Issues
Financial Stress is Killing Your Marriage
They say money is the root of all evil. But truth be told, it is also an important part of our lives.
Money has kept lives and relationships afloat. Without it, how can we even begin to live? Yet something as essential as money isn’t that easy to get. That’s why financial issues are inevitable in many relationships and marriages.
Poor financial planning is often the main cause of many failed marriages. Either the couple doesn’t know how to manage financial stress, which leads to a bigger pile of debt and bills, or something tragic has happened to them, leading to financial stress.
What Causes Couples to Struggle Financially?
It’s no secret that inflation has greatly affected our financial capabilities. The prices of necessities rise and seem to have no plans of coming down anytime soon. Meanwhile, everyone’s income remains stagnant. Even so, many circumstances lead couples to be financially challenged.
Here are some of the most common reasons why couples suffer from financial stress, and tips on how to counter these struggles so you can keep your relationship from failing:
Financial Illiteracy
What is financial illiteracy, and how does it affect married couples?
To make it simple, it is NOT knowing how to budget your income, profit, and commissions. Whenever someone gains money, the first thing that comes to mind is to spend that money on unnecessary things. Instead of purchasing their needs, they spend it on things that don’t have value for their livelihood. They don’t know how to deal with financial stress, so they splurge their earnings on useless things.
It’s even more concerning that some people over 40 still don’t know how to save money and build their nest egg retirement fund.
Understand How Money Works
To counter financial illiteracy, the solution is simple: Learn how money works. There are families all over the world who are in the middle class and yet can survive financial stress and issues. How is it possible for a working man to do that and how can you apply it?
Start by understanding how much your income is and how much you need to spend on your necessities. You need to think deeper about what you need, should, and shouldn’t buy — things that matter in your household. If you have extra cash from your income, save it for a rainy day. You never know when disaster strikes.
Gambling
Gambling is an addiction that everyone needs to be aware of. People chase this phantom probability of winning; saying “This is the one. I’m going to win” yet end up losing their entire savings without knowing how deep in trouble they are.
The Monte Carlo fallacy, also known as the gambler’s fallacy, is the belief that after how many losses, they’re bound for a win. For example, they lose $10 per coin toss. After 10 rounds, they finally win $50. They lost $100, and gained back $50; leaving them with $50 in losses. You did win, but in reality, you’re still at a loss.
Just because you have extra money in your account, doesn’t mean you should use it to gamble away. Recent studies show that the divorce rate in the US is 31% because their partner’s gambling problems have gone haywire — leading the family to crippling debt.
Vices (Drugs and Alcohol)
Vices are already enough reason to divorce a spouse. If one or both are influenced heavily by these, not only are they killing their bodies and marriage, but they’re also losing money to maintain such vices.
These vices cause couples to spend an additional amount every month, making their financial situation even more dire.
Seek Therapy and Financial Reasoning Against Vices and Gambling
Vices and gambling are already a threat to a person’s livelihood; how much more for a married couple? It pains me to see that families and relationships are being broken because of these. Sometimes, things are beyond a spouse’s help — rehabilitation, therapy, and seeking professional help are often the best ways forward.
There’s absolutely nothing shameful about seeking help when your relationship or marriage is on the line.
It Takes Two to Tango
The bottom line is, you are a couple. That means you need to work together to overcome your financial issues. Start by learning how to deal with financial stress and struggles. The responsibility of handling money shouldn’t be shouldered by one person, but as couples, you need each other’s shoulders to help alleviate your financial burdens.
When one seeks to learn how to manage finances, one also learns how to make their finances grow. Even if your spouse makes more than you, do your part in the contribution.
