Articles:

5 Financial Mistakes that Ruin Your Marriage

A relationship thrives on mutual love and trust and these can be maintained when there are clear and mutually agreeable policies on important issues and one among them is finances.

Couples who make their financial decisions together are much better placed than those who try to trivialize or avoid such issues over their other priorities.

Here are the 5 financial mistakes that will hurt your marriage.

• No clear talks about money – You may have different spending habits or saving goals than your spouse. Lack of clear communication or lack of transparency in such cases is a sure shot recipe for a disaster.

  Rather than trying to change your spouse’s money habits you should share and discuss with him/her views and ideas about finances and try to understand why your spouse feels the way he/she does. Formulate strategies which will be best suitable to fulfill the financial needs of both of you.

• Keeping money secrets from your spouse – The easiest way to lose trust in a relationship is by lying. Keeping secrets like organizing a surprise party for your spouse or buying a small gift for a friend or relative doesn’t matter. But when it comes to large expenditures, like buying furniture or expensive gadgets, it is best to share all relevant information with your spouse.

  In fact you should encourage open talks about money before marriage so that both of you are aware of each other’s financial standing, debts etc. and accordingly work together a plan best suited to your needs.

• Adapting roles that do not fit – It is not necessary that the man always will have a better judgment to handle money. Sometimes, women have shown better skills than their male counterpart in this regard.

  If your spouse is more adept to manage the finances then it would be wise to allow him/her to take over the reins. You can share some of your partner’s responsibilities and support him/her with your views and feedbacks.

• Avoiding a financial plan – Both of you will certainly have visions and desires for your future. In addition, there will be some obvious turns in your life, like, change of job, birth of children and expenses for their education, medical expenses, etc. All these will consume your savings if you don’t have a detailed planning.

  A financial plan will help you meet your exigencies and it would ensure that your dreams and desires don’t get derailed due to lack of funds.

• Value money more over relationship – Research has shown that couples who pay more attention to their materialistic dreams are at the bottom of the happiness scale. Material goods will make your life easy and comfortable but it will not provide you the contentment, sense of warmth, coziness, and fond memories that your will gain from your spouse, children and family members. When you invest in relationships with your loved ones, you make your life richer and fulfilling.