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Meeting and marrying my wife are two of the best things that have ever happened to me. I still can’t believe she said yes. The past 5 years of marriage have been truly wonderful.
While most couples might avoid money talks, early on in our relationship, we held nothing back. We were totally transparent when discussing money and the financial milestones that we were hoping to achieve later in life.
I was incredibly thankful as my wife hated debt as much as I did. She was willing to eschew excess material possessions so that we could save for the future. So early on, I knew she was the one. Since we were financially compatible, I knew that we would be able to build a great life together.
Saving Money
While I thought that I was pretty efficient when it came to my finances when I was single, my wife has taken it to a whole new level. As an example, I use to spend $500 on groceries for just myself. I was lazy and went to the closest grocery store with wide aisles and everything laid out perfectly. In contrast, my wife loves shopping deals and has no problem going to discount grocery stores to save a buck.
Since we wed, she has been able to reduce our food bill from $500 when it was just me, to nearly $400 for the two of us. Not to mention I’m eating much healthier, as she buys a lot of organic produce and meat. It is nice to have a wife who seeks to save our hard-earned money.
Related article: How We Save Money on Food
Marriage & Money
Since my wife and I recently joined the Marriage Ministry at our church, I am more interested in studies on money and marriage. I recently stumbled upon a survey conducted by TD Ameritrade called Marriage and Money. They polled 2,000 adults- 1,000 unmarried and 1,000 married, in the United States (ages 37 and older). The survey revealed some incredibly interesting statistics.
Source: TD Ameritrade
Nearly 4 out of 10 married Americans report that they are they pay more attention to their finances now that they are married than when they were single.
I guess this makes sense when you consider that you have to factor in someone else’s expenses along with your own. In our marriage, my wife and I delegate our finances in such a way that she takes care of the day-to-day bills while I focus more on the long-term, e.g. investing. While most of our bills are on auto-pay, we still check them to verify accuracy and rightness.
Another great thing about a spouse is they sometimes remember things that might slip your mind. For instance, I received a bonus from work the other month. I figured I would just throw that money into the stock market, but thankfully my wife reminded me of a few upcoming bills that weren’t on my radar. Those property taxes and auto insurance bills always seem to creep up on me unexpectedly. You would think I would remember when they are due by now. I’m glad one of us does!
Saving More Money
Nearly 33% of married men and 28% of married women report that they save more money as a married couple.
I can definitely attest to this one. When I was single, I went out a lot more. Whether it was going to movies, hanging out with friends at bars, or eating at restaurants, that spending adds up quickly.
Thankfully my wife is a great cook, so I don’t eat out as much. On top of that, my friends and I have kids, so we do a lot less bar-hopping. Now, we playground-hop, which conveniently is free :). Since we’ve reduced our expenses as a result of going out less, we save more and can allocate our excess money towards things like 529 plans.
Related article: How Can Parents Raise A Child Without Incurring Debt?
No Change
The one concerning stat on the chart above is that nearly 22% of respondents said that when they got married, nothing changed. Hopefully that is because both individuals are on the same financial page, but I’m not that naive to believe that.
The Single Biggest Financial Benefit to Getting Married
Source: TD Ameritrade
Interestingly, 30% of married Americans believe that the moral support of keeping each other on track is the biggest financial benefit. That makes a lot of sense. Your spouse is the perfect accountability partner when both of you are working towards a common financial goal.
Admittedly, I was disappointed to see that 24% of unmarried people saw no benefit to getting married. Sure, moral support and combining incomes are great. But there are also smaller benefits such as receiving better car insurance rates, more options when it comes to healthcare plans (if both are working), or even an increase in the capital gains exclusion when buying a home.
According to JJ Kinahan, chief market strategist and managing director at TD Ameritrade…
“For many Americans, wedding bells serve as a wake-up call to get their finances in order as they now have a partner to think about. Having a spouse, and perhaps for some a family, can encourage better financial habits, deter overspending, and keep long-term goals in focus.”
Truthfully, I would not be in the financial position that I am in today without my wife. However, the financial benefits to marriage pale in comparison to the having a loving spouse support them.
Awesome post! The biggest benefit for me was a huge tax break. Since my wife was recently graduated from college and didn’t have a job, I lived in the middle of nowhere, I got an $8000 tax refund that year! She has since followed me to China where we are still a one income family. For us the tax break was huge, but she also definitely holds me more accountable for spending than I used to be. I never spent too huge amounts, but I did have a $600 per month budget for whatever I felt like (ie bikes and bike parts).
Also, nice site redesign. Looks great.
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That’s funny that your biggest benefit was the tax break, where I initially didn’t want to get married because it would cause us to pay MORE taxes! Both my wife and I work and by filing as individuals, we were able to pay less taxes. We ended up getting married despite that. We experience many of the other benefits on the list, but I would attribute them toward being in a committed relationship as opposed to the actual marriage.
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Thanks for sharing Zack!!! The marriage tax was definitely real back in the day. I’m glad to see that it’s been eased a bit in the new tax bill 🙂
Thanks for sharing Justin!!! Sounds like your wife and my wife would be good friends. My wife definitely holds me accountable for things but it’s good. We are reaching our desired financial goals much much faster since she entered the picture 🙂
Interesting stats! You hear so much about the negative relationship between money and marriage that it’s good to get some positive stats as well.
