18 Money Management Tips For Married Couples
14. Be Honest
Honesty is always the best policy, especially when it comes to money management in a marriage. If you mess up, or make a purchase you shouldn’t have, tell your spouse and own up to your mistake. Your spouse may be upset with you initially, but after he or she cools off will respect you and trust you because you were open and honest. Lying about money to your spouse has huge repercussions, including divorce, so don’t even think about going there if you want your marriage to last a lifetime.
15. Trust Your Spouse
Unless you determine that your spouse in indeed lying to you, trust your new spouse to handle money. Withholding responsibilities from your spouse or watching every move he or she makes is condescending and demeaning. Don’t ask how much money your spouse spent or made during the day. Learn to let go of the control and just trust. Combining bank accounts is a great way to practice this.
16. Learn from Each Other
Don’t think of yourself as the be-all and end-all of financial knowledge. There is a chance that your spouse knows more or is more experienced and disciplined when it comes to handling money. Even more likely, there will be some things you know more about and some things your spouse knows more about.
For example, I know more about making everyday purchases than my husband does, such as extreme couponing. On the other hand, my husband knows more about investing, so we are able to learn these things from each other.
17. Give 100% of Yourself
Put your full effort into the financial matters of your marriage. If you are giving excuses each time you go on a spending spree or are blowing off your budget, you are not giving 100% to your marriage or yourself, and that attitude will come back to haunt you.
18. Remember Your Vows
Ultimately, marriage comes down to the vows you made. If you vowed to love your spouse for richer or for poorer, then live like that. You will undoubtedly have difficult times, so try not to let money issues create or exacerbate them. Money trouble is not a reason to jump ship, but it’s something to work out with your spouse and can even be an opportunity to grow closer.
Final Word
Marriage and money can be tricky, but the best thing you can do is be open and honest. Start off on the right foot by talking about money management and coming up with a solid plan to deal with budgeting, spending, and investing. The sooner you do this, the better. If you form good money management habits as a newly married couple, you’ll be able to work as a team through whatever life throws at you for many years to come.
How do you and your spouse manage money? What are some of the things that have worked best in your situation?
