Everyone's financial situation is different, and – more importantly – everyone's financial philosophy is different. The philosophy is more important because while our financial situation can change, our philosophy probably won't.

One of the big destroyers in relationships is different opinions about money – saving, spending, investing, and charitable donation. Some people are extremely granular about this, to the point that they cannot *conscience* spending money on certain things, or more than a certain amount on those things.

The trick here is to know what your feelings are, and not get upset or feel defensive about them, even if you think they might make you look bad. Honesty is the best policy. Examples:

"I feel very particular about grocery shopping. I like to plan my meals in advance to prep and save money. So I always have a list of the things I'm going to buy, and I compare prices. I don't like randomly grabbing things off the shelf just because they look good."

"I want to take one international vacation a year. I need to leave the country. I am happy to fly on points and miles, but if I can't travel, I start to get upset."

"I would never, ever have a joint checking account. I strongly prefer people, even if they are married, to keep separate finances."

"I plan to always devote 25% of my income to investments and savings. I am never going to be willing to spend that money on anything but retirement."

"My family didn't have a lot of money growing up, so I get very nervous about the idea of debt."

"I would feel uncomfortable if my partner made twice or three times what I do."

"If my partner lost their job, it would make me happy to support the family for awhile until they found their next career."

Or whatever else you feel. Consult yourself first – and don't assume anything about the other person, what's "reasonable" or what's "logical," because while dollars and cents are concrete things, most of those perspectives are about emotions – risk, loss, and safety. It's not about the $1.50 avocado.


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