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Couples who are married, planning to marry, or live together are likely already aware that they need to get on the same page about finances.
But even couples who haven’t yet made such large commitments should know that money is already playing a role in their happiness. Research has found that even young couples (who don’t yet talk about finances) say money causes stress in their relationship.
Meanwhile, couples who discuss finances regularly tend to be happier than those who do not. Additional research shows that your romantic partner’s financial habits can impact your sense of well-being. So keeping money “out of the relationship” isn’t really an option – it’s already in there whether you want to see it or not.
Even if your lives are not yet fully intertwined, you can see how your partner’s financial situation and his habits pertaining to spending, saving, investing, and budgeting could impact your happiness. Deep down, you may hope to conjoin your lives a bit more, and if you see now that he’s bad at saving, or perhaps that he lives so frugally it’s hard to enjoy life, you might worry that one day that will be a bigger factor in your life. Luckily, individuals in relationships tend to have a powerful influence over each other, and you can use yours for good. This is true of eating healthier, finding the motivation to pursue goals, and handling money better. Here are ways you and your partner can be good financial influences on each other.
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Set a grocery budget
If you tend to overspend on date night or order too much delivery when you don’t feel like cooking, shift your mindset and habits around eating. First of all, making food together at home can be fun, and second, it will literally save you hundreds a month compared to ordering in or dining out. But you can still do those things – just with more intention. Set a grocery budget. Maybe it’s $150 for the week for both of you. Now, you can play with that. Find deals. Find sales. Get the generic brand of something. If you are under budget for one week – say you only spend $130 – you can put that extra $20 in a “date night” jar. At the end of the month, that might contain over $100 that you are free to spend on a special night out.
