6 Ways Money Issues Can Ruin A Relationship

Money can actually break up relationships. The red flags show when the spending patterns of the partners are different or one partner is too possesive about their money and another is a spend thrift. Another reason couples drift apart is when they do not have common financial goals. Does money breakup relationships? Yes it does. We will discuss all that in the following points.

# Merging of the assets

In most marriages, legally your assets are merged. Divorce laws on an average state that the money that the couple earned together, and which was multiplied during the course of the marriage needs to be divided equally. Merging financial assets can be great for tax reasons and other legalities but it can activate certain power struggles in a relationship which can turn bitter. This is not to say that assets shouldn’t be merged. They can be merged but the conversations surrounding it should be a mature, clear and honest one.

# Different attitudes with money

How people view money and spend it is highly subjective. Living within your means is considered prudent but since the invention of the credit card, debt has become a reality for economies across the world. When one partner is into being cautious with money and the other happens to be a big spender, conflicts arise. This also happens when one of the partners is too prudent, to the point that they act like a miser.

No one wants the debt to be accumulated, being too stringent with money can make even an act as mundane as buying groceries a point of contention. Enjoying your hard earned money, and not overspending is something that can be achieved when both partners communicate. As in food and yoga, so in money and life, balance is everything.

# Things over emotions

Consumerism may have been responsible for the golden age in history, but we are slowly beginning to wake up to its negative impact on the environment, the society and even on relationships. As we try to buy the new, shiny, expensive gadgets frequently, not only are we creating more waste which cannot be biodegraded, we might also be covering up our emotions.

Next time you go to the mall on the weekend look around you, same couples with corporate jobs stroll into the mall together, walk around buying things they may not use and go back, all of it in silence. They speak of course but they don’t talk. They drive there, fill up the boot of the car with stuff, drive back home. It’s almost mechanical. The time off on the weekend which could have been spent talking is now eaten up by buying things.

# Sudden riches

A reversal of fortune whether it is winning a lottery or losing all your money is never easy. They might look like two polar opposite things but they are fundamentally extreme changes which affect relationships similarly. People change and their priorities change when sudden money comes in. Financial hardship, on the other hand, puts people through an instant stress test and not all of them pass.

# Financial goals as a couple

People who have common financial goals survive money issues in the long run. Because having a common goal means working towards it together. That could be large investments like buying a house, a car or spending on children’s education or saving for retirement. But it often happens that couples don’t discuss their goals and want different things. While the wife could want to settle down in a big house the husband might be thinking of an Europe tour. Money issues in a relationship occur when goals are not common.

# Accountability

Accountability could be a major issue when it comes to money matters. Sometimes it happens that if a wife is a homemaker and the husband is earning he wants her to account for every penny she is spending. But he could be spending on fishing holidays with friends or evenings at the bar about which he thinks he does not need to be accountable. Also, if both spouses are earning it is alright to have minor spends without informing the other spouse but when it comes to bigger spending it is important to discuss and buy the things together to avoid clashes over money issues.