Help with very simple arithmetic please, my wife has broken both our brains

[mikeymikec]

Scenario: Joint credit card bill, my wife has gone through it to determine which transactions are for herself only (so she'll pay for those herself), and which are 'us' transactions for us to share the cost of.

Let's say the cc bill is £800, and my wife has spent £50 on herself.

Yesterday evening she boggled her own brain and gave up, then this morning showed me the two ways she could calculate it which both add up to £800 yet give different amounts for each of us to pay, and then my mind was boggled.

The way I would calculate it is this:

800 minus the "her" transaction is 750, divide 750 by 2 = 375 (my payment), then add that 50 on to her payment 375 + 50 = 425 (her payment). 375 + 425 = 800. Yay.

The way she showed me this morning:

800 / 2 = 400. Take 50 from my side and add it to her side. She pays 450, I pay 350.

I feel deep down that the solution she showed me this morning is wrong. I think it's because she's penalising herself twice for her £50 transaction, but I'm surprised that it ends up totalling to the correct amount anyway which makes me wonder whether I'm wrong even though I know perfectly well there's probably 800*800 different ways (I pulled that figure out of my ass) of adding two figures to make 800

 

[Sooon]

375 and 425 is correct. The total on the second one is still 800 because you’re starting at the right total and just adding/subtracting the same amount from each of your portions. Total stays the same, but the amount you each owe is incorrect. Her way is wrong because at the starting point (400 each), she is already paying for half of her £50 purchase and you are paying half. To make things right, she has to pay for the half you’re covering (£25), so add 25 to her portion and subtract 25 from yours.

 

[lykaon78]

Ignore the 50. You're splitting $750 in joint expenses which is 375 each. Now she pays her additional 50 for a total of $425. 375+425=800.

 

[mikeymikec]

Thanks for the sanity check

 

[NoCreativity]

I would still go with her math. Keep an extra 25 for yourself and she gets to be "right"

 

[gorcorps]

I would still go with her math. Keep an extra 25 for yourself and she gets to be "right"

wise man here

 

[boomerang]

I would still go with her math. Keep an extra 25 for yourself and she gets to be "right"

That's a win-win. Gotta grab onto those when they present themselves.

 

[Kaido]

Scenario: Joint credit card bill, my wife has gone through it to determine which transactions are for herself only (so she'll pay for those herself), and which are 'us' transactions for us to share the cost of.

Let's say the cc bill is £800, and my wife has spent £50 on herself.

Yesterday evening she boggled her own brain and gave up, then this morning showed me the two ways she could calculate it which both add up to £800 yet give different amounts for each of us to pay, and then my mind was boggled.

The way I would calculate it is this:

800 minus the "her" transaction is 750, divide 750 by 2 = 375 (my payment), then add that 50 on to her payment 375 + 50 = 425 (her payment). 375 + 425 = 800. Yay.

The way she showed me this morning:

800 / 2 = 400. Take 50 from my side and add it to her side. She pays 450, I pay 350.

I feel deep down that the solution she showed me this morning is wrong. I think it's because she's penalising herself twice for her £50 transaction, but I'm surprised that it ends up totalling to the correct amount anyway which makes me wonder whether I'm wrong even though I know perfectly well there's probably 800*800 different ways (I pulled that figure out of my ass) of adding two figures to make 800

Life pro tip:

• Get two (separate) reloadable debit cards (many places have them now, like AMEX Serve)
• These are his & hers 'spending buckets'
• Setup a weekly auto-transfer with an allowance on it (whatever fits your budget & covers her needs for the week - going out to lunch, getting nails & hair done, etc.)
• No more problems like this...you can only spend what's in your account, and those accounts aren't tied to paying bills, so whatever is spent on them is a separate fund
• = No more having to figure out wife math

 

[Thebobo]

Pics?

 

[DigDog]

First math is correct.

 

[nace186]

Just look at the difference:
|375 - 425| = 50
|450 - 350| = 100

Obviously she didn't spend $100 more than you.

 

[Darwin333]

Post #5 is correct, ignore all others.

 

[BoomerD]

That's a win-win. Gotta grab onto those when they present themselves.

Until she realizes that she got screwed...then it will be 100% his fault.

 

[SKORPI0]

When it comes to money spending/joint accounts the woman's math is ALWAYS correct.

 

[highland145]

When it comes to money spending/joint accounts the woman's math is ALWAYS correct.

Yeah, mine says, "I'll give you a check for that charge." Do I get a check? No. When we had the yard landscaped, she and the landscaper added $6K worth of items. "I'll pay you for that." Have I seen that $6K? No.

<----sucker.

 

[DrunkenSano]

Until she realizes that she got screwed...then it will be 100% his fault.

Then the response is, "Honey, I didn't know. You are smarter than me so I missed that mistake too!"

 

[realibrad]

Yeah, mine says, "I'll give you a check for that charge." Do I get a check? No. When we had the yard landscaped, she and the landscaper added $6K worth of items. "I'll pay you for that." Have I seen that $6K? No.

<----sucker.

I may have broken the system, because, my GF pays for far more than I do.

 

[Stopsignhank]

Yeah, mine says, "I'll give you a check for that charge." Do I get a check? No. When we had the yard landscaped, she and the landscaper added $6K worth of items. "I'll pay you for that." Have I seen that $6K? No.

<----sucker.

Please have someone record it when you present her with the bill for the 6K with your interest added on.

 

[highland145]

Please have someone record it when you present her with the bill for the 6K with your interest added on.

lol...she'll write a check out of the joint checkbook.


Actually, she's pretty good, works 2 jobs, puts up with me so I'd better just shut up.

 

[BudAshes]

This is why you should stick with school until at least the 5th grade.

 

[brianmanahan]

i fully expected this to be a gold ball/silver ball question

 

[SamQuint]

reminds me of Abbott and Costello

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzxVyO6cpos

 

[Darwin333]

Until she realizes that she got screwed...then it will be 100% his fault.

It was her idea, he was just agreeing with her so it would entitle her admitting that she was wrong. In all likelihood she will never do that but if she does he wins either way.

 

[Darwin333]

Yeah, mine says, "I'll give you a check for that charge." Do I get a check? No. When we had the yard landscaped, she and the landscaper added $6K worth of items. "I'll pay you for that." Have I seen that $6K? No.

<----sucker.

She was probably banging him and they hatched a plan to squeeze you out of some money that they later split. So you're twice a sucker.

 

[TXHokie]

That's a win-win. Gotta grab onto those when they present themselves.

I can attest to the fact that as a married man, the chances of her being "right" while also in your favor rarely if ever exist. It's like you're staring at a unicorn and you're worrying about arithmetic.