7 Ways Happy Couples Manage Their Money

Posted on Feb 21, 2016 | 3 comments

Finances – the number one thing to cause a fight in any marriage, in any country! It doesn’t matter if you have loads of money or none at all, what you do with what you have is sure to cause some friction in even the strongest of marriages.

In the early days of our marriage, money was something that we fought over regularly. We both had incomes and strong opinions… need I say more?! When I became pregnant and we decided I would stay at home with the baby, things got interesting…

But on the day that I decided to choose happiness, I realized this was an area of our lives that we both needed to be more conscious about. So, together, we took control.

Read on to find out how we got on the same page, created our family financial plan, stick to it and are happy about it.

7 Ways Happy Couples Manage Their Money

1. Examine your own spending habits, think about your family financial goals.

Be brutally honest with yourself here. Figure out how much debt you owe, what your spending weakness is and where you would like to be in 20 years. Accepting and acknowledging your spending behaviors is a super important first step if you truly want to grow financially.

2. Get on the same page with your partner.

Again, honesty is crucial here. Once I had determined what my spending behaviors were, I made a special dinner for hubby and I after the babies were asleep. I started off the conversation sharing my debt, my spending weaknesses and where I would like to be in 5, 10 & 20 years. I was honest with him and that seemed to help him feel secure enough to share with me his spending behaviors and where he saw the future of this family. After a long conversation, some honesty, tears and laughter, we were on the same financial page.

3. Make a spread sheet of all expenses.

The next day, during nap time, I collected all of our bills/expenses and made a spread sheet. I included everything from diapers to gas to the mortgage payment. With everything requiring money clearly listed out it was much easier to make financial decisions, together. We were able to decide how much money to put away for retirement, future tuition costs and an emergency fund.

4. Make a yearly family financial plan with some common goals to work towards.

If you are into graphs and charts, go for it! If not, a simple spreadsheet on your projected earnings for that year, your projected expenses, how much savings can you stash away and where do you want to put it – retirement, life insurance, education fund. Also on that spreadsheet can go a few goals that you both want to work towards – a family vacation, a new bathroom or even a car. All things that every family needs to think about, together.

5. Happy Couples Manage Their Money by creating a budget.

Now that we knew what was coming in vs. going out, we were able to create a monthly budget of what we could spend. This changes occasionally for us self-employed people, but the next step helps with that!

6. Keep an eye on the cash flow, both in and out!

We have regular, friendly conversations on how our finances are coming along. We try to check in bi-weekly with each other and see where our personal spending and earnings are at so there are no month end surprises.

7. Be understanding of each other.

Though we are married, we are still individuals. After having that initial conversation on our own personal spending habits, I am more conscious of my hubby and what to expect, as he is of me. We give each other the room to be ourselves by fully accepting each other while challenging each other to grow. Once you accept your mate, stop trying to change them and expect their unique behaviors, you will notice that many potential fights will cease to exist.

What are your great tips for how happy couples manage money?

Malibu Mama Loves Xx

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