It only took a couple months after saying “Yes!” to my now-fiance’s proposal for the reality of marriage to set in. Obviously, I’m excited to get the opportunity to spend my life with someone that I love. But, at least according to anyone I’ve ever known who has experienced marriage, it’s not always easy to stay in a healthy, happy, partnership for the rest of your life. While some aspects of life are inevitable – like wrinkles and grey hair – other stresses in growing with someone can be avoided. Or, at the very least, they can be mitigated.
I’m talking specifically about money. Financial stress, major investments, education, medical bills – you name it, couples can argue about it. As much as we’d all like to believe the future will be smooth sailing, the reality of the situation is you’re likely going to argue with the person you love most over money at some point.
Having action plans in place and open lines of communication can help prevent these arguments from getting too out of hand. Not communicating about your finances can be a huge strain on any relationship, according to California family law attorney, Shannon Payne. She explains, “Couples generally talk about everything but money. Money is that ‘off limits’ topic no one wants to discuss at dinner, or in bed, or ever. This is a huge mistake. Couples have to be comfortable talking about money. They know each other’s goals and dreams and they should be comparable.”
So below are just some of the major issues couples argue about the most. Hopefully by at least understanding that these things come up, you can begin a dialogue with your significant other to better prepare you both for possible future frustrations.