332: Handling Finances as a Couple: Individual, Combined, or a Bit Of Both?

Having shared finances, for most couples, is an automatic thing to do once married or after being together for many years. It seems natural to want to combine income, expenses, and investments all in one big pot. This was the norm for most couples over the past hundred years, but as technology has made individual accounts more defined, some couples are finding freedom in keeping their finances separate from their relationship.

We thought we’d put this theory to the test by having Doug Cunnington and Carl Jensen, hosts of the Mile High FI podcast, on the show. Doug and his wife have separate finances, Carl (Mindy’s husband) has completely combined their cash flow, and David Pere (our trusted military millionaire) has walked the tightrope between combined and separate finances with his wife. But which couple is fairing the best?

Unfortunately, we will not be having a couple vs. couple cage match?—but we will discuss the pros and cons of each strategy. Carl, David, and Doug all bring up interesting, and often emotional, arguments as to why they think their money-splitting strategy works best for their specific relationship. If you’re currently in a relationship, married, or about to be wed, this may be a crucial topic worth exploring before your spouse spends $50,000+ on an impulse Tesla order!

In This Episode We Cover

Three couples with three different ways of splitting finances 

How to combine monthly cash flow so that bills are paid

The bright side of prenuptial agreements and why every married couple should have one

Respecting your partner's money mindset by building a spouse-specific system for the two of you

Saving for your child's college and whether or not higher education is worth it as college becomes increasingly optional

Advice for couples who will (or already) combine their finances and investing

And So Much More!

Links from the Show

BiggerPockets Money Facebook Group

BiggerPockets Forums

Finance Review Guest Onboarding

Mindy's Twitter

David on BiggerPockets

David’s Site From Military to Millionaire

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Check Out Mindy’s 2022 Live Spending Tracker and Budget

Mile High FI Podcast

1,500 Days to Freedom

Why You’re (Probably) Wrong About Prenups

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