Newlyweds face many challenges especially in the first year of their marriage and one of these is with the finances. Up until this time both parties have been used to handling their own money and making their own decisions as they saw fit. Now they have to answer to each other.
Common Arguments
Some of the common arguments when it comes to finances are:
Where To Spend The Money
Some people are very thrifty and will think about every dollar before they spend it. They will usually buy items as needed not on a whim or because the item is nice to have. Then there are others who as long as they have money in their pocket then they will spend it.
How To Save Money
Those who freely spend their money are not normally savers. They are content living paycheck to paycheck. Others like the security of knowing that they have money sitting in the bank in case of an emergency.
When these two opposites marry then this is where the financial conflict begins. Who is going to change? Which one is right? It may be that neither is right because there is no middle ground here.
The Careful and the Careless
Some track their finances very carefully and are right on top of meeting their financial obligations. Others don’t do this and often forget what bills need to be paid until they get a reminder.
Finding The Solution
Identifying the problem is easy because this is something that creates the arguments between the couple. It’s finding the solution and applying it that is most important.
Solutions
Being Open
It is not going to come as any surprise that communication is going to be the major solution but that means both talking and listening. To begin with, it starts with honesty. Each of them has to be totally open about their income, expenses and any assets.
Agreeing On Limits
There has got to be some compromise especially when both are totally opposite when it comes to the finances. For the spender, limits have to be agreed upon, and the same goes for the saver. When setting limits the saver will tend to develop a very tight budget and the spender will do the minimum. This is the starting point for being able to come to the middle.
Respecting Each Others Position
If there has been a lot of conflict over the finances now is the time to put away any of the negativity that arose from this. It is important to understand the other person’s feelings about the finances and respect these. This makes it much easier to come to an agreement.
There will be an adjustment period even after the compromises have been made. But, having respect for each other will make this easier to understand. Eventually, it will all come together.
One area where there should be no conflict when it comes to money is the filing of taxes. If there are some disputes over this then they should be talked over with a qualified accountant who can advise the best course of action. Please contact me here as I am sure I can help you resolve any tax concerns that you may have, and get your taxes filed without all the stress that comes with this obligation.
