It's All About the Money

By most accounts, Husband and I get along fine. Any onlooker would notice our daily conversations consist of the typical bantering, insults, teasing and jokes that go on with any other couple. It was during the course of one of our insult sessions, which Husband paused, stepped back and looked at me and candidly noted that the only thing we CAN ever fight about is money.

You can’t decide whom your heart wants. No matter how much more, or less, they earn than you. It took some getting used to at first, but I eventually settled to the fact that I will always earn more than Husband. Which doesn’t always mean that tempers don’t flare up every now and then. Arguments about money never end well. Or never end. Period. Unless you have means of obtaining more, fighting about money leaves you frustrated because in a situation that can only be solved by obtaining, well, more money, the problem simply can’t be solved.

A forward thinking friend of mine unknowingly helped me deal with the situation a while back. Her solution was a simple one. The partner that earns more, forks out more. Feminist issues be damned. It wasn’t a matter of pride that some husbands just financially can’t take over full financial responsibility of a household, it’s just sometimes that ideal situation simply can’t be obtained. And if you disagree, you should have put more thought into your choice of spouse BEFORE you got married. There’s a reason your mother told you to marry rich, but if you married following your heart, you usually end up with a lesser deal than you bargained for, and have to learn to deal with the lack of financial support that it comes with.

And once you’ve wrapped your head around it, things usually tend to fall into place after that.