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While reading “The 12 biggest reasons we fight over finances” article by Dunleavey, where she describes three main sources of money conflicts: communication, control and family, I was thinking about my friend who just got divorced. This couple had constant fights over the money. (“Many studies found that finances are the number one reason for divorces in the United States, and also one of the main reasons married people fight” moneyallocator.com) Please note that the money was not the only reason for the divorce, there were other factors as well. I knew that the divorce was inevitable because their overall family budget was wrong. They had two separate checking accounts and were splitting all their expenses in half. He was paying for the school (they have 3 kids), she was paying for the mortgage and so on. To make the story short, she lost her job recently (What to Do If You Get Laid Off) and their relationship got worse, following by a lot of stress and divorce. I just can’t imagine how hard it is on kids.

From my experience “the split in half” financial system never works. What will happen if your spouse lose the job? (What To Do If You or Your Spouse Lose Their Job) Then you’re gonna have to cover all expenses in the family. What is the next logical step? Are you going to ask for your money back when your spouse find a new job? It’s just nonsense. In my opinion it doesn’t matter who pays the bills, as long as couple communicate and have a mutual understanding and goals.