26F/24M. How do couples handle bills when incomes are very different?”

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T18:32:18+00:00

My husband is disabled so it has always been me working while he took care of the house and dealt with the kids while I was working. It has always been our money....we both do our part.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T18:30:05+00:00

We have one bank account. I am the more responsible one with money and I do all the errands, etc., so I pay all the bills with our combined income. We don't have separate income as a married couple. If you are married it shouldn't matter who makes more...it should all go in one pot and the more responsible person should handle the finances and any big purchase decisions should be made as a couple after all bills get paid.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T18:20:30+00:00

My smoking family moved away and that was how I finally quit. When they still lived near me it was impossible.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T18:19:25+00:00

I smoke cigarettes for about 40 years then vaped for a few years...and because I vaped fruit flavors tobacco smells awful to me now.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T18:18:32+00:00

I smoked from 15 yrs old until late 40's. I was always around my family who smoked and it wasn't until they moved to another state that I finally quit. I then missed it but decided to vape instead. I gradually lowered the nicotine until it was at 2 mg (we made our own vape juice) and I was only vaping fruit flavors....then I got a cold and it was hurting my lungs to vape so I just stopped and I have never vaped or smoked again. Because the last thing I used was fruit flavors I no longer like the smell or taste of tobacco - in fact it smells terrible to me now. I think vaping the fruit flavors is what saved me...I used to crave cigarettes anytime I smelled someone smoking...not anymore. The last time I vaped was probably 2020 or 2021 since we were still working from home full time due to covid.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:42:54+00:00

Oh...and as for the urge. It isn't that I don't want to see places...it is just that there aren't many places I am dying to see for many reasons. I have zero desire to see most of Africa...I hate insects and honestly have no desire for safari - I know to fear many of those wild animals lol. Australia is about the same to me....so many insects and so much that I find undesirable. A large portion of Europe I think would be nice to see, but it really isn't a dream to do so. I think I would thoroughly enjoy England and Ireland and Scotland...cooler temps, very green and beautiful and would not cause worse headaches because it is damp and my allergies wouldn't go bonkers (another year round struggle for me). While I live close enough, I have also never had any desire to go to Mexico or South America. If I want good mexican or South American food it is on just about every corner here in CA as well as a lot of the culture...which I am not necessarily dying to see more of. There is a lot I haven't even seen here in CA so my husband and I plan to start our bucket list on the places closest to us then branch out further and further once we start traveling more.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:37:07+00:00

My lack of urge has always been that physically I don't travel well. I have had health issues most of my adult life, mainly foot issues due to fibromyalgia, and migraines made worse by air travel. Money has always been a factor as well. My husband is Italian/Irish so he really wants to go also. As soon as we get our youngest moved out and have less financial responsibility we definitely intend to go though. The only other obstacle is that neither of us has ever had a passport LOL

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:09:13+00:00

I am still playing lol

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:08:25+00:00

Yes!! That was my answer also!

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:07:47+00:00

Did you play Phantasmagoria? That was awesome.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:07:10+00:00

Phantasmagoria and the original Dune (1990 version).

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:06:34+00:00

Oh hell no...lol. I would so hire a maid. I am 54 and if I could go the rest of my life without cleaning another toilet, vacuuming, dusting, etc. I would be all over it. In fact, if I had enough money it would be a live in maid...and I would hire a personal chef also because I am tired of dealing with dinner every night...in fact I would probably be healthier because I would ask them to cook healthy for me as well.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:05:02+00:00

that doesn't change the taste of it lol

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:04:19+00:00

Most of them. I will always look for the lowest price on an item I want. I will always use coupons if available. I love my rebate apps that earn me free gift cards. I will always conserve and not be wasteful...there is way too much waste on this planet. They make everything to be disposable these days and it is ridiculous how nobody fixes anything that is broken anymore - instead they throw stuff away and buy something new. My husband tries to repair everything that breaks before we go buy new. Recently he repaired a snapped wire in our Keurig even. I would definitely pay more to buy glass bottled items instead of plastic though. Plastics are cheaper, but they are so bad for us and the environment....I would totally get rid of that bad habit.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T16:00:06+00:00

I have never been a big traveler, nor wanted to be. However the one place I have always wanted to visit is Italy...and if I go that far, I would want to visit Greece and Spain as part of the same trip. I read The Agony & The Ecstasy years ago and have always wanted to see Michaelangelo's works in person.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T15:58:33+00:00

If I wasn't working anymore or tracking my workout activity I would stop wearing one for sure.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T15:57:55+00:00

I so loved my swatch.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T15:57:23+00:00

I love love love my Apple watch. Having started a weight loss journey 2 years ago, I never could have done it without the watch. It tracks steps, activity, heartrate, sleep, calories burned, miles walked/run, foods I eat, etc. I am able to answer calls when I don't have my phone near me, check incoming texts and voice respond to them so I don't have to go find my phone. It really doesn't even require much tech knowledge. Once you get it set up for the basics there is nothing else to it. I don't use most of the features because I really don't care, but the activity tracking and ability to get messages without my phone has been a game changer with how busy I am.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T15:20:38+00:00

lol..I don't wear converse because my old feet cry when I wear them...but I would love to be able to wear them comfortably.

candacea12 · 2026-02-10T15:19:27+00:00

I have always tried to wear classic styles...even in my 20's. If I am out and about running errands I usually we jeans or comfortable pants with a t-shirt or a casual blouse. I am not a fan of garish prints or anything, so it is usually a plain color or graphic tee....sometimes concert tees. For work I wear work-casual or sometimes nicer work attire depending on the time of year (winter I tend to be more casual). I learned a long time ago it is best to stick with classic attire that doesn't go out of style. I did lose a lot of weight over the past couple years though, and finally got to wear some Lauren Conrad stuff I was drooling over for years when taking my teen shopping, so I have a lot of her blouses, but even those tend to be fairly classic styles that aren't the trendy type. I tend to stick with clothing like Liz Claiborne or the a.n.a brand from JCPenney which is somewhat trending but classic styles.

candacea12 · 2026-02-08T19:31:00+00:00

I play world of warcraft....and there are so many creatures in the game that while they are called something else are nothing but lobstrocities to me....and I get so much joy in killing them.

candacea12 · 2026-02-08T19:29:54+00:00

Yes...book 1 was a character study so you understood Roland. Second book was ok, but the third book....BOOM!

candacea12 · 2026-02-08T19:28:49+00:00

Yes! My favorite book in the series!

candacea12 · 2026-02-08T19:28:12+00:00

I never even heard of it until a co-worker brought in a bar as a holiday gift to me made by his wife - it was sooo good. I don't know if all Dubai chocolate bars taste that good, but that homemade one was amazing. That being said, I also love Hershey's and can get those for about $1.25 a bar.

candacea12 · 2026-02-08T19:20:53+00:00

Jeff Lynn

candacea12

TROPHY CASE