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One of the hardest things that young couples report during their
first year of marriage is getting to grips with joint finances.
While most are willing to share what they have with their
partner, they are not sure on the best way to bring this sharing
into effect so that they can share with their new partner, but
at the same time maintain financial security and a degree of
independence. Some couples resolve this by resorting to separate
finances and others find a way to keep things together, but it
is generally reported as one of the biggest strains on newly
married couples.
As well as this, there is also the problem that many people find
it difficult to budget and control their finances. It is one
thing to fail to keep track of expenditures when you are single,
but when you are married you have more to answer to than just
yourself. This is especially true once you have children. If one
partner fails to keep control of their spending while the other
is forced to worry about finances, it can create an enormous
strain on the relationship.
Family Budget
One of the best answers to this dilemma is to create a family
budget. This should outline what is allowed for the various
expenses, which is to be responsible for what expenses and how
much each partner can spend on discretionary expenses. While
this may seem like a drastic response that takes away all the
responsibility and financial independence from both partners,
all it is really doing is getting both parties to sit down
together beforehand and work out how much they can afford to
spend on what, and then sticking to this. It is about being in
control of your expenses rather than letting them have control
over you.
Other ways of taking care of difficulties between married
couples is to divide out the family expenses depending on how
much each partner earns. This way both will feel responsible for
the security of the family and will feel like they are an
important contributor to the family finances.
Financial Matters
While each partner should have a degree of financial freedom,
and also privacy, finances should be discussed openly and with
without shame. Past debts or mistakes that one party has made
should be put in the past and should be forgotten. At the same
time, if one partner shows that they are unable stick to the
budgets they have agreed, their financial freedom will have to
be taken from them and they should be given a tight leash in
financial matters.
About the author:
Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the UK credit card comparison
site http://www.creditcards121.com/, where you can find a
selection of credit card articles. He also writes for the
comparison site http://www.cardguide.co.uk which offers some
best credit cards in the UK.
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