Do your money philosophies contradict with those around you? Tell us how you're handling when one loved one has a very different attitude to money than you.
I have been with my partner since college, so in this respect I feel really lucky that we were able to have tough money conversations before we started full-time, real-world jobs. We came from very different backgrounds in terms of financial literacy (my grandpa gave me a little bit of money to invest in stocks as a graduation present, whereas his family isn't as focused on long-term saving), but thankfully we are both on the same page about our own finances.
People think we're a little strange, actually (well, we are, but that's a different story!). We have a joint account for big-ticket items and home improvement expenses, but we have kept our own accounts for everything else. We alternate paying everything: alternate on groceries, filling up the car, etc. And for utilities and things we still square up at the end of the month like we're just roommates. Our salaries have both fluctuated in terms of who makes more, so we figure it all comes out in the wash anyway.
One conversation we have had over the last few years is a strategy for paying off his remaining student loans (he paid off everything in his name, now is paying off the loan his parents borrowed for him). We're constantly working the numbers to figure out if we should move money around to pay more of it now, or to keep the payments a little smaller and drag it out a bit. I try to help where I can by either giving him a little bit for an extra principal payment, or paying for a larger expense so he doesn't need to chip in 50% and can use the money elsewhere. It's a work in progress, but we're getting there!
I'll be the guinea pig! My partner and I have VERY different philosophies about money. I am looser with the wallet, love credit cards & points (which I pay off every month, tbf) and also like to invest most of my savings. He is extremely frugal and highly risk-averse, so keeps his money in a (legitimately freaky high-interest) savings account. Because of this, we have kept all of our finances completely separate after getting married because we knew we'd drive each other nuts even if we could just see what the other was doing with their money. We venmo each other our portion of the rent/utilities depending on who pays. But I will say my student debt legitimately freaked him out when we first discussed getting married. It took him 4 years to get used to the idea of marrying someone with so much student debt. (He has no student debt of any kind, and was literally paid to go to college.)
Also my dad! I have thought about this a lot recently. He is brilliant with investing, obsessively follows his, mine, and my brothers' retirement accounts and investment funds, and helps me rebalance my portfolios at least once a year. It is his one hobby. It can be a little much now that I am a full adult and married, etc, but it can be nice to have someone looking out for me. He does, however, have a slightly riskier view of debt in general. He encouraged me to go wherever I wanted for college and take out honestly pretty massive loans, which I don't necessarily regret but also wish I'd been more aware and worked harder to take out less initially (scholarships, etc). He gave the same advice to my brothers, who have even less earning potential than I do and all of us are feeling the crunch now. He will also take out the longest loan possible for a lower monthly payment but still pay more over the life of the loan, and my mom and I are like "but why?" Not sure if it has to do with our very different income brackets? Though it has been fun to bond with him over our shared love of investing and finances now!
OK here are the confusing details about posting comments I’ve now learned! 1. You need to click on the individual post 2. You need to be logged in to Substack 3. If you do those two things then a “post comment” box will appear! 4. Only subscribers can post comments. 5. You need to choose a profile name AND photo, even if logged in already? Cheeky! Now go go go
I have been with my partner since college, so in this respect I feel really lucky that we were able to have tough money conversations before we started full-time, real-world jobs. We came from very different backgrounds in terms of financial literacy (my grandpa gave me a little bit of money to invest in stocks as a graduation present, whereas his family isn't as focused on long-term saving), but thankfully we are both on the same page about our own finances.
People think we're a little strange, actually (well, we are, but that's a different story!). We have a joint account for big-ticket items and home improvement expenses, but we have kept our own accounts for everything else. We alternate paying everything: alternate on groceries, filling up the car, etc. And for utilities and things we still square up at the end of the month like we're just roommates. Our salaries have both fluctuated in terms of who makes more, so we figure it all comes out in the wash anyway.
One conversation we have had over the last few years is a strategy for paying off his remaining student loans (he paid off everything in his name, now is paying off the loan his parents borrowed for him). We're constantly working the numbers to figure out if we should move money around to pay more of it now, or to keep the payments a little smaller and drag it out a bit. I try to help where I can by either giving him a little bit for an extra principal payment, or paying for a larger expense so he doesn't need to chip in 50% and can use the money elsewhere. It's a work in progress, but we're getting there!
I'll be the guinea pig! My partner and I have VERY different philosophies about money. I am looser with the wallet, love credit cards & points (which I pay off every month, tbf) and also like to invest most of my savings. He is extremely frugal and highly risk-averse, so keeps his money in a (legitimately freaky high-interest) savings account. Because of this, we have kept all of our finances completely separate after getting married because we knew we'd drive each other nuts even if we could just see what the other was doing with their money. We venmo each other our portion of the rent/utilities depending on who pays. But I will say my student debt legitimately freaked him out when we first discussed getting married. It took him 4 years to get used to the idea of marrying someone with so much student debt. (He has no student debt of any kind, and was literally paid to go to college.)
Also my dad! I have thought about this a lot recently. He is brilliant with investing, obsessively follows his, mine, and my brothers' retirement accounts and investment funds, and helps me rebalance my portfolios at least once a year. It is his one hobby. It can be a little much now that I am a full adult and married, etc, but it can be nice to have someone looking out for me. He does, however, have a slightly riskier view of debt in general. He encouraged me to go wherever I wanted for college and take out honestly pretty massive loans, which I don't necessarily regret but also wish I'd been more aware and worked harder to take out less initially (scholarships, etc). He gave the same advice to my brothers, who have even less earning potential than I do and all of us are feeling the crunch now. He will also take out the longest loan possible for a lower monthly payment but still pay more over the life of the loan, and my mom and I are like "but why?" Not sure if it has to do with our very different income brackets? Though it has been fun to bond with him over our shared love of investing and finances now!
OK here are the confusing details about posting comments I’ve now learned! 1. You need to click on the individual post 2. You need to be logged in to Substack 3. If you do those two things then a “post comment” box will appear! 4. Only subscribers can post comments. 5. You need to choose a profile name AND photo, even if logged in already? Cheeky! Now go go go
Testting....