Marriage + Finances

Studies show that communication and finances are the top reasons for the success, or failure, of a marriage. For that reason, Mario and I share our feelings openly and regularly, and talk about our financial goals constantly. 
How to Face the Financial Rut by Jenifer Corrêa {via}
Right before Mario and I got married we decided to open a joint
bank account but kept individual accounts for personal items.  Now that we’re married we each have access to
the other person’s personal account because we feel that all money coming in
belongs to the both of us. We don’t necessarily plan to touch each other’s
personal account but wanted to be able to should the need arise.
We also felt it was important to have a discussion about our
finances frequently.  Lately, 
we’ve been
talking about money weekly since 
I’ve started back working and we’ve had to
adjust/update our budget.  But normally,
we have a good financial discussion monthly so that we’re aware of our
financial situation, understand when/if/where we need to make changes and
continue to work towards reaching our financial goals.
A few things we do in regards to our finances:

  • Stay in prayer concerning our finances knowing that God will always provide.
·         Generate
a healthy dialogue about finances.
·        
Setup
a budget.
·        
Establish
financial goals.
·        
Designate
someone to enforce the budget.
·        
Designate
someone to manage the budget (i.e. update spreadsheets, pay bills, etc.).
·        
Conduct
financial meetings, frequently.
·        
Refer
to all money as our money.
I’ve uploaded a blank copy of the budgeting spreadsheet that I’ve been using for years.  So yes, the “I’ve” in the previous sentence implies that I manage
our budget…Mario enforces it (but this could be the same person)! You must know where your strengths and weaknesses lie as that is key to ensuring that you are successful in reaching your financial goals.
There are three tabs in the spreadsheet (Budget, Actuals-Breakdown, Passwords).  Feel free to update/modify as needed: Family
Budget Spreadsheet
Lastly, I’m still working on creating a debt post to share with
you all.  It’s a delicate subject so it’s
taking a bit of time to pull together. 
But know that it’s coming and I really do hope to hear what others have to
say about what they’re doing to be debt free.

Sometimes, getting on the same page with your partner can take time and things change as you have children, plan for retirement, invest, etc. Therefore, I encourage all couples to make communication, in regards to finances, a priority from the start!!!


How do you and yours go
about keeping your finances in order through communication?!?

Related Posts in this Marriage series:

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6 Comments

  1. Anonymous
    October 4, 2013 / 6:06 pm

    This is a great budget spreadsheet! I must admit, hubby manages our finances. If he wants my help doing something specific, he just asks, like pay a bill, etc. I usually ask him if I can get something when I want it too. May seem old fashioned, but we like it this way. 🙂 xoxo. Finances are definitely important.

  2. October 4, 2013 / 6:32 pm

    This is a great post. Budgeting is so important. Many times I think stay at home moms and wives feel they should not be concerned with the finances because they are not contributing to it. But it's still so important to at least know what's going on and where our families are financially. Also my husband manages our finances. In the beginning I used to when I was working for corporate America. In an effort to be more submissive I relinquished the task to him. And I must say he's much better at it. I only pay our bills and shop for things we need at home. If we have a big purchase we run it by each other. I used to find doing the budget so stressful I am glad to be free of it. We talk money every time he gets paid or anytime we make a huge purchase. We share one account for personal and we have an account for my business. So we both know and see everything.

  3. October 4, 2013 / 6:48 pm

    This is really great, Nicole. I especially like that you included your spreadsheet…it's always helpful to see how others go about keeping up with their finances. I like what you said about establishing your financial goals…that one is so important to remember (they all are)!

  4. October 4, 2013 / 6:51 pm

    Love this topic. Thanks for sharing. Looking forward to your debt posts, too. I would love some advice on that topic as well.

  5. October 4, 2013 / 7:39 pm

    Love that the two of you have such open lines of communication about finances. We also have a joint checking/savings and then our own individual accounts as well. This has always worked for us. I handle the budget because I'm better at it.

  6. October 5, 2013 / 12:55 am

    This is a topic that has been impressed on my heart for a couple of months now. Mainly because the decision of me opting to stay at home for a year has really brought our true financial state into focus. The reality of my student loans have just really hit me. David and I are awesome together, very compatible, but finances is an area we both struggle with. To answer your question, we have the same account. We also have financial meetings generally about every month but now more it's going to be frequent since I'm working again. We pray before we start every meeting. And I've noticed that when we're on it(meetings and paying bills together,) the benefits abound. We struggle with consistency, because it always starts off like a chore. Especially when we're trying to make the income stretch:) but once we have it completed, it's worth it, even if we don't have all the answers at the time and just leave the rest to God. Last month I completed a 5 day devotional on youversion.com called Debt: A Biblical Exploration. It is helping me to begin to have a healthier view of using money as a effective tool. Our financial goals are to get it together so that our children will know how to use, save and multiply it so that they may be generous with it and not be in bondage because of lack. Great and timely post!!

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