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This post is all about how couples can budget their money.
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1. Have an Open and Honest Conversation
It’s not always easy to know how couple can budget their money. When you begin your debt free journey, it is so important that you and your partner (if you find yourself in a committed relationship) are on the same page.
Trying to get out of debt alone is difficult and hiding the fact that you have debts doesn’t make it easier on the relationship. You need to support each other and have open communication on the ways you intend to pay down your debts.
There are certain factors that help you get out of debt and to become financially independent faster. This especially is true when it comes to couples living together and being responsible for joint expenses, such as rent and hydro/electrical bills. Thus, it should be the norm to budget together, and it should work seamlessly between the two parties.
2. Share Financial Responsibilities
As you are in the relationship as a couple you should share the responsibilities of where and how you are spending your money. It should not be the responsibility of only one person in the relationship. If only one person is responsible, then the other person doesn’t learn about budgeting and doesn’t play a role in sharing responsibilities that comes with paying bills or having enough money to buy groceries.
3. Hold Budget Meetings Together
Once a month you can call for a budget meeting to discuss last month’s expenses, where things went well and where you need to re-evaluate – perhaps adjust the different budgeting categories.
When you think about it, discussing your finances and allocating money towards all your obligations is kind of serious when things are hard with money but you can also make it a fun activity where you talk about your dreams and money goals together!
How Do You Get Your Partner To Budget With You
If you are the money nerd in your relationship, chances are your opposite who’s maybe the spender in your household may not be so keen on budgeting with you.
So in order for your partner to join you and budget together, you can make it interesting by creating a friendly competitive environment. Since humans are competitive by nature, I think showing successes/wins when it comes to money saving is one way that makes us want to be part of it and show what one has to offer.
You might want to use a dry-erase board and visually explain what budgeting is, what you can do with it, how it works and why you should budget together.
Whatever You Do – Don’t Make It Awkward
Don’t make it awkward between the two of you and always come from a positive standpoint rather than a lecturing standpoint. Even if your partner has a hard time understanding why the process of budgeting together is so important.
Why Most Couples Fight About Money
Most discussions about money end up in a fight. I don’t have any statistics to back this sentence up but I can attest to the fact that it happened in my own relationship.
You Continue To Shop And That Aggravates Your Partner
Especially when you are paying off your debts but you also still want to have a life and spend some money, fights can erupt easily. Like for instance, if you are the spender, trying to pay off your debts but you continue to online shop and spend money!
Your partner might not understand and definitely won’t agree and/accept this behaviour.
When The Spender Doesn’t Understand Finances And What Budgeting Truly Means
Most arguments can start simply because people don’t understand finances and what budgeting truly means.
Most people actually believe that having and living by a budget means that you are restricting yourself and won’t give you room to spend “freely”. When my partner first told me that I needed to create a budget, I looked at him strangely. How could he now tell me that I needed a budget? A budget that would restrict me, I thought.
As I now know, this couldn’t have been further from the truth! Budgeting actually gave me more freedom and the best thing I ever did for myself and this relationship was to stop counter-arguing and so I created my budget.
Please remember, that most money fights happen due to miscommunications or simple misunderstandings. When one person is more finance-savvy than the other, it’s important to break it down for the partner, always in easy language.
Can You Budget With Your Partner Seamlessly Without Fighting
Yes, you can. Speak to each other and discuss money matters in a respectful and decent manner.
Ultimately, both should support each other and not fight about money. Yes, money is important but healthy relationships are more important. Combined with healthy budgeting habits between two individuals in a relationship, everything then works more seamlessly.
There is no need to fight about money or the fact that you both, spender and saver, should be budgeting together.
Main Benefits Of Budgeting Together
There are so many benefits of budgeting together.
Honesty, transparency between partners as well as increased communication about money make the relationship healthier and ultimately happier because you are working together and sharing financial goals and successes.
Image Credits:
“High-Fiving Couple” – Unsplash