Happy Marriages Do This…
The data is in, and it confirms something I have suspected for many years: Happy marriages share finances, bank accounts, and money.
As a lawyer, I have witnessed a pattern for many years. Among other things, our firm handles divorce, and almost all our divorce clients have separate bank accounts. They use terms like “my account” or “I pay that bill” or they say things like “she doesn’t know anything about our finances” or “I earn more than he does.” They might even lead with “only my name is on the deed” – you get the point. What our divorce clients have in common is that they have never married their financial lives.
The Wall Street Journal recently published an article confirming what we have notice at our law office. Here is the main point:
“A recent study suggests couples with joint bank accounts tend to be more satisfied with marriage – and think their relationship with their spouse is relatively good versus relatively bad – compared with couples who keep their finances separate. Such couples also are more in sync with each other on money issues and more likely to respond to each other’s needs without expecting reciprocity, the study found.”
Of course, this is not surprising. Not only is it logical that as you combine your life with your spouse that money is a big part of that union, but expert advice for years has touted the need to combine finances. Marriage counselors like Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott and financial experts like Dave Ramsey, have long encourage married couples to join their finances, bank accounts, and money.
Nothing is more intimate in marriage than money, not even sex, politics, or religion. If you cannot trust your spouse with money, you’ll likely end up in my office.
For more information, watch our review of “Saving Your Marriage Before It Starts.” You can also read our review of “The Meaning of Marriage.”
