Do you like to save your money, spending as little as possible, so you can put it aside for the future? Maybe you have long-term goals, like retirement, or maybe you just like the security of knowing that you have plenty in the bank for an emergency.
Or, on the other hand, do you like to spend? Maybe you feel like life is short, you have worked hard for what you have, and you just want to enjoy yourself. You do save some, but your main goal isn’t just to set aside what you can. You want to have experiences and make memories.
No matter which option you picked, it could lead to divorce. The key is simply whether or not you and your spouse look at money in the same way.
If you want to spend and your spouse wants to save, for instance, everything you do appears wasteful and reckless to them. This can stress them out and put pressure on your relationship. If you want to save and your spouse is the one who wants to spend, your rules about saving can feel too confining to them. This stresses the relationship because they feel like you’re preventing them from living the life they want to live.
The point here is not to determine which outlook is “correct.” You can pick either side. Just know that couples who have different goals with their money, who look at it in fundamentally different ways, often find themselves at odds. This is part of the reason that they say money is a leading cause of divorce. If you do end up getting divorced for this or any other reason, it’s wise to look into your legal options.