You've said "I do," and now it's time to do married life, and one part of married life is having money talks.
Who will be responsible for managing the finances?
Do we want one bank account or two?
How are we going to make contributions to the household?
How will we decide on big purchases?
Money and marriage are going from two independent accounts to perhaps one account. Marrying finances is a challenging concern of married life, particularly if you and your spouse have different money languages.
My money language is saver, and my hubby is a spender. We've had some very lively discussions over money that lead to a successful blending of our money. Discussions about money are a sensitive topic in any relationship. Money talk can be the most uncomfortable conversation you will have with anyone but especially your spouse.
Don't avoid the money talk. Try to have the conversation early. Some couples fall into a natural arrangement regarding who will manage the money and how the money will be spent; however, even this easy system can lead to negative results. The more you know about each other's views on money and how you want to spend your money, the easier it will be to make money decisions together.
Three Money Talk Tools
Suze Orman's Money Talk Formula
In GH's "Who's Really the Spender: You or Him?" Suze Orman, money guru and personal finance expert, says putting everything in the same account is a mistake. It makes it hard to manage household and personal expenses.
Suze's solution
Add up your monthly combined net pay.
Next, add up all your monthly shared expenses (mortgage/rent, groceries, and utilities)
Then determine the percentage of your monthly net income is needed to cover monthly shared expenditures.
The rate is to be used to calculate each person who contributes to household expenses.
Example -1. Her ($5,000) and Him ($7,000) = $12,000
2. Shared expenses = $5,000
3. $5,000/$12,000 = 42%
4. (Her) 42% * $5,000 = $2083.00
(Him) 42% * $12,000 = $5,000
B. Create Systems
Moneymanagement.org suggests creating a system.
Set money rules
Open a joint account for shared expenses.
Track money with personal finance software
Assign who will manage the finances and who will not
Money management suggests shared roles, but shared functions would create stress for some couples, so be mindful of assigning roles. It is fair for one person to manage family finances and the other spouse to manage other household functions. There are enough tasks to go around in marriage.
C. Use a Personal Financial Statement
A Personal Financial Statement helps you and your spouse view your money picture.
It is easier to talk about something when it is on paper.
You don't know what you earn or spend until you see it on paper.
Remember, these recommendations may not work for your marriage. Suze Orman's formula may not work for you and your spouse.
When creating your system, you both may decide to have three bank accounts instead of one joint account. The shared account is the bill-paying account and separate personal accounts.
I strongly recommend using a personal income statement. It helps to see your money down on paper and prevent mistakes in recording any earnings or spending.
Having a money talk in any relationship can be difficult, so I hope I provided you with a few tools I used in my money talk with my spouse.
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