{"id":40223,"date":"2019-10-17T07:20:50","date_gmt":"2019-10-17T11:20:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/?p=40223"},"modified":"2025-01-07T13:12:10","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T13:12:10","slug":"8-couple-money-management-success-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/digitalskyweb.co\/canadianbudgetbinder.com\/2019\/10\/17\/8-couple-money-management-success-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"Couple Money Management: Building a Solid Financial Partnership"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you struggling with couple money management<\/strong>? Learn how to tackle financial challenges together and build a solid partnership.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Couples Struggling With Money, There Are Ways To Fix What Is Broken<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the number one questions I get emails about on this site is couple money management<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you handle finances in a relationship?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You communicate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s as simple as talking to each other<\/strong><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you are in a relationship, you don’t often see the financial side of how a person spends and saves money until you get married.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you live together before you get married, you should know whether a potential partner is a good saver, but that’s not always the case.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even couples who decide to reside in different places before marriage may never know each other’s financial situation because it’s not widely talked about.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Should it be?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, it should, especially if you plan to spend the rest of your lives together<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of you reading this might say that money doesn’t matter when you are in love, but at some point, it will affect your marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the bills start piling up and you realize you don’t have the savings you thought you would, you’ll agree that you should have explored the topic further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Husband Spends Too Much Money<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"bandaid-couple-money-management\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Dear Mr.CBB,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m tearing my hair out and unsure what to do about my husband and how he manages money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We don’t have a budget because he has no interest in one and spends money on water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wish I had seen this before we married, as it’s putting a big wedge in our marriage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not happy and not interested in being intimate with him anymore because I’m depressed about our money situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he gets his paycheque deposited every two weeks, he gives me half of it as he seems to think that’s enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not enough, as we are short about $500 monthly to pay our debt and bills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I tried to tell him we didn’t have the money to pay our bills, but he said to put it on the credit card.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He thinks we will get caught up even if I tell him it will cost us more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m afraid to see what will happen next year when I go on maternity leave and only get a portion of my paycheque. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He wants to put a band-aid on our money and hope I can figure it all out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have any tips for a couple’s money management<\/strong> advice you can help us with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen, Manitoba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple Money Management Takes Two<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are always ways to learn how to manage money better, but things can get tricky for couples. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When dealing with one person, it’s far easier to motivate yourself than with two people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Especially if one participant is not interested in budgeting and money management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The problem is that money management means you must be on the same page for it to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But how do you make that happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, it boils down to a request because if nothing changes regarding the couple’s money management, then sometimes leaving is the best option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’d opt for couples therapy first to see if a professional can get through to your spouse before walking away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even then, some partners are not interested in talking to a stranger about not participating in the relationship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They are embarrassed, perhaps, or don’t care. In that case, you know the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couples should always work together to build a happy home, including managing the money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Say that again: Couple Money Management, NOT just Money Management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Relationship = Two people<\/strong>. (well, maybe more in some cases)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You have to look out for yourself and your kids if you have any in a relationship where things are going as expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Losing everything you have because your partner is rubbish with money and unwilling to change is selfish and unfair to the family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple Money Management Tips<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"couple<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Before I proposed to Mrs CBB, I discussed money in detail so I knew what I was getting into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oddly enough, she would tell you the same thing because, as it turns out, we were both finance nerds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saving money came easy because we both came from families that didn’t have much but different backgrounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couple, money management was just as important to her as it was to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even today, how we handle money as a couple is pretty tight-knit as we discuss everything from big purchases to stopping at Tim Horton’s<\/a><\/strong> for coffee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That may seem over the top to some people, but some couples don’t even talk about how their day went.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Becoming debt-free before 40<\/a><\/strong> and paying off our house in 5 years<\/a><\/strong> has merit when managing our money as a couple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below are eight couple money management tips we use today to ensure our marriage stays financially and emotionally happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Talk About Money<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you have a spouse who spends too much money and doesn’t want anything to do with managing finances, smack them upside down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just kidding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Seriously, you both need to sit and talk about money and where you’d like to see yourselves financially.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a great time to discuss giving each other a monthly adult allowance<\/a><\/strong> as the first move.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, Mrs CBB and I give ourselves $50 monthly for whatever we like. Splurge money, some might call it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They may engage better if a spouse opposes budgeting but sees something in it for them, such as an allowance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, you won’t know how much you can offer an allowance until you create a budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Discuss Financial Goals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Mrs CBB and I discussed our financial goals many times over our 11-year relationship as things changed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We went from being a couple to becoming a family, and anyone with children knows your budget will increase kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Any time we discuss money goals, we write them down on paper, which motivates us more than typing on a computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, we’ve even posted our goals on the refrigerator to remind us how vital our budget is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m telling you, it’s not easy to get ahead, but you have to want it bad enough to do it without sacrificing your happiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That means you must balance saving with enjoying life and spending time and money on yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The key is that you have to save before you spend, so any time you want to splurge, you MUST have the money to do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, if you want to go on a one-week trip to Cuba, save money first instead of putting the expense on a credit card<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Create A Budget<\/h2>\n\n\n
\n
\"WHY<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I’m not a therapist or marriage counselor, but I am married and feel we are successful in managing couples’ money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a money management sheet<\/strong> is as simple as creating a basic budget<\/strong><\/a>, which offers you information on two things:<\/p>\n\n\n\n