Money And Marriage: Tips For Married Couples Managing Finances
Money is an integral part of life for many. It is a resource that provides individuals with the ability to buy food, pay for utilities, as well as to socialize amongst their peers. While money can't buy happiness, it can be useful to recognize its impacts on health and well-being, as well as aspects of interpersonal relationships.
Finances can become intertwined for many married couples. This may involve purchasing a home together or partaking in similar activities. For these reasons, it can be effective to understand healthy financial habits in marriage, while also working collaboratively to ensure similar goals are achieved.
How financial dynamics in relationships impact mental health
Financial stress can have an adverse impact on both physical and mental health. For instance, outings such as going to shop for groceries can become cumbersome if one doesn’t manage their finances well. There are significant positive relationships between financial worries and psychological distress. Essentially, keeping track of bills and financial status can reduce feelings of overwhelm and depression, as well as correlate to enhancements in interpersonal connection.
Relationship satisfaction, money and marriage
There are several factors that come into play in relation to financial states and situations. Socio-economic status and values surrounding money, as well as behavioral patterns all can contribute to one’s insight and understanding of financial literacy. Regardless of background, utilizing effective communication strategies to achieve mutual goals with finances can be beneficial.
Research suggests that couples who manage their finances, invest, and save together have a higher sense of well-being within their relationships. Having mutually agreed upon goals surrounding finances can provide enhancements to the health of the relationship as a whole.
Tips for married couples managing finances
Despite research findings on the efficacy of working together with financial behaviors, it can be challenging for couples to determine best places to begin. Below explores some tips for couples who are interested in managing their finances together.
1. Open joint bank accounts or credit cards and discuss your goals
While some advocate for the importance of separate bank accounts, research is beginning to explore the benefits of joint banking accounts. While there are some benefits to keeping separate accounts, having a collective account provides opportunity to work collaboratively surrounding financial decisions, while also increasing camaraderie within the relationship. This translates to more conversation and joint decision making surrounding financial decisions.
Benefits of joint bank accounts and credit cards
Below, we explore a handful of reasons for this:
- Enhanced satisfaction: Your partner may feel more satisfied with how you handle finances. This can correlate with reduced stress and interpersonal conflict.
- Alignment of financial goals and expectations: Aligning goals increases the likelihood of working as a team, as well as maintaining ongoing, proactive conversation surrounding mutually-agreed upon financial goals.
- Mutual understanding: You are able to respond to each other’s needs without expecting anything in return. This correlates with improvements in selflessness and support.
How discussing finances improves financial literacy
Keeping conversation open with your partner while remaining consistent with research on finances can correlate with managing your finances more effectively. This may also enhance your financial literacy and overall knowledge. This can help you make more informed financial decisions as a couple such as planning for the future, as well as allocating funds for emergencies.
Research suggests favorable impacts on mental health and financial well-being. This can provide couples with more confidence and autonomy in their lives and relationships. Financial literacy also can shape future financial decisions such as determining whether couples should activate a joint credit card.
2. Research a credit card together
Credit cards can provide a source of financial security if they are used responsibly. If you are irresponsible with credit cards, however, they can become a source of financial stress. Research suggests that higher financial knowledge reduces undesirable credit card behaviors. Raising awareness about credit card use in relationships can assist in making healthier financial decisions collaboratively. This reduces the likelihood of financial stress in the future.
Financial confidence and credit card use
Financial well-being and credit card use can correlate with building financial confidence. While not always true, trends indicate that men may be more reliant upon parents for financial literacy, whereas women may be more apt to do their own independent research. Gaining an awareness of your partner’s financial knowledge before choosing a credit card together may make the process more efficient.
3. Be open and honest for a happy relationship
Openness and honesty can provide benefits within a relationship dynamic, helping to build a partnership based on trust and compassion. It also enables the potential of having difficult financial conversations. For instance, if overspending by one partner is causing financial strain, it’s important to be able to talk openly in efforts to find a mutual resolve. Further, research shows links between openness, communication, and relationship satisfaction, suggesting that open communication can enhance marriage dynamics.
