Divorce is one of the most painful situations a family can experience. While there are plenty of causes of divorce, financial problems often top the list. This explains why more young couples today are consulting a financial advisor and planning their long-term finances before they plan to settle down.
But sometimes, no matter how good we are at handling money, financial issues will always arise in any marriage. In this article, we’ll talk about marriage-killing money issues and how to resolve them.
Debt
From gambling habits, credit cards, car loans, and college debt, people have different financial issues. If you or your partner is facing a pile of debt, sparks will fly when it comes to discussions about spending, debt serving, and income.
People in these situations think any debt brought into the marriage will not extend to the spouse. They think it won’t hurt their partner’s credit rating and the debt will stay with them. According to the justice system, most states that adhere to the common law treat debts acquired after marriage will be jointly owned by both partners. These include housing, food, and child care.
In certain states and countries, both spouses share all debts and property, regardless of joint or individual account status. They may not be liable for most of their spouse’s debt before the marriage, but debts incurred after their union becomes automatically shared even if they registered them individually.
Impulse buying and large purchases
When making big purchases, it’s important to plan them together as a couple. Buying something expensive without consulting them first is like inviting conflict unless your spouse knows your plan beforehand.
We know what happens if you come with a new kitchen appliance or your spouse makes a car loan without both of your knowledge. The last thing you want is to let your marriage take a huge hit just because of unplanned spending.
The same also applies to unexpected major expenses, a common cause of many divorce issues. These include medical emergencies, extensive home repairs, or senior parents who require care. These things can be difficult to handle, especially if both of you don’t have enough budget allotted for unplanned expenses.
Suppose you take a solo trip to the mall and find an expensive item you badly want to purchase. Before making any final decision, why not send a message or call your partner about it? If they don’t approve, don’t sulk about it. Listen to what they have to say because you’ll never know if your emotion is what really causing you to make an impulsive buy.
So before making a major purchase, make sure to discuss, plan, and agree on them together. When it comes to unexpected expenses, make sure to create an emergency fund to handle any type of financial emergency.
Opposing personalities
Personality plays a critical role in finances and marriage. There’s also a saying that in every marriage, one can be a spender and the other a saver. For this reason, it’s important to discuss you and your partner’s financial situation and attitude about money before getting married. This will allow both of you to understand each other’s unique opinions on saving and spending.
Even if you and your spouse are completely debt-free, the conflict between savers and spenders can happen in different ways. That’s why it’s important to discuss each other’s money personalities to work on these differences easily.
Avoiding money talks before marriage can lead to senseless fights between couples with completely different views toward money. If your partner spends money all the time while you keep on saving every penny, tension will always ensue.
Spenders view natural savers as risk-averse, nagging, and cheapskates, while savers view big spenders as someone who takes pleasure in material things and is numb to the impact of overindulging. Whatever money attitude you and your partner gravitate most, both of you have to work on those differences by recognizing the bad habits. If your efforts seem in vain, this can be a sign to back away from the relationship and save yourself from future money crises.
Money issues can surface in several ways regardless of the stage of the relationship. Since most marriage issues revolve around money, you and your partner should do something to avoid the same thing happening to both of you. In the end, it’s all about making communication the center of your married life. Good and honest communication can result in honest exchanges about each other’s expectations, habits, and money anxieties.
