I got married in 2010 to a law student. We entered the marriage with different financial circumstances: I’d been working for a few years, paying taxes, saving for retirement and building credit. He was in school, focused primarily on covering his tuition. So when we merged our finances, it made sense based on our differing positions (and my fascination with personal finance) that I would continue to manage the money for us both.
This year, however, my husband graduated, passed the bar and is now planning his re-entry into the work force. And I’m welcoming the change as an opportunity to step back from being the main one in charge of our finances.
Pulling this off poses a few challenges, though. First, there is the technical. Online accounts for retirement savings, credit cards, etc. are intended to be accessed by one person only, so we’ve had to research ways to keep my usernames and passwords secure but allow my husband to find them.
Then there’s an educational hurdle. Although I’ve tried to keep my husband in the loop about the various moves I’ve made with our money, his easygoing nature and absolute trust in my judgment has meant that he doesn’t scrutinize our options. Looking at interest rate tables and reading prospectuses is more my thing. So now my husband is tasked with learning everything from what day of the month our utilities are due to which expenses can be paid out of our health savings account.
The rewards of this project will make the effort worthwhile, in terms of the benefit to our bottom line and our relationship. Sharing these responsibilities will serve as checks and balances for everything from paying bills on time and watching our budget to tweaking our investment portfolio. His lower tolerance for risk and preference to keep cash will be a welcome balance to my gain-chasing impulses.
Most of all, I’m looking forward to knowing we’re equal partners in making choices about our future.
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=5328e906c3d97933dcd6588099fa18c9
