There’s an expression in the Christian community that’s used quite often to refer to marriage. Couples are encouraged to avoid being “unequally yoked.”
In other words, being with someone who does not share your faith and values.
But we know, just by nature, that opposites attract. So for my “Honey, I Need Some Money!” contest, I asked couples to share stories of how they deal with their differences when it comes to money.
One man from South Carolina wrote: “During our marriage, I noticed that my (now ex-) wife … rang up so many bounced check fees, it was ridiculous. So, without telling her, I put $300 of my own money in her account. She didn’t know for many months because I was the one who balanced the accounts each month. But one day, she looked over my shoulder and asked, ‘What’s that?’ I had to admit that I’d put that $300 there to keep her from overdrawing her account. She started depending on that money being there and started bouncing checks again.”
Many spouses said they manage different money styles by just taking over the finances.
“I do nearly all the money-management tasks,” wrote an Ohio reader, who like many others, asked to remain anonymous. “While it’s definitely frustrating at times to see how my husband spends money, as long as he is contributing his share of our expenses and putting some money toward savings, I have learned to live with it. I have accepted the reality that I am going to be the breadwinner for our retirement and choose to focus on other positive qualities he brings to our marriage.”