All of this is a bit strange to me. Since we've been married (32 years now) we always operated on a system of each of us having a certain amount of discretionary income for our own use each month (my kids call this our grown-up allowance). Hence, when either of us wants something just for us, it always comes about because we've saved enough of our discretionary income. Now, with that said, part of the reason this system works is because we've both been willing to use our personal discretionary income to purchase surprise gifts for one another, or help with a purchase that was big enough it was going to take some considerable saving.