If you recieve child support how do u spend it?

Quoting PumpkinSpice8:
CS is put into the bank account with every other check. Basically just added to the budget. LO has everything she needs and our bills are paid every month. There is no this is for this, this, and this... And that is for that, that, and that. If we need something we buy it.
that's the thing, how can you say I paid the light bill with CS money but I bought my plane tickets to Aruba with that other money. It's all one pot. Even if you have separate accounts, it's still all one pot.


Quoting whatIknownow:
Quoting PumpkinSpice8:
CS is put into the bank account with every other check. Basically just added to the budget. LO has everything she needs and our bills are paid every month. There is no this is for this, this, and this... And that is for that, that, and that. If we need something we buy it.
that's the thing, how can you say I paid the light bill with CS money but I bought my plane tickets to Aruba with that other money. It's all one pot. Even if you have separate accounts, it's still all one pot.

I'll tell you one thing... my DD21 is fixin to graduate from college in May, and then CS for her stops!
WAAAAHHHHH. My ex (well, his wife really) pays $850 per month in CS for our two kids (DD21 and DS19), and now I guess it will be cut in half.
UGH. Good thing I'm getting that trip to Aruba in before the gravy train dries up!

CS comes in when it comes in. It is never the same day and never can be counted on. Many times it has not been sent and payments have not been 'made' up when missed. Like if I missed my mortgage payment, I would still owe that money and I quite possibly would have bill collectors calling me for the past due amount that I 'skipped'. Unfortunately it does not work that way.
I use CS as I see fit. It all goes in to one bucket and comes out the same. I do take a small % each month and put it in to a savings account for my daughter. It will more than likely be a college fund or even a car fund one day. My husband and I combine our finances and while we do not calculate CS as income in our budget, we do use it. We use it wherever it falls. If all my bills are paid and then CS comes in, CS might pay for Ds daycare or it might pay for DD to buy a book at the book fair. Or it might buy a gift for a birthday party. It is reimbursing me for what I've already paid to provide for our child. Quite honestly, CS usually ends up being 'fun' money for the family because the bills get paid regardless of whether it comes in or not. The child has already been provided for, so now we get to use the 'extra' money for something fun. There were lots of times my husband paid for my daughter to go to the doctor or to take dance or whatever so I don't have a problem at all in combining the CS with our household monies.

Quoting whatIknownow:I'll tell you one thing... my DD21 is fixin to graduate from college in May, and then CS for her stops!
WAAAAHHHHH. My ex (well, his wife really) pays $850 per month in CS for our two kids (DD21 and DS19), and now I guess it will be cut in half.
UGH. Good thing I'm getting that trip to Aruba in before the gravy train dries up!

My husband is the bread winner so he foots more of the bill than ex dh or I foot for dd but really, this is what he wanted. He doesn't want me to work another job to make more money. He really wants me to be a SAHM and to have another baby. However I love my job and do not want to be at home. I like being out in the working world. But he would much rather I be home and he knows that he would be footing the bill for all of us if I stayed home.
Let's say, if I get $100 a week in pay. $100 a week in CS. I have $200 in my bank account. I go to the store and buy groceries and toilet paper, shampoo and Lysol; I spend $150. How will I know how much toilet paper dd is going to use for me to divide it out? And how will I know who's money paid for the shampoo?
Quoting viv212:
I am actually really tempted to buy things I shouldn't with my CS this month. I'm not going to lie. I justify it because I went 11 years with no CS so this money I can use on me.
OP- I usually only spend it on my dd but I do ocassionally use the money for the house to keep functioning. I think not using to buy groceries is a little selfish if you need to put food on the table but at the same time, don't let it become a habit to only spend it on bills. Then when your kids need something, where is the money going to come from? Your husband?
- PumpkinSpice8
Silver Member on Jan. 31, 2013 at 4:20 PM