Here is what I did; your results may vary.

For years I went unchecked and had full control over the budget. Everything went into one account and my wife just assumed I paid the bills. I spent the money instead.

Part of owning my bipolar meant giving my wife full control of the budget. I get paid bi-weekly and withdraw my paycheck once direct deposit hits. Together we don't have a bank account, mainly because I took out payday loans and got us on Chexsystems. I don't have a traditional bank account, instead I have an American Express Serve card. There is a max withdraw amount of $700 at a time, so I take my paycheck out over multiple withdraws. My wife has access to the Serve account, so she can see what I was paid, what I withdrew, and what I spent money on.

There are some benefits to having a Serve card - one it's free of fees if you deposit enough into it every month. Another is that it's American Express, and not as widely accepted as Visa and MasterCard. It means I cannot waste my money on the vending machine at work. But it also means that if I have to spend money and don't have cash that accepted retailers will take my card. I have the Walmart version, called Bluebird, so I get the added benefit of free deposits at registers and the ability to write pre-drafted checks. And if you use their network of ATMs there is no withdraw fee, so generally I pay no fees for use of my card and I have managed to keep a small portion of my allowance going into the next pay period.

For an allowance I am given $50 per pay period, or $100 each month. I can either keep that out as cash or what I usually do is leave it on the card. Do I spend money still? Yes, I do. I went through a spree where I bought cell phone cases for my iPhone and returned them the next day or the day after. Sometimes up to two weeks after they were purchased. I'm sure my spree will get me banned from returning items at Best Buy. I haven't told my wife about the incidents, but the resulting charges and credits didn't result in a net loss of income.

But my problems are contained within a $50 cap. I can't overdraw the Serve account. Every pay period I pay my wife first.

If you trust your wife, and she is agreeable, let her control the budget. Give yourself a reasonable allowance. Get a prepaid card with low fees, just like a Serve card, should you ever need to purchase something online or for convenience sake like getting gas at a gas station.

All that being said, I still make mistakes. I spend money on things I shouldn't. I have been very manic lately, but the safeguards in place keep the impact minimal. If there is a way to get banned from stores voluntarily, I would do it. For me, $50 over two weeks is more than enough.