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“Whatever my wife and I have is “ours” - no matter who makes it. In fact, we don’t even buy each other presents anymore because as it’s coming from “our” money, it’s rather pointless. Instead, we go on vacations together or out to eat when we want to celebrate something. “

Having blasted you in the prior post, I now agree with your next sentence. After we were married a few year, it was obvious she wasn’t a gold-digger, and that was the end of keeping things apart, or even thinking about separate finances.

You part about not buying presents is EXACTLY what we do also. It’s silly. 15 years ago, I spent $200 on something...only to be told to take it back. Now nothing changes hands. If she wants something reasonable...she buys it - same for me. Much easier than stressing. No flowers or jewelry. If she wants it, she can buy it - heck she’ll like it more anyway. A lot less stress than spending hours trying to read each others’ minds.

Regarding the pre-nuptials, I don't blame you one bit for protecting yourself. My point I was making was that if you even have to think about pre-nuptials, than maybe the person you intend to marry is not the right one. Keeping separate finances in a marriage can be a source of friction that can damage or unravel a lot of marriages. However, if both marriage partners are mature enough and come into the marriage already having established financial independence for themselves, perhaps pre-nuptials can be made to work.

My wife and I share the same philosophy concerning "presents" to each other. If either of us want something for ourselves, we tend to go out and get it. However, we agreed early on that either one of us would have "veto" power on any significant purchase. This tends to keep the both of us from wasting our money on something stupid or frivolous.