His money.. her money

HT reader Kanchan Maslekar on couples affected by financial problems.

Couples who face financial problems, often end up arguing and fighting. This leads to a feeling of frustration, causing stress in the relationship.

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“Money isn’t of prime importance in a relationship, but financial constraints put a strain on it,” says Madhu Sancheti, a writer.

“When you have an unstable income or you are in danger of losing your job, you worry about the future,” says software engineer Prathamesh Patil. “Your family becomes a burden.” He adds, “But singles are not as worried about money becoming a major relationship issue.”

No qualmsThere’s a myth that the wife always splurges on clothes and accessories. Urmilla Bhatt, a housewife disagrees: “My husband spends lavishly on branded clothes, exotic food and expensive gifts. When he’s short of money, he has no qualms about borrowing money from friends and family, to buy unaffordable stuff. That’s the main reason for our fights.

When two or more family members pool in their money to take care of the family expenses, and if one doesn’t keep a track of the expenses, then it’s inevitable that one of them will be dissatisfied. Mihika Mahendran, a marketing consultant, says, “Often, we are burdened by our problems but we don’t share them with our partners. But it’s better to do that than pretend that these problems don’t exist.”