With the way the world has gone up and down financially over the past few years, there certainly are a lot more jobs that are lost and companies closing or downsizing as a result if it. With those extreme changes and the ever rising cost of living expenses, it is not exactly shocking to see more divorces and breakups occurring each day.
When two people are married or living together they share a responsibility to maintain their finances. In some cases, one spouse will go out into the workforce and the other will raise the children or one party is in school obtaining their degree and the other is working. Either way, when one person or both parties are suffering financially it can be a tremendous burden on the relationship. For this reason you should always plan ahead with your future finances and how you would survive should one of you fall off track or even become ill. What you can do is prior to living together, make those plans and calculate what you both need to save in the event some form of emergency arises and also figure out any savings plans you can both take part in. If you are both saving to buy your own home then account for that, if you have college loans to repay then account for those it is all a matter of planning ahead and making a budget.
When you are already living together and the budget is thrown out the window due to a financial change in your lives, you have to correct it together or the relationship can end suddenly. Many couples cannot work through financial issues without fighting or blaming one party for the decline in available funds. If you both still want the relationship but have no idea how to repair your finances then look into doing some research on your own. Find a financial planner you can afford, read books regarding wise tactics to get out of debt and start cutting back on all of the unnecessary purchases you both are making each month. You must realize in the relationship that money is something anyone can obtain more of if they are willing to put in the effort. Anyone get obtain a second job or drive a less expensive car, live in a cheaper home things like that to help the financial strain. The relationship you are in however, cannot be replaced in the future so you need to think very carefully about ending the partnership before you actually go through with it. Often times the money problems are still present even after the couples have split, but they are regretting the decision to split thinking they would be better off financially when they did. Talk it over with your partner and make wise financial decisions, do not spend money ever without your mate being aware of it as that will cause a great deal of turmoil at some point when the truth is prevailed. Be honest and work with one another to find a common goal with your finances that will work best for you both.
Good post. I know it's really difficult to deal with a financial crisis, particularly if it was brought on by something equally stressful. I was in a really bad car wreck in 2005 that, between medical bills and my not being able to work, went through all of our savings. It has been really rough on us and, while we still have a good marriage, I feel like our money problems are all my fault for getting into the wreck. I say this to say that financial issues are really tough and can take a toll on your marriage, but they don't have to end it.
ReplyDeleteYes I totally agree, there are tons of relationships that fail over financial hardship.
ReplyDeleteIt's so easy to argue or lash out at your partner when you're broke, panicking and stressing over how the hell you're going to get out of this mess.
However, my husband and I have found it is worth it to budget and go without the things that we want sometimes in order to make sure that all the bills are always paid on time and we have a little bit of spending money in our pockets.