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Marriage and Financial Success. Managing money when married

One main reason why marriages fail is fights over money. One spouse spent more money than the other spouse. One spouse earns more money than the other spouse. Money is a root of many problems in a marriage. 

Because marriage is such an important part of life, just as money seems to be, I want to help you tackle this problem so your marriage can survive the financial crisis of money in a relationship. Keep in mind that some of these ideas are going to work for some couples and some will work for others, and still others may continue to fight about money in the marriage, but at least you can give them a try!

One important thing that a family can do to get started on the right foot is to create a budget. If not going day to day, at least the two adults, the heads of the household should both be aware of what everything in the house costs. 

From the electric bill, to the groceries to the insurance payments, the adults in the household have to realize when the bills are due and how much they cost so that neither spouse is going to spend the money that is being saved up for a bill. Just because there is money in an account does not always mean that it is free to be spent. 

Next on the list of making the family finances work with out fighting is a somewhat different type of arrangement. Often, both working adults in a household will put their paychecks into one account, and both will use the accounts for what they need, to pay the bills and for fun and such.

Putting your money together can be a very difficult thing to do if one does the grocery shopping while the other is out buying something to fix something in the home. The money goes fast without planning and without one spouse knowing what the other is spending. 

This can be particularly true in the world of mac and debit cards, in writing checks and in using the savings account when one needs money to pay the bills. The account can easily become over drawn. 

One easy way around this problem is to have three accounts!

Yes that is what I said, three accounts. One account is for the bills, the mortgage, the car payments, the insurance payments and the groceries. What is left over is split between the two that are working and put into their own individual accounts to spend. 

Using the two accounts for the two adults to use as they see fit, after the bills have been paid from the joint account is going to ensure that the bills get paid, that no one is over spending and that both working adults have a mini budget that they can work with to get gas every week, to get a snack when they want to and so on. 

How else can your marriage be saved even if you are sharing one money account? If both people are working and contributing to the bills being paid every month, both people will need to be involved in understanding how the bills get paid, how much money is need to pay the bills and when the bills are due. 

Each person in the household using the account will need access to information about the other persons needs during the month, and both people are going to need to talk about where the money is being spent. 

If one is spending too much money on groceries, or one is spending too much on beer or perhaps one is spending too much on gifts, clothes or on the children. Each purchase will need to be discussed before major purchases are made to keep a fight from starting about money in the marriage. 

Save your marriage and stop potential money problems from starting as you start talking about money, how it is being spent and how you are going to start saving money for those times of emergency needs.





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