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Who on here makes more then there DH

Lulu90's picture

I make more the DH like just a few thousand a year before taxes.

Anyone else?

Rags's picture

I make more than my DW but about 2.5X. But... we decided long ago that mine would be the primary career since she can do CPA stuff just about anywhere and my career is more geographically limited.

She has been on partner track twice which had we been geographically stable long enough would have flipped the script on our income hierarchy. I would make much less if we had not relocated regularly for my career (6X in 22+ years)and she would make notably more than she has made but not as much as I have made due to our mobile status.

I would welcome a great opportunity for her and having accomplished what we have financially in our globetrotting chase of my career I would be fine settling into a geographically stable role for the next 10-12 years and have her take the career focus and income lead until I/we retire. I can make a decent salary in a domestic geographically stable role just not what I make now.

We can get where we need to be for our retirement goals either by continuing internationally on my income and hers when she chooses to work or by returnign home and both of us working until we retire.

Rags's picture

Stick to the studies and you will pass the tests. DW took the last pen and paper tests in our home city. Four sections in two days in a big auditorium full of aspirants. She passed three of four sections and missed passing the fourth by 4 points. She took that section again a couple of months later in the new CBT format at a computer testing center and passed.

My wife has a dual major undergrad in Mgt/Acctg and always aspired to be an accountant/CPA all through high school. As for me... I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up. However, the Electrical Engineer/MBA thing is working out okay so far. I may just stick with it. Wink

She took the exam after she finished finished gradschool (MBA) in order to get the 30 additional hours that they implemented at that time. If she had graduated a semester earlier she would not have had to take the additional 30 hours to qualify for the exam. She took the Becker to prepare for the exam. She did the classroom based courses and also did the weekend cram sessions over two weekends before she sat for the comprehensive exam sessions. She says the cram sessions helped.

She recommends the classroom based Becker and the cram sessions. Worth the investment is what she says.

Hang in there and good luck. And... don't be too hard on your DH when you are prepping for the exams. When my bride's head would spin around on her shoulders and she would spout fountains of green pea soup while demanding that the kid and I leave her alone and figure out dinner for ourselves it was scary. Let me tell you. Wink

Lulu90's picture

It stinks. Now I have to get my masters and work for 1 year I believe to sit for the test right now I am thinking 5ish years.

Rags's picture

If you already have your undergrad you can get there in about 18-24 months. My wife worked her first professional job while she was in gradschool (she worked as a medicaid auditor for the state as an employee of contract service provider) so when she finished her MBA she had the experience and additional college hours to sit for the exam.

It was not easy by any means but it is doable.See if your state will allow you to get your additional hours on-line. Texas would not so DW had to go to night school for grad school. There are very likely a variety of program options through different schools that might work for you.

I did gradschool online while DW finished her undergrad and the first semester of her gradschool.

It takes flexibility, great communication between spouses, dedication, and strong cooperation and having each other's backs.

I applaud your goals and your dedication to making them happen.

Lulu90's picture

Thanks. I finished my undergrad a year ago. DH is on track to finish in 2 to 3 years with his undergrad in IT. We found after our son was born both of us cannot be in school at the same time. Our house is a disaster and at least one of us fails. So I will go back when he finishes. By the time I start SS will be 10 or 11, BS will be 4 or 5 and hopefully we will have another one that will be 1 or 2. School was very hard when I had a newborn I am not up for that again.

Glassslipper's picture

I make more than DH some years, other years not, he is a commission based I'm salary, so it depends if he has a good year or not, last year he was 30,000 more than me, this year I'm 20 to 30 more than him, it fluctuates,

Cover1W's picture

I have the steadier income, DH has contract positions.
He's realizing however that he also needs a steadier income.
I do believe I made more than him this year and he's really feeling it - as am I, making sure we keep on our debt payoff plan and keep up with the usual expenses. I'm due a promotion early in the next year which should come with a nice salary bump; but that bump is going 100% to debt reduction and he knows it.

