Tips to avoiding financial issues for couples

Don’t let those double vehicle loans be a source of discord in a relationship.

08:17 25 May 2013

One Bradford couple in particularhave been married for a total of 87 years, which is inspiring to many couples. One of the things many couples can struggle with is how to handle financial obstacles. When you have vehicle loans, short term loans, education expenses and regular monthly expenses, trying to juggle everything can be overwhelming.

 

 

Here are a few ways to make sure that your expenses like vehicle loans won’t cause strife:

 

• Record keeping—make sure that you have payment books, statements, or other records that show your minimum payments on anything like credit cards, short term loans, vehicle loans, and any other monthly bills. 

 

• Planning—whether you decide to pool your finances or keep them separate you should both decide on the best way to handle the finances and then stick to it. Any deviations from the plan could cause resentment and even confusion in paying those credit card bills and vehicle loans. If you need to rethink the plan, just make sure that you both understand and agree with the new plan. 

 

• Spending budget—spending on extras is likely to account for more strife than normally expected expenditures like your vehicle loans or a mortgage payment, so decide together how much you can each spend, and when the money is available in the budget for extra spending. 

 

• Communication—this is just a key ingredient to good marriages regardless of topic, but it is very important with finances to be open, honest, and forthright about what is needed and about financial goals. If one person in a marriage or partnership is focused on reducing debt and wants to pay of vehicle loans and a mortgage, while the other wants to pay off a credit card or is focused on home improvements, those two differing goals will eventually clash. 

 

There is no one recipe for avoiding the stress of trying to manage two separate household of bills, especially credit card debt and vehicle loans, but following these steps can help open important discussions that will set a beneficial precedent for your relationship.