This month’s Ask Coach Kathy is about how couples spend money in their relationship.
My wife and I have completely different ideas on how to spend money.
I don’t value what she wants to spend money on, such as clothes, and she doesn’t care about the things I like to spend money on, which are home improvements.
How do we reconcile this?
It’s not unusual that partners have different values around spending their hard-earned money. People have different priorities because people are different. The best advice I have for you and your wife is for you to sit down as a team and, in black and white, create a detailed budget. Make sure you include your after tax income and variable and fixed expenses. Include every expense you can imagine. Once you have done this, see what dispensable income you have to spend. That will help you decide how best to spend it. Compromise is the key. Chances are you can get what you each would like, but maybe not exactly when you would like it.
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