One of the most common problems married couples face pertains to money. This has long been confirmed by studies, marriage counselors and even couples themselves. Unfortunately, this still remains to be an issue up to now.
If you're concerned about your or your partner's attitude towards money, it's never too late to learn what you can do to keep your marriage stable. Financial woes have been found to cause major fights and even lead to divorce in worse cases but you can do something to avoid those mistakes made by others.
Couples who both earn an income need to pool their finances together. It's strongly recommended that you sit down and discuss how much money comes in every month and how much is spent for your basic needs. What you can do then is to decide who pays for the major bills and who shoulders the food and utilities. Perhaps the one who earns more can pay for the huge bills and long term goals while the other handles the other basic needs.
Coming up with an agreement is important so that you avoid putting the blame on the other when problems crop up. As you're aware of where your money goes, conflicts are avoided. So instead of judging each other owing to the differences in how you value money, a better option is to work together as a team towards a common goal. This step, you will eventually find out, will be very helpful.
In addition to discussing your regular expenses, you also need to decide on how much to save every month. There has to be some amount put into your savings account. Regardless of how big or little the amount, what matters is you are saving for your future. If you are able to be consistent with this, then you are in better financial position. And when you have accumulated a significant amount of savings, you can later decide to invest into a new house or use part of it for your family vacation.
In case you're having difficulty managing your funds despite concerted efforts, you and your partner can always consult a financial advisor or planner. What a financial planner does is help a couple come up with a plan and review it on a yearly basis. A plan is essential in order to meet your goals. You may be doing well in budgeting but sometimes a lack of plan does not lead you to where you want to go.
The key here is to instill discipline among couples so they can work together towards a common goal and having a financial plan is really helpful. Also important is the couple's attitude towards money as well as their constant communication. If both of you are able to develop a more positive attitude, you work together and you have an open communication line, you have all the chance to improve your financial condition. When this happens, you will benefit greatly by enjoying your marriage and improving your health as you take away the stress caused by financial woes.
For marriage support, visit TalkAboutMarriage.com, a supportive community for marriage and relationship advice.
No comments:
Post a Comment