Miss T's picture

My income (much more than his) and my property (a significant amount) are protected by a pre-nup. I'm debt-free and he's paying off a large school loan that he had to take out several years ago to re-train when the industry he was in went TU.

Everything goes to my favorite charity when I die. Bios, skid, and DH resent this. But DH, at least, has a reason to want me to stick around. :>

Miss T's picture

Good on ya about the insurance. I'm actually not that worried about DH. He's good to me, he's a hard worker, and he can be made to see reason about his kid's behavior, unlike some I read about here. He's demonstrated to me that he has a good sense of boundaries about what belongs to him and what does not. To date his grousing about being "rent boy" has been minimal, and he lives well. Complaining wouldn't benefit him much.

Skid is a different story. There is something decidedly unsavory about his attitude towards money--he's a mingy little shit, cheap and grasping, and does not have his father's generosity of spirit. I have observed him looking at my home and the things in it in a way that makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have no doubt that someday he will end up with everything his father owns, which SS has ensured will never include anything that is mine. I've worked very hard for what I have, and it hasn't been to benefit people who wouldn't piss on me if I was on fire.

Acratopotes's picture

nope SO is making about 3x more then me, specialized job and one of 4 in the country with the qualification...
He just can't get along with his money and goes into debt month after month,

I'm teaching him how to live poor, he does not know what I earn thus I make it a couple of thousand less then true,
he's trying his best now, he just can't imagine living like me, but I'm the one paying for most groceries and entertainment }:) oh the couple of thousand I do not tell him about goes straight into a trust fund for old age...

SM12's picture

I make twice what DH makes. I was blessed to find a career I loved and was good at in my mid 20's and have managed to increase my salary steadily.
DH dropped out of college his freshman year and has always worked steady but his income depends on commission so some years it is feast and some years it isn't so great.
The part that I wonder about is how he supported BM and three kids on his income. BM was a SAHM for their whole marriage except for the last 6 months.
I guess that explains why they lost their house in foreclosure...BM had high dollar taste on a poor mans budget.
I control the finances and we do just fine.

notsobad's picture

Nope, DH makes much much more than I do. I got laid off from my full time job last year but I do all the accounting for our small construction company, DH does all the work.

I'm a saver and he's a spender. He never had any money till we combined our incomes.
I took control of the finances and now we have an operating company and a holding company, both have a very healthy balance. We also have a very good retirement fund.
We live below our means but still vacation and drive newer safe cars.

DH doesn't have a problem with me handling the finances, I'm better at it than he is.

Rags's picture

Though we don't have a business my DW and I have a similar division of responsibilities and skills. Though she is a significant earner in her own right I am the primary earner and she manages our finances and keeps out credit score, bank balances, credit accounts, and investments extremely well managed.

Though I am not a spender, neither am I a particularly diligent manager of personal finances. Together we are far mroe than certainly I could be without her.

Thanks for sharing. Your story is an inspiration.

notsobad's picture

Even though I've told people on here to have separate finances, it makes me sad that it sometimes has to be that way.
I like that DH and I have a partnership, we each have our strengths and weaknesses and compliment each other.
I wish that was true for more couples.

bearcub25's picture

I never considered combining finances. I have adult kids, DSO has minor kids. I don't want anyone telling me I can't help out my kids if I choose to, since I earn it.
Same for DSO, he works hard for his money, he doesn't spend it much, but he should be able to do as he pleases for his kids and my blood pressure doesn't spike out of control.

Lulu90's picture

DH was the same. I handle the finances now and we have a savings. Not big but getting there. I need to get on top of the retirement stuff. We also both have investments that grandparents gave us years ago that we just let sit.

bearcub25's picture

I make 20K more than DSO at this point. His income has risen significantly since we have been together. His job is rebuilding auto parts and one of the best things about his job is that he doesn't have a drop off when the economy takes a hit, like here in WV, bc less money means people repair their cars instead of buying new.

I pay all household bills, DSO does pay a large credit card but he also supports his 2 kids 100%, he is CP and BM rarely helps out.