I sure do love that man of mine. I definitely hit the jackpot when I found him. We’ve been married almost 10 years and I love him more with each day. I hope you can say that about your spouse too. Today I want to talk about a subject that can make or break a marriage…money!
Money is something we all need individually or as a couple to survive. It’s also one of the things in marriage that can cause the most fights. There are things you have to agree upon, bills to be paid, and when kids are added in you have to take into account their needs too. At the end of the day, everything you need to do with your money has to be prioritized and a budget put together.
When Brent and I got married we were both working but only brining home a combined $1500 a month, it was so important for us to use a budgeting plan. We had a very small 3 bedroom house, 1 child, another on the way, so it wasn’t just about us as individuals doing what we wanted and spending our money on anything we pleased. We had to pool our resources together and budget out what went for this, what went for that, and then IF we had any left over we could have a little fun.
Our first years of marriage we didn’t have internet (gasp), digital cable, a computer, no extra toys aside from our cell phones, we just had the bare minimum but we were happy. There were a few times it would get stressful and an argument would threaten to happen, but we would sit and talk about the issues and regroup together to meet whatever goal we were trying to meet.
Marriage is all about a partnership and one of the biggest things to threaten that partnership are financial issues. Make time to sit and talk with your partner about the needs you have to meet so you can get to the wants you both have. While it may take a little longer to get to the wants because you have to meet your needs first, talking and agreeing is the way to make sure your marriage isn’t one that is hurt over financial issues.
Make a plan together, take the family needs into account, make sure you are listening to each other, and above all if there is something you can’t agree on at a particular time revisit it later. DO NOT take it upon yourself to make a big financial decision alone. Remember you married someone to have as a partner in life. For us that meant in ALL things!
How do you work together when it comes to money in your marriage/relationship?
*This is a partnered post brought to you by Genworth financial. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.
Toni Patton
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I feel the same way about my husband ten years into the marriage, but money has definitely been our biggest stressor. Great tips.
We’ve been really lucky to have been able to be okay financially. We live paycheck to paycheck but there’s always enough, so I’m happy with that!
Great post Toni. Marriage is all about partnership and communication.
Great tips me and hubby are going on 7 years in April and thankfully we’re on the same page about finances
This is something we don’t do as well as we should — we both avoid it a bit because we just hate talking about it…. and my husband is a financial planner!
We try to meet weekly to talk money, meals, and responsibilities for the week. It really helps to keep arguments at bay.
I am the one that handles most of the finances.
I haven’t reached that point yet but I try to keep my finances in order so I don’t bring a ton of debt to the table.
It’s so important to work tgether!
Unfortunatly I had to take control of the monies. Hubby doesn’t do well with money.
We got married young and barely had enough money to scrape by. We have always talked about finances together and I think that is one of the keys in making a marriage work.
Money can make or break any relationship and communication is so important!
My husband and I could definitely use a better strategy when it comes to finances.
Because we want me to be a sahm, we discuss everything financial…we can’t afford not to.
hubby and I don’t talk enough about our money management. He spends way too freely. Now that I’m trying to be a SAHM it really needs to stop..
We’re actually struggling financially at the moment. With our rent increasing and trying to survive on one-income, it’s pretty tough. I just pray and trust that everything will work out.
Good post! My husband and I consider ourselves as a team. Neither one of us are reckless or selfish when it comes to money. Also, we can talk about it without getting into an argument. 🙂
money is a scary scary thing and it can rip any relationship a part. I like the idea of the budget calculator to help things stay balanced.
I love my husband that much too, he is a great guy and I must admit money is my hot button (and he knows it)
My hubby and I have always worked hard at being smart about money, and savings (we’ve been together for almost 21 years). The last two years was the toughest for us, but as of Aug. this year, things have been back on track. I’m a lucky gal! 🙂
My husband and I have made some very difficult decisions over the past year, money was pretty much at the top of the list. I handle all the finances now, no questions asked anymore. I have a ledger, I text him daily with the amount he could spend if he so desires but that’s it. We don’t use credit cards anymore and we’re working very hard to pay off the SUV we just bought–his company pays for it through a vehicle allowance.
We’ve been together 18 years and it’s taken this long to get it together financially.
Hubs and I are on the same page when it comes to money which is so helpful in a marriage! Still we all have our financial ups and downs at times.
That actually was never an issue for us thankfully, but I think it’s definitely an issue for most couples.
I handle the finances in our household but I really wish the hubby would take over.
My husband and I firmly believe we discuss everything no matter how hard. Including money issues. We have never had a fight because we never let things fester.
I’m thankful that we seem to always be on the same page when it comes to finances. I’ve heard far too many stories of the problems money can cause in a marriage.