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Money decisions as a couple


Hello friends.  Happy new month.  I hope we've been making good money decisions since my last post. I haven't written in a while,  not because I am lazy, but because I really wanted to be sure that this is what I wanted.  After some serious soul searching, I realised that I am in for the long haul. I am really interested in helping people make responsible financial decisions.

Today's post is centred on marriage and finance . I was discussing with my friends about how wise it is for couples to share financial information with one another. We hear of couples who separate and even get divorced because they are not financially compatible,  so I thought that this needs to be discussed.

As you will have guessed, different people have different schools of thought about this. I have a friend who said this:
"Lolade, I'm not interested in any joint account o, I'm working for my money,  I think I should be able to spend it anyway I like,  plus the guy should be the breadwinner na, so why are we having a joint account"

Another friend is of the opinion that a couple should have a joint account and make joint financial decisions etc.

After so much debate, I realised that different people have different schools of thought on this matter, and I wanted to clear the air on this issue, so to speak.

As a couple, I believe that you should make joint financial decisions, and at the same time retain a level of independence,  such that you don't have to keep dipping into your joint finances for simple or petty expenses. Couples should retain a joint account in order to save for the future,  for big projects such as : education of their children, buying a house, travels , planning for their retirement etc. However, this requires a certain level of trust and accountability between the couple.

Couples should also have individual accounts each to give one another a certain level of independence,  so that they don't deplete the funds in the joint t account.
Couples should be accountable to one another, and should always discuss finances, ranging from what proportion of their earnings to be paid into the account, to what to use the savings for at any point in time.

It is essential to note that a marriage is not a one sided affair, therefore all decisions must be mutual and made together as a couple.  There's  no 'I am the head of the house' theatrics when making money decisions as a couple.

It is also important to mention this: There are instances where we have one person more financially minded and knowledgeable than the other. In this instance, the more knowledgeable person should be in charge of the finances, but must always carry the second person along.

Financial and Investment decisions should be made together as a couple. In fact almost all decisions should be made together as a couple  ( but I'm not a marriage coach, so I won't go onto that now)........ smiles. ......

I hope that I have made some sense in this episode.

Till next time.

Love

Lade

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