The Two M's: Money and Marriage

image source

One of the big topics during the engaged encounter Joe and I went to was finances. Finances is not a new topic in our household. Being an auditor by trade, I'm proud to say that finances is not a foreign concept and that I'm actually extremely knowledgeable about it. I can't say the same for Joe though, at least during the time period before he met me. Things have certainly changed since we've began seriously dating and then cohabiting.

I'm a traditional gal. I believe in separation of finances sign of doom to any relationship. As money is always such a sensitive subject, segregating finances and inhabiting visibility makes it that much more difficult a subject to approach. I guess I just don't see how cohabiting couples can do without merging money together.

Joe and I opened a joint checking account around the time that we became engaged. By that time, we were living together for about 6 months. With the joint account, all of our money is deposited into the account and all bills are paid out of there and a saving balance is set up every month. It works out great because we have a mortgage payment now, and also with the pending wedding, saving money is our number one priority. So far we've been extremely good with our saving. It really helps that we are DINKs (dual income, no kids). We both individually make a good amount, probably higher than most of our peers. With that said, we get to enjoy some of the finer things in life while our peers are semi-struggling to make rent. We are able to get a house earlier than some of our friends. We go out when we want to, although that had been reduced significantly. We are extremely blessed. However, it doesn't happen without someone monitoring the cash outflow in the household. That person is naturally me. But, Joe also recognizes that I'm better at it and therefore is more than glad to give up his control over our finances.