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Personal finance

Money and marriage: Building a financial future together

10 minute read   •   May 15, 2025
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Money and marriage aren't always a perfect pair, which can sometimes add to the financial stress you might already feel. Fortunately, there are some benefits to joining finances with your life partner. A healthy financial partnership starts with an open and honest conversation, and with some planning, you can achieve more financially with less effort and stress.

If you want to learn how to manage finances in marriage, here are 5 steps to help you align with your partner and move closer to your goals.

Step 1: Share your philosophies on marriage and money

Before you look into investment strategies for married couples, talk about how you save, spend, and invest. You'll get a better idea of each other's views on money, including investing styles and risk tolerances. Some questions to ask each other prior to combining finances in marriage could be:

  • Do you prefer bold investments or would you rather play it safe?
  • Are you a budgeter or a spender?
  • Do you want to live modestly and save aggressively, or do you favor the finer things in life?
  • Do you have any retirement savings, investment accounts, mortgages, or other debts?
  • What are your daily or monthly expenses?
  • Do you want to keep your finances separate?
  • What purchases warrant notifying the other?

You and your partner might have different views on money and investing, and that's perfectly fine. You might be more open to taking risks for the chance of bigger rewards, while your partner might prefer a more cautious, steady approach. These differences can work well together, as long as you're open and honest with each other about your financial goals and how you plan to achieve them.

If you're unsure about how much risk you're comfortable with and what that means for your investments, we have financial advisors and resources for DIY investors, so you can start saving smartly today.

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Be sure to communicate openly and honestly as you explore the answers to these questions, since this is the first step in laying the foundation for a healthy financial partnership. Remember, whether you're making financial decisions as a couple or on your own, it's natural to make mistakes. The key is to learn from these experiences, avoid placing blame, and keep moving forward.

Step 2: Get organized with big-picture financial goals

Start thinking about the big picture and your shared goals. For some, retirement is a distant goal that can take a backseat to saving for a house, seeing the world, starting a business, or having children. But if you plan to retire at age 65, you may have to start saving sooner or setting aside more money each year to reach your goal on time.

Maybe you have student loans and credit card debt you'd like to pay off, but if your partner is planning a vacation to celebrate your birthday, your respective goals could conflict. Whatever your big-picture financial goals, it's important to align with your partner on these major milestones. Some other topics you'll want to discuss include establishing an emergency fund, paying down debt, and coordinating how to fund your long-term goals.

After you agree on which milestones are most important, create a timeline for achieving those goals. Like your money philosophy, you should be completely open and honest about your big-picture goals to ensure you and your partner work in sync toward your shared aspirations. Use our calculator to see how much income you'll have in retirement.

Thinking about financial goals in the near future?

Learn about short-term goals

Pay down debt

Outstanding debts and the consequences that come with them can put financial stress on a marriage. Debt can also get in the way of shared financial goals, like buying a house or saving for a child's education expenses. When you apply for a loan as a couple, lenders usually look at the lowest credit score among joint applicants. So, it's in both of your best interests to pay off as much debt as you can.

Get tips on paying down debt

Establish an emergency fund

Whether it's an unexpected home or car repair or an unforeseen shift in the job market, having a safety net in case of emergencies is crucial. When you build your emergency fund, you'll need to agree on the target savings amount and determine how much you should put away each month. Experts generally recommend that you set aside 3 to 6 months of living expenses, but this can vary depending on your situation. In case you were to lose your primary source of income, you'll want to consider how much you'll need to cover your expenses. One way to start building your emergency fund is to set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account, which can help establish a saving routine.

Explore more on emergency funds

Fund your goals

A unified strategy is key to achieving and understanding how each of you will contribute to your financial goals. You'll want to:

  • Create a clear household budget to establish spending limits and accountability.
  • Set aside a portion of each paycheck.
  • Consider setting up automatic transfers.

Step 3: Consider combining finances after marriage

When it comes to combining finances after marriage, there's no one-size-fits-all solution. For those who'd like to combine forces, you'll want to know about each other's debts, spending habits, and financial goals. When you combine finances, your partner's debt becomes your debt, and vice versa. In addition, your savings and spending will also become one.

While it can be a difficult conversation, some couples create a prenuptial agreement (prenup) before marriage to ensure they're both taken care of if the relationship ends. Prenups can cover various financial matters like how you handle bill payments or how you'd divide assets if the relationship ends. Consulting with a lawyer can help ensure that both partners are protected and that any tax implications are considered.

Step 4: Review your taxes and insurance policies

Some married couples agree to file taxes together as "married filing jointly." This means you'll report your combined income and deductions on one tax return. You can do this even if one of you didn't earn any income or have any deductions.

If you plan to file jointly, changing your marital status can affect your taxes, including how much tax you owe, credits you can claim, your refund amount, and more. It can also unfluence how much you can contribute to retirement plans and other tax-advantaged savings accounts, like health savings accounts (HSAs). Consult a tax professional to get a better idea of how you and your partner would be affected.

When it comes to insurance, be sure to review or update your current policies. Sufficient coverage can help protect your financial security in difficult situations. Certain health, life, or disability insurance coverages may be a better fit for your situation.

Step 5: Start thinking about estate planning

It's never too early to start thinking about estate planning. It can be an uncomfortable topic, but having a plan in place can help protect your spouse and loved ones. Many people believe that all their assets will automatically go to their partner, but this isn't always the case. State laws can vary, and without a will or other legal documents, your spouse might get less than you expect.

Set aside time to review the beneficiaries on your insurance, investment, and retirement accounts, as these designations take precedence over your will.

Learn about estate planning

Read about beneficiaries

Getting married is an exciting life achievement, but figuring out how you'll manage your marriage and finances as a couple requires some up-front planning. By unifying your financial vision and creating a strategy, you can stay on track to achieve many more milestones together in the future. You don't have to navigate your finances alone. Professional advice services offer guidance and tools to help you and your partner achieve your big-picture goals.

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