Unlike popular belief, the divorce rate in America is still quite high. About 40% to 50% of marriages end in divorce. One of the biggest causes of divorce is financial problems, when one of the partners cannot get on board with budgeting it can cause a tremendous amount of relationship problems. There are five financial mistakes that couples make that you can avoid.
1. Wedding Stress
Before you ever start your life as a married couple, one of the biggest financial stresses your relationship will face is planning your wedding. According to Wedding Wire, the average wedding costs about $30, 800 in Miami, and while the cost will vary from state to state, the national average is not much lower. Planning your wedding together is your first real challenge together at budgeting.
To avoid stressing your relationship out and being left at the altar, slow and steady is a good approach. Give you and your partner plenty of time to plan and make decisions. Set a budget and stick to it, even if it means compromising.
2. Budgeting Disagreements
Both you and your partner must have a budgeting plan in place. Budgeting is vital to good financial health. A lot of arguments can occur during your budgeting meetings with your partner. It is important that you do not let those disagreements over how you spend your money into the rest of your life. Schedule your budgeting meeting like you would a business meeting. Come up with talking points and both of you should stick to them.
Budgeting conversations should have ground rules. For example, using the right language and not saying things like “you always” or “you never”. Both of you should work together to lay some ground rules and both agree that when the budgeting conversation is over you will not bring it up until your next budgeting meeting.
3. Be Transparent With Your Partner
According to NerdWallet, about 7.2 million people in the United States hide some of their finances from their partners. The breakdown is about 4.4 million men and 2.8 million women that are hiding bank accounts, credit cards, or other financial information from their partners. If you want to cause a giant rift in your relationship, hide your finances.
It is an act of deception to hide your finances from your partner, and it can cause trust issues. When you are your partner is sitting down doing your budgeting, if you are not transparent about your finances, budgeting is useless.
4. Plan for The Big Events Because They Will Come
A lot of couples make the mistake of not planning for financial situations that can put a great deal of stress on their relationship. For example, about 3 million people move each year, and it is an interstate move according to the National Movers Association. Sometimes a move is well-thought out and you have a long time to plan for the costs, other times a move comes as a surprise and you have a lot less time to get your stuff together, including your finances.
Whether your move has been prompted by a job opportunity or you are headed to your home state to take care of an ailing relative, it is important that as a couple, you are prepared for the expense. Every couple should work towards building a nest egg together to improve their financial health and avoid relationship problems over money.
5. Identify Your Goals Early On
Couples often have different financial goals. Having an open conversation about things like big purchases, retirement, and how what each of you is focused on financially is important. It is okay if you have different financial goals, as long as you can come together to create some joint financial goals and can do the budgeting to meet those goals while keeping your personal financial goals intact.
Being a couple and navigating money matters can be tough. Avoiding some of the money mistakes here will help you to build a strong relationship and keep you financially healthy.
