Having money conversations as a couple is crucial for understanding your significant other’s money philosophy. From setting shared financial goals and having open communications to tracking an individual’s spending habits, knowing how to manage money as a couple will strengthen your bond and set your family up for financial success.
If you’re a couple struggling with finances, read this article to find tips on how to manage money as a couple and still maintaining the spark in your relationship.
Also Read: 7 Proven Strategies to Stick to Your Budget Like a Pro
How To Manage Money As A Couple
As a couple, whether newly wedded or been married for a while. Money plays a crucial role in shaping your relationship.
To avoid conflict over money, here are tips on how to manage money as a couple:
Have Open Conversations
The first step in managing money as a couple is to have an open conversation with your significant other.
You need to communicate with them to understand their view of money. Do they see money as a means to an end? An instrument to solve a problem or something to romance their ego.
It’s important to have this conversation at the start of your relationship to understand your partner’s philosophy which shapes their perception of money.
For instance, some people are okay with living a basic life. That is being able to afford the necessities like housing, feeding, and children’s education.
Others on the other hand are extremely ambitious, they want the fancy things in life like going on vacations, buying properties on the island, and getting expensive gadgets and other items.
Each person’s desires and philosophy will greatly determine their relationship with money. How much money they’re willing to make and how much of it goes into wants and needs.
Plan Your Debt
Maybe you ad financial obligations before getting married, but it’s important to make a clear-cut plan on how to manage your debt without harming the family finances.
One way to plan your debt is to discuss with your partner how much of your income you want to allocate to paying off your debt.
Depending on how much debt and how much of your income, you can dedicate at least 10% to paying off debt
Set Shared Financial Goals
Another way how to manage money as a couple is to set shared financial goals. There’s nothing as refreshing as having a shared goal as a couple and working diligently to achieve it.
That is why having open conversations about each individual’s financial expectations is something that cannot be underrated.
For instance, do you desire to own properties or start a business together? Or plan to have a joint investment?
These are the conversations you should have with your partner to enable you to set shared financial goals.
Create A Budget
As a couple, one of the ways to manage your money is to ensure that you and your significant other have a budget.
You can’t just spend all the penny as they come by. That’s financial irresponsibility which will result in a lack of transparency.
Create a budget together to determine what amount goes into what and which partner is responsible for maintaining the budget.
Have A Joint Account
If you want to have a smooth running of your family finances, having a joint account is one of the things to consider.
Apart from the fact it makes your talk about money simple. It serves as an avenue to have easy access to money in times of emergency.
For instance, you can pay the children’s school fees, house bills, and transportation to a joint account at allows each person to take care of these needs when they arise without bugging the other person.
On the flip side, having a joint account can be dangerous if one of the parties is not transparent or prudent with money.
Hence, ensure that your partner is someone you can trust with money and also put other measures in place to safeguard the money.
Track Spending
If you’re looking for how to manage money as a couple without conflict, then tracking spending is one thing you should consider.
Tracking spending will help you understand what takes a bunch of family expenses and what measures to take to curb unnecessary expenses.
Build An Emergency Fund
As a couple, it is important to build an emergency fund for rainy days. Emergency funds are necessary to tackle situations like health, rent, etc.
As a couple, it is important to have conversations like this so that you can decide on what percentage of your income goes into an emergency fund.
The general rule in building an emergency fund is that your emergency should be able to last up to three months if you’re out of a job.
Why Having Money Conversations In Relationship Is Important
Just like you should have conversations about family planning and other family-related issues, having a money conversation with your partner is equally important.
Money conversation in relationships is important because it gives you an insight into what your partner thinks about money. Their worldview about money and their aspirations.
Having money conversations with your partner is also a great way to understand how to handle bills in the family. It’ll help you decide who manages what and from which income.
These are some of the reasons it’s important to have money conversations in relationships:
Clarity Of Purpose
Having a money conversation with your partner will give you clarity about each person’s financial expectations and how to tackle them.
Sense Of Ownership
Money conversation is a great way to assign responsibility and ownership to different people in the relationship. Giving them assigned financial roles and responsibilities.
An Opportunity To Bond
Another reason for having a money conversation is the opportunity to bond. Bonding doesn’t only happen on a date over a glass of wine and food.
When you’re open about money, you express vulnerability which is an opportunity for your significant other to connect on a deeper level with you.
How Often Should You Talk About Money
How often you should talk about money in a relationship is dependent on how often the topic arises. On the flip side, if there is pressure caused by money, you can also talk about it.
However, it is advisable that you do the financial audit in your relationship in quarters. Just like how you would do a career audit. Think of it as a monthly performance review for finances that allows you to spot loopholes and make amends.
Conclusion
Money is one of the crucial things that if not handled with wisdom can ruin your bond with your partner. Hence, it’s important to master how to manage money as a couple to avoid conflict. We hope you find the tips shared in this article useful and insightful.
