Question

Do you believe you need to have your spouse actively involved, to achieve any sort of success financially? Why?  

Answer 1

No, we have separate bank accts and pay our own bills.  

Comments

@firstnighter that’s not really a marriage then. That’s roommates.  

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@mcardle a bit harsh? Maybe different things work for different people?  

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@firstnighter if that works for you, keep doing it. It’s not a one size fits all in the journey to financial success.  

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@mcardle a marriage is what a couple decides it is. My husband and I have separate accounts and one joint account we use to pay joint expenses. Our investments are separate. That's how we decided to conduct our marriage and it works.  

Answer 2

Maybe not in all instances, but for most, yes. Half that money is theirs typically. That’s at the most basic level. Lots of other layers to dive into.  

Comments

@sinotibetan74 oh yeah totally. I think they should be involved in everything or almost everything in most instances.  

Answer 3

I'm still single but yeah, i'd probably look for someone who is financially savvy as well. When you fail in one thing, let's say you're in debt "It's okay, let us plan on how we can help each other out of debt TOGETHER" VS "This is stupid, i don't really need to plan, things will just fall into place, we might be stuck in debt forever" It is worlds apart tbh.  

Answer 4

Being on the same page matters. If you’re a saver/ planner and your spouse is a spender, it won’t work.  

Answer 5

Absolutely not, but its essential if you plan to be financially successful AND have a strong successful relationship.  

Answer 6

Actively involved, no, but not actively trying to undermine you. So long as you both agree on the goal, one can hold the reins as long as the other agrees to where you’re steering.  

Answer 7

Absolutely. If you’re paradigms don’t align, you likely won’t prosper.  

Answer 8

So it’s been alluded to a few times in the thread, but it depends on what you mean by “success. ” Is it possible to acquire a large pile of money with one person calling the financial shots and the other deferring to them and doing what they’re told? Sure. Is that a fulfilling way to build a solid foundation for all aspects of a life together? That’s a matter of opinion but I would say not in any way that I’d define it.  

Answer 9

No a long as she’s on board, and her financial habits are in line with the your financial plan.  

Answer 10

I don't have a spouse yet, but (and that's a caveat), I do recognize that it depends on if you conduct your finances jointly or separately, depending on taxes and preferences. I think that if you're like me, and want to retire incredibly timely, then it would have to be understood and agreed upon, because the last thing I personally need is for someone to be upset that I am retired, and they are not. Money is typically the root of all domestic problems :|

Answer 11

You don’t but it helps

Answer 12

You do. You both have to be on the same page or you will be fighting with goals etc.  

Answer 13

Yes. especially if you are dual income.  

Answer 14

Huh. Of course.  

Answer 15

Nope. Passive is good enough

Answer 16

Yes, and I think it’s obvious. You cannot have someone building wealth, while the other is taking on more and more debt. Once you’re married it’s best to be on the same page(for the most part).  

Answer 17

No but it works for us because my husband trusts me to get what we need done for our finances and he doesn’t really want to be involved since it’s not something that’s really interesting to him. I’ve completely owned our financial lives for about 8 years now. I am going to start showing him where we’re at in terms of this to keep him more updated even if it’s just once or twice a year.  

Comments

I’m not sure I understand the second part of that question.  

Answer 18

Yes. Not just my spouse, the entire family. We win together and when things don’t go well, we learn together.  

Answer 19

Yes, the cart cannot move in two different directions.  

Answer 20

Not to go to a morbid place or anything, but if one partner is involved and the other is not, and if the one involved passes away, the other should have a firm understanding of what’s going on and of how to carry it forward. On a similar note, if the marriage does not work out, it would really suck for the person not involved to be on his/her own without that involved partner.  

Answer 21

Depends on the relationship, but no, it's not 100% necessary. My husband is too busy and lacks the interest in finances that I have. He's handed the reigns to me and trusts my judgement. If course, he's partially on board and does the little things like not buying lunch out at work and being careful with spending as well as working on career improvement to increase income. But it's definitely something you can do on your own so long as the other partner is not actively working against you.