Hi all! Following advice from Jesse , my wife and I each have our own “moo” categories, i.e. our own tiny discretionary funds. We keep them very low at $10/month, but it’s felt great to have some small quantity of bucks that we can use for whatever we want, no questions asked. Generally used for a latte or other treat (when we’re together, we do have a restaurant category we’ll use which is much bigger than $10!).

We’re now debating whether we should let our discretionary funds grow over time or not. Right now they simply reset to $10 each month. If it were to accrue, then we could save it for something bigger like a videogame or piece of nice but nonessential clothing.

My question is - does that defeat the purpose? If I know it can accrue month to month, I may never use it for a latte again, wanting instead to save it for something big. Maybe it’s good psychologically to know it’s going to reset each month if I don’t use it, so I’d better treat myself to that latte! And also if we really want something bigger, we generally just discuss then take it from the appropriate category. We don’t want to feel like we have to use our limited personal “moo” categories for things that we want. But - being married with shared finances - it’s fun to think I could save on my own for silly things like video games and not have to run them by the council each time :)
 

What do you think of these two options? How do you and your partner use discretionary categories if you have them?