Money Matters

Let’s be honest. Money matters. When you get married, you’re not just sharing your Netflix password and your space—you’re also merging your bank accounts, bills, and spending habits. Money issues pop up all the time in married life. How you deal with finances together can make or break your happily ever after.

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Compatibility Counts

Julie: We all have financial “baggage” or attitudes that affect our spending, from our upbringing to our personal experiences. John and I have very similar backgrounds. Coming from large families with a mom who stayed home to care for us when we were young meant that every penny counted. Neither of us were extravagant, and we were both savers. 

When our first child came along, we chose for me to quit my job to stay home and care for her.  Even with our financial compatibility, it was a difficult decision and one not made lightly. We saved my salary to give us a head start on a down payment for a larger house. We lived on one salary while I was pregnant to make sure we could do it.   Our financial compatibility, along with being open with our hopes and dreams for our growing family, helped to make these dreams a reality. Even now, we’re not always on the same page, but we try really hard to understand where the other is coming from.

Talk About It

John:  I’ll admit it – I’m not great at focusing on finances. I was happy to let Julie take over this area of our life together when we got married. After all, she was a budget analyst for a large company, so I figured she knew more about it than I did. But I kept having the nagging thought that I was more ignorant about this subject than I should be and should be doing more to help Julie. I also worried that if I were to suddenly dive into it deeply, she might think I don’t trust her. 

We sat down and respectfully talked about it.  It felt great to share our financial goals and dreams. It gave me better insight into our finances, and Julie felt supported and valued. The key take-away was to just talk about it – OFTEN. By talking through financial decisions and dreams, we are a team rowing in the same direction toward a common goal. 

Money is Emotional

Julie: Fast forward a few decades and we’re now sharing dreams about retirement someday. We decided to take a free class at our local community college to help us start to get things in order. This stirred up all kinds of emotions in us – fear, excitement, regret, stress, pride. We took an honest look at our financial snapshot and decided to work with a financial planner to help us get to where we want to be.  Recognizing that we could use some help and then taking the steps to make that happen has helped to calm the fears. It’s allowed us the ability to look forward to our future together as a retired couple. 

Building the Life You Want – TOGETHER

John:  Handling money matters together isn’t just about the dollars—it’s about building the kind of life you both want. We encourage you to talk it out, make a plan, and support each other. Money can certainly be a source of stress, but with teamwork and a little patience, it can also be something that brings you closer.