You really won’t get far in this world without money. And somehow, things like honesty, loyalty, ambition, hard work, and compassion have come to mean less and less. Since money is so important in the world today, it makes perfect sense that the meshing of two people would be a little bit messy. Sure, we can promise to love each other for the rest of our lives, through sickness and health, that’s easy! But the money part? That’s a little harder.

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Of all the many different aspects of our lives as independent human beings, I think that the one we want control over most is our financial situation. And that’s why it’s so incredibly difficult to join our finances with another person. If, God forbid, something were to happen to the relationship, money is really the biggest thing to worry about. How many couples getting a divorce end up going to court over money, the house, the furniture?? Our future outside of the relationship depends on the money that we make, and so we’ll fight tooth and nail to keep it. And we’re suddenly just expected to let go of all that? Let go of the ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ and change it to ‘ours’ just like that? Well, not just like that, but yes.

Honestly, I’ve never had any problem with the whole ‘our money’ thing. I have Dahlia Dad and Dahlia Mom to thank for that. Their incredible example of what a real relationship is has made this transition a whole lot easier for me. Anyhow, like I said, it was never a problem.

Even before Dahlia Dude and I got engaged, it was already ‘our money’ in our minds. We each make our own money, but never really argue as to who pays for what. Rent, utilities, groceries, you name it. We know what we have to pay, how much it is, and we take care of it. That’s it. There’s no arguing, no fighting, no bickering, nothing. We don’t worry about who owes who what, we don’t worry about who makes more and what they’re paying, we just take care of our responsibilities and use what we can for fun. I’ve been extremely fortunate to have such an easy time with this.

I also know, however, that my way isn’t for everyone. So what do you and your husband or fiance do about finances? Do you keep everything separate? Have a joint account? I’d love to hear what you’ve found works for you, and what definitely doesn’t work.