Comments on: How Marriage Changed My Finances

By: Adam Olson

Adam Olson — Thu, 07 Jun 2018 01:58:15 +0000

Great article! Managing our finances when we first got married seven years ago was a major challenge. I took charge and I had horrible spending habits. We saw our savings account disappear and our credit card bill grow. After realizing my mistake we started communicating about my bad spending habits. My wife helped me change those habits. Now things are great for us financially!

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Fri, 17 Feb 2017 15:19:10 +0000

In reply to ZJ Thorne.

That's pretty amazing that you've already had those money discussions before moving in together! I think most people wouldn't even have the guts! You always surpass my expectations though haha.

By: ZJ Thorne

ZJ Thorne — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 03:25:44 +0000

Currently, we don't live together, but we do a good job of splitting mutual expenses while still getting the joy of treating one another.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 16:01:34 +0000

In reply to Karen.

I can't believe people feel they have any right to comment on how other couples manage their finances, yet won't even talk about their own money. I think you guys have it down to a science now, and obviously having a child can drastically change the way you manage your money. Thanks for sharing :)

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 10 Feb 2017 19:18:35 +0000

For us, the game changer was a combination of a few things that really came down to timing. We had been married for over a little over a year and had kept mostly everything separate aside from joint savings for a house, retirement, a few investments and emergency fund. My husband was doing contract work and flying in/out to Fort McMurray for a while, so he was pretty much solo managing his business finances. When he took a position close to home and was no longer doing contract work, we pooled everything together into a joint account, and but still kept separate credit accounts. Going on three years of this set up, we are now home owners and parents - so obviously our financial goals and priorities have changed A LOT over the past three years, but this system has worked SO GOOD for us! Especially last year when I was on maternity leave, and now as we save for our son's future.

We get a lot of criticism from friends and family about our set-up. For some reason people just can't wrap their heads around having a joint account. With our separate credit cards, we are still able to 'treat ourselves' or 'surprise one another' without criticism/judgement from the other partner.

You two totally hit the nail on the head - each relationship/situation is unique! Great video you guys!!

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:23:02 +0000

In reply to Amanda @ My Life, I Guess.

You should totally go for it! Especially since you've already had discussions. Try small just by saving together towards a common goal or milestone, and then see what happens! It's all about testing the waters to see what works before jumping in head first.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:22:10 +0000

In reply to Jaymee @ Smart Woman.

That's so awesome that you guys are completely transparent with current finances, past financial blunders, and everything in between. Especially since you just bought a house! I think that's when most couple start to struggle to find a balance together.

By: Alyssa

Alyssa — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 21:21:09 +0000

In reply to Leah.

That can be a huge cost to tackle on your own! And it's incredible that you've been able to support your husband while still managing the rest of your expenses. So props for that. I agree that it's necessary to be compassionate, but it's totally okay for you to be frustrated and get upset over this. Just make sure that you have someone you can talk with when you need to. I'm sure he totally understands how much of a burden it might be, but he's also probably super grateful! Your frugality muscles are probably bomb af. You can be my new trainer ;)

By: Leah

Leah — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 20:48:49 +0000

The biggest shock for me has been my husband's medical bills. When we got married, he had a job with health insurance and so did I. Not long into our marriage, he got laid off and started working as an independent contractor. He got onto my insurance, which is a high deductible plan. Then his health issues started. And he was making a lot less money than I was. We had merged our finances, and for the first time, I found myself living paycheck-to-paycheck WHILE making more money than I ever had before.

I know that he's frustrated about the situation, and I find myself needing to be compassionate and bite my tongue every time I wish we could go out to dinner or go visit my sister in DC. We can't do those things because we're not willing to charge it, spending money we don't have. So, while I am thrifty by nature, I've really been working those frugality muscles to the max!

By: Jaymee @ Smart Woman

Jaymee @ Smart Woman — Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:44:29 +0000

My partner and I have a good system going right now. We have a joint checking account and a joint credit card - everything is split 50/50 expenses and contributions. We also know exactly how much we have in our other savings accounts - it's all in Mint which we both have access to so there's full disclosure for both of us. Before we even got serious, we had both been very honest about our financial situations so I think that really helped us get a good foundation going. He was honest about his debts from a previous divorce and real estate scam (which he is now going through bankruptcy for). I had my own credit card debts and student loans at the time.

The fact that we're both starting from negative and working together to improve that has been an exciting challenge for us! We are both money-conscious people so we really bond over hitting our money milestones together.