What are Some Budgeting Methods that Work for Couples?

For many couples, the secret of maintaining a long-lasting relationship can boil down to prioritizing strong communication. A relationship that doesn’t practice this critical factor will likely fall apart due to misunderstandings, resentment, anxiety, and an inability to address important needs and concerns.

Couples in long-term relationships may have some topics, conversations, and feelings they are afraid to express to their significant other. Some issues might be more personal than others, but many couples share the same apprehensions about talking about money and finances.

For many individuals, the discussion of what to do with their funds is a hot subject they believe would taint their relationships. To others, talking about their spending habits means their partners would judge them if they think they are being reckless.

Regardless of the reason, every couple must avoid this fear if they want to maintain a successful relationship. If partners don’t talk about pressing items concerning their finances, they are more likely to enter into conflicts, poor financial planning, and potentially breaking apart.

Fortunately, you can try to stay away from these problems if you sit down with your loved one and discuss how to move forward financially. Ensure you review each other’s income, create a shared list of goals, and set a plan in motion to achieve them.

If you both want a third party to assist you during this new process, you can consider hiring a financial advisor to keep you guys aligned with your objectives.

Although doing these things helps craft a strong financial future, they won’t matter if you guys don’t make a budget together. If you are unaware of what you can do to save money as a couple, there are various strategies you can use to grow your shared income.

Take a look at some budgeting techniques that work for couples, no matter which stage they are in their relationship:

Combine Urgent Expenses

As a single adult, you’ve had to handle recurring expenses to maintain your livelihood, including housing, transportation, food, utilities, and healthcare payments. While these bills won’t disappear when you move in with your partner, you can now share these costs together as a couple.

However, it’s essential for you to plan how you guys will divide these expenses without one paying for a larger bill. There are several ways to accomplish that goal, but some popular methods couples use to cover their payments are to split each cost in half, divide them by income, or open a joint account to pay for shared expenses. If both of you decide to pay based on income, you can follow the “60/40” method that allows the high-income earner to pay $60 of the cost while the other pays $40. Through the joint account strategy, the two of you will deposit a set amount for each one into the checking account to pay for your shared expenses.

Be aware that you can separate your bills based on what each one wants to repay. If you want to cover this month’s mortgage while your partner pays for the utilities, that’s totally fine. But if you went into the relationship paying for unique things like a Netflix subscription, you must consider them as individual expenses and not as shared ones.

Monitor Your Spending

Being in a relationship doesn’t mean you relinquish your rights as an individual. However, since you are cohabitating with your loved one, there have to be some limits on how much you spend on personal expenses. If you are wasting too much money on unnecessary items, you are proactively going against your and your partner’s plan.

In order to budget as a couple, both of you must put some restraints on your spending and focus on your living expenses. You can work with your partner on making a weekly schedule of each other’s payments and pinpoint areas for improvement. If you guys want to have fun saving money, you can put a small board on a wall with different spending categories, such as housing, food, transportation, entertainment, utility payments, etc. Through that method, the two of you will set a goal of writing that month’s spending to see where you guys are overpaying in one category. While recurring expenses like mortgages, utilities, credit cards and car title loan payments are fixed payments, the purpose of putting your costs on the board is to prioritize those bills and avoid wasting cash on needless items.

What if you are not a fan of tracking your spending manually? Thankfully, various budgeting apps for couples can help you monitor your payments without lifting a finger! Simply download one of the popular budgeting apps available, like YNAB (You Need a Budget), HoneyDue, Pocketguard, or EveryDollar, and follow their basic instructions.

Follow an Effective Budget Plan

Couples looking to save money together can follow one of the many budgeting techniques people use to live a frugal life. It can feel overwhelming to pick one of the budget plans, but you can expect to achieve your financial objectives regardless of the plan you use. Just make sure you research every strategy carefully to determine if it’s the right approach for you and your partner.

Don’t worry if you are unaware of the popular budget techniques couples use to focus on their necessary expenses. Most people around the world use the following systems to spare cash when they are in a relationship:

• The 50/30/20 Rule
• Zero-Budget Budget
• The “Pay Yourself First” Method
• Envelope Budget System
• The 80/20 Method
• The 60% Solution

If you and your partner have questions about a budgeting technique, know that a financial expert is available to help you understand how it works. All you have to do is research a financial advisor online and read their client reviews before settling with that option.

Invest Money as a Couple

Saving cash in a relationship is critical to achieving a stable life. But if you want to build your wealth to live more comfortably in the future, you and your loved one can decide to invest your funds in a lucrative investment. There are multiple investments to choose from, but experts recommend couples put their money in different types of investments, like a taxable brokerage account, a joint retirement account, or commodities.

Whichever investment you select, you and your partner must agree on what to do when starting this financial journey. Both of you can dedicate a specific amount of money to the investment, or one of you can decide to put in more money than the other. What’s important is that the two of you agree on your investment decisions and create a plan together. If one of you does something without the other’s consent, that can cause resentment in the relationship down the line.

Bottom Line ⎼ Save Money Together By Budgeting as a Team

Cohabitating with your partner is more than just living under the same roof. Since both of you reside in the same building, you must work together as partners to maintain your livelihoods. That’s why it’s critical to openly discuss your finances without any fear or apprehension. Be patient when talking about money and set shared financial goals you can aspire to. Once you understand what you want to achieve, the next step is to find a productive budgeting technique that can help you two stay firm on that economic roadmap.

Keep in mind that there are many other systems you and your significant other can follow to save money together. Regardless of the chosen approach, you can expect to meet your financial objectives when you remain consistent throughout your savings journey. Talk to a financial advisor today if you need assistance formulating an effective plan to live a frugal life as a couple.