5 Important Tips on Sharing Finances in Marriage

Since we’re kids, we’ve been told that men are breadwinners. Men take pride in working hard to provide for their families and women are meant to take care of the house and the children.

But, the era has changed.

Today, more and more women are working. In fact, 38% of American women make more money than their husbands.

However, this new phenomenon can create problems in marriages. According to the United States Census Bureau, people become much more likely to be intransparent about their income in a household where the wife is the more dominant breadwinner.

This is certainly a red flag. The lack of transparency and communication regarding financial matters is the number one reason people decide to get divorced (Poll by Slater and Gordon in 2018).

If you’re currently in the same situation and looking to keep your marriage, take a look at these five tips on sharing finances in marriage.

Have a great communication

Communication is the key to an everlasting marriage. Be honest and open with each other regarding your monthly salary, side income, as well as your expenses. Instead of competing with each other, you and your wife need to work together.

Plan the financial goals

Create both short-term and long-term financial plans for your marriage with your spouse. If you don’t have clear financial goals, you’ll be tempted to buy unnecessary things that can get you into debts. Those things can lead to arguments and, eventually, divorce.

If you don’t want that to happen, start planning your financial goals now. Short-term goals deal with how much money is allocated to cover your monthly expenses, hobbies, travel budget, and things you want to buy. On the other hand, long-term goals include a house mortgage, a car loan, retirement funds, as well as the education cost of your children.

See Also: Making A Financial Plan: How to Set Financial Goals To Live Your Best Life

Split the bills proportionally

To avoid any argument about who pays what, you should work on an agreement with your wife about how the bills are being paid. For instance, for the things you own and use together equally, like rent, groceries, and utilities, you could split the bill 50-50.

Or you can do something like this:

Use your whole monthly income to pay for your family monthly expenses while all of your wife’s income goes to a savings account. This savings account will be used later to pay for your long-term goals, like buying a new house or a new car.

Set clear roles for each other regarding housework

When you and your wife are working, the housework can be a lot more tiring. After working hard all day, you still have to clean your house. If the roles of housekeeping aren’t set properly between you two, this can cause arguments and fights.

Set a clear role and schedule for housekeeping that benefits each of you equally.

Monitor your monthly expenses

At the end of every month, have a little meeting with your significant other. Use the time to assess your cash flow for the month.

Which expenses can you cut? Is there any opportunity to make extra money? Are you on the right track towards your financial goals?

This might seem unimportant, but it’s really essential to build great communication and transparency between both of you. For your marriage to work, you and your wife need to get rid of your ego. Work together and start sharing finances in marriage to achieve your goals and dreams in life.

See Also: How to Budget Using the 50/20/30 Rule