Couples have conflict more often about financial issues than any other single
issue, according to several resent studies. Marriage places two individuals in
an environment where they must work together to manage and use their money.
Research has shown the financial practices and patterns a couple chooses can
help or harm their marriage. Experts suggest discussing expectations and
creating a plan for how finances will be managed in your relationship even
before the marriage begins. The following excerpts from the National Healthy
Marriage Resource Center answer common questions regarding financial issues and
marriage. |
|
Do financial problems lead to marital problems and divorce? Not many people
who have divorced say that financial problems were a big reason why they did so,
but research on what predicts eventual divorce shows that economic stress and
financial problems increase the odds of divorce. The link between economic
stress and divorce appears to be stronger for lower-income couples. Financial
stress appears to lead to more hostile interactions between spouses, which
decreases marital satisfaction. Effective couple communication helps to buffer
financial stress so that it does not harm the marriage. More research on this
topic is needed, however, particularly as it relates to lower-income families.
Do financial problems affect marriages early on, or do these problems emerge
later? The research on financial problems in marriage finds consistently that
financial problems can affect marriages negatively in the earliest years of the
marriage. This finding suggests that individuals often bring financial problems
into their marriages. It also suggests that learning good money management
skills before marrying is an important way to prepare for a successful marriage.
How does a person's financial background or current financial situation
affect his or her chances of marrying?
A person's financial background and financial situation can affect his or her
chances of marrying in several ways. Below are some of the research findings on
this question. The answers are somewhat different for men and women and for
higher- and lower-income individuals. Men with higher earnings, better and more
secure jobs, and stronger economic prospects are more likely to marry. Women who
have higher earnings — and who have higher earnings potential — are more likely
to marry, compared with less advantaged women. Women's growing economic
independence and commitment to education and career in early adulthood generally
delay the age at which women marry. However, greater education is still
associated with a greater likelihood that they will marry eventually. Women who
have spent more time receiving public assistance and who have lower incomes are
less likely to ever marry, and these factors are stronger predictors of never
marrying than is education level.
When a husband and wife both earn an income, do they have a higher or lower
risk of divorce? If wives are not particularly satisfied with their marriage,
then their income appears to increase the odds of divorce, probably because the
income gives them more independence to leave an unhealthy or unsatisfactory
relationship. Among happily married wives, their income does not seem to
increase the odds of divorce. One study suggested that if wives perceived that
their marriages were in trouble, they either sought employment or tried to
increase their work hours, perhaps trying to establish a more secure financial
footing if a divorce were to occur. In two-income families, the higher the
husbands' earnings, the lower the odds of separation or divorce appear to be.
But when the husband's earnings are low, a wife's earnings seem to play an
important role in reducing the chances of divorce, if she is happy with the
marriage. |
|
Are there some specific financial practices that are associated with
healthier marriages? How couples decide to handle financial matters in the first
few months of the marriage can have an impact on the quality of their marriage
down the road. Establishing fair and equitable financial practices at an early
stage in the marriage is another valuable pillar in the foundation of a healthy
marriage. It seems logical to many people that if wives and husbands share
financial management responsibilities, they will have healthier marriages. One
study found that in happier couples, wives had significant influence in
financial matters, such as withdrawing cash, paying bills, and managing
expenditures. However, this study also found that while husbands and wives in
happier marriages both took part in the couple's financial management decisions,
they generally practiced role specialization. Role specialization occurs when
each partner helps manage the finances, but each specializes in different
aspects of the finances.
|