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I couldn’t agree more. Marriages built on the right foundation have the ability to supersize a couples wealth 🙂
There’s definitely a huge financial benefit especially when it comes to dual income. Assuming both bring in similar income, you could save 100% income from one spouse and treating the other income as spending for expenses if you put it in that perspective.
So, it definitely helps a lot when combined! Overall, sharing almost everything just makes everything easier and more efficient
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I couldn’t agree more. If you can get by on one salary while saving the other, that is a tremendous help towards reaching your financial goals in life. Also even if you don’t make the same, if you can live off the smaller salary that works too 🙂
Call me old school, but when I got married, I felt that I had the added duty to build a better financial future for both of us. I became more conscious of my money habits and I want to be more responsible for our money.
Some of the added benefits of being married is that you now have two incomes, better borrowing power (could be a bad thing if you borrow to consume rather to invest), more money to save and invest. I don’t think that I will be able to achieve the financial results that I had today being single.
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Thanks for sharing Leo!!! Marriage definitely brought on a new maturity to me as well. I can’t imagine where I’d be if I was still single. I would not be where I am today without my wife 🙂
Biggest benefit was the second income. It gave us some freedom to take some risks and now my wife is going to be able to quit traditional work to pursue her passion.
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That’s awesome to hear that your wife was able to pursue her passion. My sister was able to do the same thing and is pursuing her passion as an artist (she’s doing quite well). Amazing how things like that work out 🙂
Interesting statistics about marriage! I think the biggest benefit was sharing a household/having a second income. But having an accountability partner is important, too. My wife and I were each careful with our finances before we met, but we’re definitely stronger together. Add in things like tax benefits and insurance rates and financially what’s not to like about marriage?
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Marriage is wonderful. Having a built in accountability partner to share life with is incredibly useful and helpful. The added benefits of insurance rates and what not are icing on the cake 🙂
Do you want her to do a tutorial for my wife and the grocery bill. That said, marrying my wife was the best thing that I have ever done. But we do disagree some financially, but she is slowly coming around, particularly when she sees our savings.
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Whenever two lives come together we bring different experiences to the table. Sometimes it takes one spouse longer than the other to see the light. As long as they eventually see it 🙂
My nearly 40 year marriage matches everything you said in this post. But one additional thing is that married people make more money and have more successful careers. Maybe engendering that kind of trust in another person requires integrity and commitment that translates to trustworthiness at work. Or maybe having an honest confidante at home shaves off bad habits and rough social edges. Whatever the reason studies show married people do better than singles at earning and generating wealth.
Thanks for pointing that out Steveark!!! I have read those studies and should have included them in the figures. I definitely need to see the hypothesis around why that’s the case 🙂
Marriage comes with responsibilities. You also become more financially responsible. Before you spend any amount, you will want to assess the impact it might have on you now and in the future. Instead of eating out, the decision to start preparing food at home also saves some expenses. But unfortunately, some bachelors run away from marriage thinking that their expenses will automatically double. This is just a myth
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That is definitely the truth!!! I thought for sure my food bill would double if not more. My wife has nice taste in food. I couldn’t have been more wrong and I’m eating better than I ever have before 🙂
We pay a marriage tax penalty, although that may change a bit with the new tax plan. Getting married has definitely been a positive for the Widget household though. We push and support each other in all our endeavours. This has led to successes that far outweigh any tax penalty we have paid in the past. It also accelerated our path to financial independence!
Great new site design!
Thanks for the kind words on the site design 🙂 Marriage has been a tremendous blessing for us as well and we couldn’t be happier with the positive outcomes!!!
I think the thing about getting married is that you have to care more about your own finances. Because it’s no longer just you – you have to make your finances work in order to not put pressure no your spouse.
I’m getting married next year, and I can definitely say that I’ve been looking at my own finances a lot more carefully recently. I’m no longer just looking out for myself.
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Thanks for sharing Troy!!! I couldn’t agree more. Every decision that you make impacts someone you care about. Definitely makes you think twice before you make that purchase 🙂
Spot on with the accountability when you have a spouse. Whenever we want to spend on something big, it forces us to have a discussion and weigh the costs and benefits of the spending. Also whenever we want to increase our savings by a significant amount, it also warrants a conversation. In a way, the love in marriages creates a sense of responsibility and accountability that helps us become a bit more serious about our finances. By the way, I love the new site look 🙂
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Thanks for sharing SMM!!! I couldn’t agree more that the accountability is huge. Our net worth wouldn’t be where it is today without my wife. She is incredible and pushes me everyday. When you find the right person, it’s hard to imagine how far they can push you in life 🙂
For my wife and I, definitely sharing household bills, plus both being “on the same page” as to spending and investing. Before marriage, we each saved and spent as we saw fit, resulting in somewhat chaotic finances. Now, we have unified plans.
Oh, and what your wife did with grocery shopping, mine did with clothes shopping! She taught me to shop at outlet stores and hunt for bargains 🙂
That’s awesome to hear Miguel!!! It’s amazing the things that we think we know and how little we actually know in certain areas. Like how much could I really learn when it came to grocery shopping…clearly a lot 🙂