Understanding Finance in Relationships

Finance has been identified as a major factor in any relationship and more so in a marriage relationship. If not properly checked money issue can trigger arguments, fights and ultimately separation/divorce. It is important to discuss this issue as soon as you are getting attached to that special somebody to avoid unnecessary toxic air.

From my little experience and observation in life, I have identified three (3) different ways I have seen families manage their finances.  I will only highlight the three ways while you determine which you prefer and what will work for you. Since you are in a relationship, I have assumed that you love (you noticed I did not use trust) each other.

First of all, we have the relationship where the man is the all-in-all. This category is where the man’s money is our money and the woman’s money is her money. A lot of women prefer this as it gives them undue advantage even when they earn as much as their man (if not more). To this categories of women, #wehdonema. That said, this actually works well for many “already made” men and men that have full time house wives.

The joint account relationship. The individuals in this relationship practically open an account they call, “John and Jane” account, where they contribute a portion of their monthly earnings into. No one is bothered by the balance in the other person’s account (?).This works well for couples that do not want their spouse to know what they earn or just want their personal space.

The last but not the least is the relationship that manages their monies together. They both know what the other person earns and plan their spending around the “our money”. Here, there is no hanky panky, no suspicion, no “my money”, it is everybody’s money and everybody know the plan and the limits. This works only when there is TRUST (you noticed I did not say love?) in the relationship.

There you have it. It is good you understand your relationship and what will work for you. You actually need to have some conversation around this and decide on the best option. There is always room to adjust and readjust until you get the perfect option.

Bless you.