Don’t get me wrong, I love my wife in more ways than just financially, but being married can bring with it certain financial strains if a couple is not financially compatible. Thankfully, my wife and I meld well on the financial front. In fact, it has saved us a lot of money over the years and has helped us excel in a number of personal finance areas. Therefore, here are some of the major reasons why I love been married when it comes to our finances.
Dual Incomes and Expense Sharing
There are certainly great things about being single. Being able to come and go as you please, being able to see other people, being able to hang out with friends at the bar without feeling guilty about not being at home with a spouse, but financially speaking there can be some real downsides as well. With my wife by my side, we can double our financial power. Through a two-job system in which we increase our income, paired with being able to share many of what would be individual expenses were we living on our own (utilities, rent/mortgage costs, health and vehicle insurance), we can maximize our financial situation.
Credit Building
I don’t really use credit, and I don’t even have a credit card. My wife doesn’t use it much either, but at least has a credit card. And while we hardly ever use credit for much other than regular store purchases (having bought our current home outright), it can be a good thing to have if or when necessary. Therefore, even though I don’t use credit, it’s nice to have my wife there to maintain our credit standing should we decide to buy a home down the road upon which we need a mortgage or find ourselves in another situation in which having good and current credit scores could come in handy.
Health Insurance
I’m a self-employed individual. This means that I don’t have employer-sponsored health care. This isn’t really a problem for me since I’m a relatively young, healthy (knock on wood) individual. It is however a necessity for my type 1 diabetic wife and our two children. Having good and reliable health insurance coverage for them is pertinent, and being able to get it through at least one of our jobs saves us thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars each year.
Playing Devil’s Advocate
Sometimes it’s not always about the actual monetary effects of having a spouse that helps me — or her — most. Sometimes it’s our ability to combine our mental capacities — or restrain each other from poor financial decisions — that serves as one of the most valuable financial aspects of having a significant other around.
Since I’m the stronger of the two of us when it comes to financial knowledge and decision-making prowess, I end up saving us thousands of dollars each year through cost cutting efforts and being able to stretch our dollars. Where my wife comes into play is with her ability to play devil’s advocate (and vice versa sometimes) when it comes to certain money ideas. At times I can get a little conservative in my money strategies, and she helps me break out from my miserliness. Other times, she gets a little wild in her spending, and it’s good to have me there to rein her in. Our ability to balance one another’s financial strengths and weaknesses helps us maintain a more stable overall financial household.
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