Family Finance

One of the hardest things that young couples report during their

first year of marriage is getting to grips with joint finances.

While most are willing to share what they have with their

partner, they are not sure on the best way to bring this sharing

into effect so that they can share with their new partner, but

at the same time maintain financial security and a degree of

independence. Some couples resolve this by resorting to separate

finances and others find a way to keep things together, but it

is generally reported as one of the biggest strains on newly

married couples.

As well as this, there is also the problem that many people find

it difficult to budget and control their finances. It is one

thing to fail to keep track of expenditures when you are single,

but when you are married you have more to answer to than just

yourself. This is especially true once you have children. If one

partner fails to keep control of their spending while the other

is forced to worry about finances, it can create an enormous

strain on the relationship.

Family Budget

One of the best answers to this dilemma is to create a family

budget. This should outline what is allowed for the various

expenses, which is to be responsible for what expenses and how

much each partner can spend on discretionary expenses. While

this may seem like a drastic response that takes away all the

responsibility and financial independence from both partners,

all it is really doing is getting both parties to sit down

together beforehand and work out how much they can afford to

spend on what, and then sticking to this. It is about being in

control of your expenses rather than letting them have control

over you.

Other ways of taking care of difficulties between married

couples is to divide out the family expenses depending on how

much each partner earns. This way both will feel responsible for

the security of the family and will feel like they are an

important contributor to the family finances.

Financial Matters

While each partner should have a degree of financial freedom,

and also privacy, finances should be discussed openly and with

without shame. Past debts or mistakes that one party has made

should be put in the past and should be forgotten. At the same

time, if one partner shows that they are unable stick to the

budgets they have agreed, their financial freedom will have to

be taken from them and they should be given a tight leash in

financial matters.

About the author:

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the UK credit card comparison

site http://www.creditcards121.com/, where you can find a

selection of credit card articles. He also writes for the

comparison site http://www.cardguide.co.uk which offers some

best credit cards in the UK.

Written by: Joseph Kenny