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How to solve your
money problems
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The couple and money
Maybe it wouldn't be useless to talk briefly here about money and the couple. Indeed, one can't live only with love and fresh water, especially in our times when our needs are numerous and expensive. The present economical environment and all the problems it inflicts on households do not allow to imagine financial agreement as a simple side issue of the life of a couple. Money problems cause much more quarrels among couples than generally believed. Matrimonial conflicts related to financial questions are unfortunately numerous and serious! Even though, many problems can be avoided when one makes the effort to discuss and to agree at the start.
In general the members of a couple hardly pay any attention to their mutual relationship regarding money during the first period of their meeting. It's nevertheless the ideal moment to confront the opinions and envisage compromises.
Couples should discuss the management of their budget as they do the details of their wedding or the organization of their home. The beginning of a relationship constitutes a most propitious moment to take stock of the strengths and weaknesses of each of the partners regarding money, even before some serious problems arise.
A couple that plans to live together should discuss the subject of a joint bank account. Certain persons consider that a joint account proves the union and the mutual confidence. They find the idea of reuniting the partners' resources very romantic, while money is certainly not a romantic subject.
Other couples prefer to leave each member of the community the freedom to preserve his/her personal bank account. They then distribute the bills between them, either by simply dividing them into two sets, or still by making each partner responsible for the payment of different invoices amounting to about the same sum of money. This type of arrangement works very well when one rigorously respects it and when neither of the partners intervenes in the way the other uses the personal money that's left to him/her.
If two partners tend to administer their resources badly, the best thing to do is to consult a financial counselor at first. A bank manager or a manager of a savings bank is always interested in making sure that his customers use their money efficaciously; very often, he's also capable of giving useful bits of advice. Most of the time, marriages which begin with little money and a bad sense of management run high risks of failure.
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