There is a fairly fundamental and foundational principle for managing personal financial strategy as man and wife in the context of a godly marriage. God tells us as early as Genesis 2 that a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Genesis 2:24 24For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
This principle applies to financial strategy in the same way it applies to other aspects of marriage. Husband and wife should both be involved and aligned on their financial strategy. If not managed properly it can be a destructive issue for marriages and families.
One spouse often may take a leadership role in accounting and long-range planning. This approach is fine, but it is essential to at least communicate and align on the strategy.
If the married couple is aligned, but one is completely uninvolved and unaware of the finances… it could be that much more difficult in the event of the death of their spouse. In addition to dealing with their loss, they also have to start from scratch on understanding financial strategy.
It is much worse if the two are not aligned. If one is dedicated to saving and the other to spending… or one feels the need to provide for higher education for the children and one thinks the kids should pay for it themselves. Even saying you have separate accounts to manage separately is not a healthy solution. That is just an excuse not to work through the process to agree on your joint financial strategy.
If you believe in marriage according to God’s instruction then you already know you will both be together through life’s challenges and into retirement, God willing. You will not be separate, so do not fool yourselves into thinking of it as “his money” and “her money”. This often represents a failure to agree on a common financial strategy and can lead to much resentment and difficulty.
Investing the time to work through your differences of opinion to align on a common financial strategy and to maintain that over time removes a significant obstacle toward enjoying a thriving, joy-filled marriage.
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Remember that all you have belongs to God. Manage your money God’s way. Visit GrowGodsMoney.org .