The importance of financial compatibility

When considering a romantic partnership, financial compatibility might be the last thing on your mind. Generally speaking, your emotional attachment seems far more important for relationships. However, as you get older and feel more settled, things tend to change. When two people two have their lives so tightly wound around each other, they have to consider the practical aspects as well. People have to agree on multiple levels in order to get along in the long run. An emotional connection is only the initial spark that sets off a partnership. This could be politics, religion, ideologies, ethics. Financial compatibility is no exception. After all, you are spending the rest of your life with this person. If you were single, you wouldn’t suddenly forget the importance of your financial attitude. It is the same with relationships.

When financial compatibility matters

What we want to discuss here is about their spending habits. A person’s salary should not be a measure of how much they are worth. However, if you are generally quite frugal and they are happy to spend it all away, you may have a problem. They may even start eating into your funds as well. After all, the boundary between what’s yours and what’s theirs start to disappear in a relationship. They could also take unnecessary financial risks that you are not comfortable with, e.g. contributing to risk stocks.

There may also be a problem when your partner is too frugal. Sometimes, for example, people will not budge on buying healthy food, even if they are financially stable. This kind of frugality is, overall, worse off for you. It is not worth forgoing things that affect your physical and mental faculties positively even if you are doing well. As with many things, the key is balance.

This is why relationships can be double-edged swords, financially speaking. On the one hand, if you are both wise with how you spend your money, you are capable of far more than as an individual. Having a combination of two incomes can alleviate things for you considerably. On the other hand though, this kind of combination could mean that, if you’re not on the same page, things end up far worse.

The basic differences

So first off, here are the underlying cause of the differences people may have in their financial compatibility. Someone who makes quick decisions on the fly is very unlikely to be thinking of the future. They may not concern themselves with all the particulars that most mature adults will be when it comes to finances. This could be 401(K)s, the benefits of credit cards, etc. Someone who is careful with their money tends to consider many things before going forward. They want to make sure they know where they are going. As you can see, differences in financial compatibility are signs of deeper, more substantial differences.

The problem is most people settle into permanent relationships relatively young. Finances tend to be a lot less important in this period. As they grow older, so do financial worries grow. It is at this point that any incompatibility, financially speaking, becomes a barrier. This can lead to arguments, and, eventually, to divorce and families separating.

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How to prevent financial incompatibility

First off, you should be keeping an eye on people’s financial habits early on. As we said, they may not seem important now, but when they are it will be too late. It is generally notable if one of you leans more towards spending and the other more towards saving. No two people can be the exact same on every point, some compromise is certainly permissible.

Make sure you understand where you both stand on such issues early on. Draw some boundaries for yourselves early on, if need be. You should make it understood where your focuses are, financially speaking. It’s not unusual for people in relationships to hide their purchases, unfortunately. This is why encouraging absolute transparency early on is important.

You could both possibly influence each other for the better, as well. A true relationship should be a team. The combination and melding of your personalities should be nothing surprising.

Overall, you should make sure that discussing money troubles with your significant other shouldn’t be a headache. If you find yourself arguing more than you are agreeing on such issues, you may have to decide what is important to you.