Money-Back Credit Card. She liked that she could earn 2% Money-Back on some of the categories in which she regularly spends anyway.
The card gives you 2% Money-Back on purchases in two categories of your choice, such as groceries, restaurants, drug stores, and entertainment. When she told me she deposited her Money-Back Rewards into her Tangerine Savings Account to earn a third 2% Money-Back category, it was like we fell in love all over again.
My wife knows she won’t get rich earning rewards on $500 per month in spending. At most she’ll get $5 or $10 automatically deposited back into her savings account each month. It can add up, though. She’s already saved an extra $50 just through regular spending.
She’s smart with her spending, too; stocking up on beauty products when they’re on sale, personalizing her 2% Money-Back categories to the match her shopping habits, and even adjusting her preferences to a new category whenever a large purchase comes up so she can save 2% on it.
Money-Back categories include:
- Grocery (most popular)
- Restaurants
- Gas
- Recurring Bill Payments
- Drug Store
- Entertainment
- Furniture
- Hotel-Motel
- Home Improvement
- Public Transport and Parking
My wife uses the Tangerine trifecta – a no-fee daily chequing account paired with a high interest savings account, and Money-Back credit card – to spend and save her money in her own way.
By using this approach we have less overall money anxiety around our household budget, my wife establishes her own credit rating and builds a higher credit score, and she earns money-back on her everyday spending.
Time for a Giveaway! <— Win $250 from Tangerine!
What challenges have you faced with your household budget and everyday spending? Did you find a solution? Share them with me for the chance to win $250* courtesy of Tangerine!
There’s two ways to enter the contest:
Option #1
Leave a comment below sharing your own budgeting successes and/or difficulties, as well as your favourite Money-Back Credit Card category
Option #2
Retweet this tweet with a comment about your favourite Money-Back category and use the hashtag #TangerineMoneyBack. Be sure to follow me on Twitter.
Contest Rules:
Open to Canadian residents only. One entry per person. The winner will receive a $250 gift card to a retailer in their favourite spending category. Don’t have the Tangerine Money-Back card yet? You can sign up here.
Contest closes on July 27, 2018 at 8:00 p.m. EST and I will announce the winner on Twitter, plus here on the next edition of weekend reading, on July 28, 2018.
Good luck to all!
