![]() ![]() ![]() There are all kinds of resources out there to help you budget, save, and invest. How do I get started with budgeting, saving, and investing? I’m a newly divorced woman who is no longer combining her income with her partner’s - and it feels overwhelming and embarrassing to admit that I don’t know how to manage my own money. My partner feels the same way, which is one of the reasons why our partnership continues to work. Despite my occasional splurges on handcrafted jewelry and hardcover books, nearly all of my assets - including the money in my personal checking account - are meant to support the long-term financial stability of our household. That said, I predict that as you and your spouse continue to build your lives together, you’ll begin to think of nearly everything you earn, spend, and save as “ours.” It’s a natural trajectory, and one that I’ve experienced personally. It’s also worthwhile to become familiar with any state laws regarding community property, as that could change how you and your spouse decide to manage your shared assets. If you have financial responsibilities toward aging parents or growing children, you’ll also need to discuss how you’ll handle end-of-life care, college costs, and so on - and decide whether that money will come out of a shared household account or whether it will be something you pay for out of a personal account. This means talking about the tough stuff, from prenups to last wills. It’s about whether you have the kinds of conversations that allow you to create a financial partnership that feels right for both of you. How you and your spouse deal with income could look much the same, but it isn’t really about whether you set up an arrangement that matches ours. We dealt with our income by discussing it - and we continue to have these kinds of financial discussions, including near-term budgeting and longer-term forecasting, at least once a month. ![]() It also felt better emotionally, which is the real point of my telling you this story. We talked about doing proportional contributions, but transferring the same amount of money to the shared account every month made more sense mathematically. He’s a bit older, so he’s already built up his savings to the point where he can ease up on the freelance work and begin the process of covering the daily costs of living through long-term asset management. I’m in my prime earning years, which means that much of what I don’t contribute to our household goes into high-yield savings accounts and various retirement funds. He and I are both self-employed, and although we do not make the same amount of money at present, we both contribute the same amount of money to our shared account. I bought a pair of dangly ceramic earrings. (He just ordered a hummingbird feeder shaped like a double helix. This allowed both of us to contribute to the costs of maintaining our home - the weekly groceries, the monthly utility bills, the upgraded HVAC system that our technician assured us would last a good 15 years - while maintaining separate checking accounts for the kinds of purchases that we would prefer to make without consulting the other. When my partner and I set up house together, we also set up a joint checking account for shared household expenses. ![]() How do you deal with income when you marry late in life? Do you combine it, or keep things separate? Here, we answer two questions asked by Vox readers, which have been edited and condensed. If you want advice on spending, saving, or investing - or any of the complicated emotions that may come up as you prepare to make big financial decisions - you can submit your question here. For Vox’s Money Talks interview column, she’s written stories about couples who run small businesses, navigate different relationships with spending, handle health insurance, and more. On the Money is a new monthly advice column written by Nicole Dieker, a personal finance expert who’s been writing about money for over a decade. ![]()
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