Evolving Personal Finance » Entries tagged with "marriage"

Hand in Hand: Lean In and Getting to 50/50

Hand in Hand: Lean In and Getting to 50/50

After learning about Sheryl Sandberg’s message to young women from the extensive media coverage of her TED Talk and other speeches, I knew that I should read her book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead.  I saw myself in her comments about 20something women who tone down striving for advancement in their careers when they start thinking about reproducing.  Little did I know that while waiting for her book to arrive, I … Read entire article »

Filed under: books, career, family

Married with Roommates?

Married with Roommates?

Here are the parameters we’re working with:   1) Kyle will graduate as early as June or as late as September, but we’re not sure where he’ll be doing his postdoc or when he’ll start. 2) I’ll need a roommate for after Kyle moves out. 3) If Kyle has a significant period of non-employment in between graduating and starting his postdoc, my pay isn’t quite enough to cover our expenses and basic percentage-based budgeting.   Since roommates are easiest to find … Read entire article »

Filed under: frugality, housing, marriage

Ways to Monetarily Invest in Your Marriage

Ways to Monetarily Invest in Your Marriage

When I identified my top five values, it wasn’t straightforward to me how I would use money to further my value of marriage.  Since Kyle and I don’t have kids yet, I figured every day hanging out at home was like a date, you know?  Not really!  There are many of non-everyday ways to invest in your marriage that money can make happen.  It’s all about putting your money where your values are!   Date Night   Pretty standard … Read entire article »

Filed under: marriage, values

What Happens When a Spendthrift Marries a Tightwad?

What Happens When a Spendthrift Marries a Tightwad?

Which adage is correct: “birds of a feather flock together” or “opposites attract”?  Overwhelmingly in marriages we choose partners who are similar to us in a variety of characteristics – except for our money personalities.  Many people are unhappy with their typical spending behaviors, and disliking a personal characteristic can be motivation for choosing a spouse with the opposite characteristic.  People on extreme ends of the tightwad-spendthrift scale we covered two weeks ago might be … Read entire article »

Filed under: marriage, the literature

Can You Change Your Tightwad/Spendthrift Personality?

Can You Change Your Tightwad/Spendthrift Personality?

Last week we discussed a tool used by some researchers to peg people on a tightwad-spendthrift (TW-ST) scale – please take the quiz and share your (and your spouse’s) score on that post!  But considering this axis of my money personality made me wonder if people can change their tightwad-spendthrift status.   Obviously motivated people can change their behavior.  We particularly see this in people going bananas on their debt who go from spending money like water … Read entire article »

Filed under: psychology

Financial Disclosure Before and After Engagement

Financial Disclosure Before and After Engagement

Kyle and I never had to sit down to have any one big money disclosure talk.  We started dating in college so we saw one another go through the transformation from dependent on our parents to being independent adults, with all the minor steps that happened along the way.  We talked over our stipend offers for grad school, possible places to rent, how I was dealing with my student loan and car debt, and where … Read entire article »

Filed under: marriage

Weekly Update 17

Low-key week for us.  The only out-of-the-ordinary event was a going-away party for some close friends of ours.  We used to be in a church small group together so we got all the members of the group from when it disbanded together.  It was a lovely evening and a great reminder to capitalize on the time we have with our friends while we still live near them!   Kyle and I finally returned our long-held DVDs to Netflix, so we watched our two new received films this weekend.  On Friday we watched Bridesmaids and we were really disappointed!  The movie got such good reviews but we just found it very sad and not nearly as funny as some of Apatow’s other movies.  I also think that movies with SNL stars are a … Read entire article »

Filed under: weekly update

Joint and Separate Money Series: Odds and Ends

Joint and Separate Money Series: Odds and Ends

This is the third installment of a series probing the issue of joint vs. separate money in marital and cohabiting relationships, inspired by the great discussion in the comments of my slippery slope of separate money post.  In each post in this series, I review the methodology and major findings of a paper in the field and then discuss how my husband and I fit into the results.  I encourage you to share your reactions to the … Read entire article »

Filed under: marriage, the literature

Joint and Separate Money Series: Individualized Marriage and Money Management

Joint and Separate Money Series: Individualized Marriage and Money Management

This is the second installment of a series probing the issue of joint vs. separate money in marital and cohabiting relationships, inspired by the great discussion in the comments of my slippery slope of separate money post.  In each post in this series, I review the methodology and major findings of a paper in the field and then discuss how my husband and I fit into the results.  I encourage you to share your reactions … Read entire article »

Filed under: marriage, the literature

Are You Sure You Want to Spend $27000 on Your Wedding?

Are You Sure You Want to Spend $27000 on Your Wedding?

Today we are featuring a guest post from Edward Antrobus as part of this month’s Yakezie Blog Swap – click over to his blog to check out my participating post.  Edward is a blogger, home cook, and construction worker.  Enjoy!   The cost of the average wedding is over $25,000. That number doesn’t even include the cost of the dress! (I’ve never understood that. Isn’t the wedding dress a wedding-related cost? Why wouldn’t you include it in the … Read entire article »

Filed under: choices, debt, frugality, marriage