Honesty for starting out on the right foot
Being honest from the beginning can help you establish a partnership of trust, in terms of finances and day to day life. Trust is an important factor for developing secure, satisfying, and intimate relationships. Once you’ve established this trust, tackling financial challenges can be easier, whether it’s helping to pay off a partner’s debt or settling on joint savings accounts. Being on the same team is important.
Fostering honesty at the onset of a relationship can help you establish foundations of trust. Trust can be integral for developing secure, satisfying relationships. Once trust has been established, navigating financial challenges can become easier. Whether it’s assisting in helping to pay off a partner’s debt or settling on joint savings accounts, making mutual decisions as a team is integral.
Strategies for married couples to foster open communication and financial harmony
Below explores some strategies that can assist in promoting financial literacy and relationship enhancements in relation to financial decisions:
- Set goals together: Having a shared vision of what you want for your financial future can help you to work together in harmony towards a mutual goal.
- Check-in with each other: Schedule times to put aside everything and have an open conversation about your finances or re-evaluate common goals.
- Keep the focus on finances: Don’t bring any other issues to the table. Stay focused on the present conversation about finances.
- Get support: A financial advisor may help you organize your finances or a therapist can help to foster open communication and harmony in your relationship.
Online therapy for money and marriage support
Therapists can provide compassion and moderation for couples navigating financial strain. This can provide benefits for fostering open dialogue within a relationship dynamic. Online therapy services can assist with couples navigating separate work schedules, working collaboratively to ensure they can allot time for mutual discussion. Online services like BetterHelp provide flexible schedule options, making it simpler to agree upon a time that works for both parties.
Why online therapy can be worthwhile
Online therapy provides options for flexible scheduling, enhancing the potentials for treatment retention and favorable outcomes. This can be integral for couples attempting to navigate financial decisions together. Studies indicate that online therapy improves both relationship satisfaction and aspects of mental health, thus providing potentials for communication enhancement and trust, as well as mutual rapport within a relationship.
Takeaway
Frequently asked questions
How does money affect marriage?
Money is often a significant factor in marriages and can contribute to marriage problems for many couples. In some cases, finances can offer stability, and in others, they can lead to conflict. Financial issues are thought to be one of the biggest leading causes of divorce.
How does money play a role in marriage?
Money plays a role in marriage because it impacts both everyday and long-term decisions. When partners approach the concept of saving versus spending money in different ways, it can lead to friction. Many couples benefit from having open conversations about finances and setting shared financial goals together. It doesn’t necessarily matter who brings the most money to the family as long as both spouses agree on how it should be spent.
What are the biggest stressors in marriage?
Some of the biggest stressors in marriage include communication, work stress, finances, household chores, and raising children. Seeking advice from a couples therapist can be helpful if your family is experiencing high levels of stress.
Is it better to be married or single financially?
Although the answer to this question varies depending on a person’s specific situation, there are often financial benefits to being married. Many economic and legal privileges are given to married couples as opposed to single people.
How should money be split in a marriage?
There is not one specific way that money should be split in a marriage. Instead, couples should determine what works best for them. Some prefer to have joint accounts, while others prefer to keep their personal finance accounts separate.
Do most marriages end because of money?
It’s thought that the leading cause of divorce is infidelity, and the second leading cause of divorce is financial issues. Therefore, it can be important to get the financial conversation started, set financial goals, and create a budget with your spouse. Personality differences can contribute to varying financial approaches, so ensuring you’re on the same page as your spouse can be crucial.
Can money break up a marriage?
Money can lead to divorce in some cases. Talking with your spouse about your finances and potentially meeting with a financial advisor to decide how to save and spend your cash may be helpful.
What does financial infidelity do to a marriage?
Financial infidelity generally refers to one partner choosing to spend money and keep it a secret from their spouse. They may have secret bank accounts or hide large amounts of debt. This kind of infidelity can create many problems in a marriage. It often contributes to a lack of trust, as well as stress and tension.
What should you do if your husband does not support you financially?
Having an open conversation about finances should generally be the first step. You may also have to consider finding another source of income. Consulting a couples counselor and/or financial advisor may provide more personalized guidance to navigate the situation.
What is a toxic relationship with money?
A person might have a toxic relationship with money if they avoid checking their bank account balance, have limiting beliefs related to money, or tie their value to their finances. Chronically overspending can also be a red flag of a toxic relationship with money.
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