Most problems in a relationship comes when only one partner earns while the other has to stay at home, this often occurs during the time of pregnancy and after that.
An article published in success.com states that 'median household income for families with two full-time working parents is just over $100,000, compared with just $55,000 for households where only the father works full time, according to a 2015 Pew Research Center survey.'
Managing the house hold expenses in single-income can be emotionally draining.
The article lists out a few points put forth by people who have successfully managed to run their family with single income.
The first on the list is surrender feelings of ownership. The earner will feel that s/he has the right to spend the money where as the other partner might feel that they cannot spend. The couples can adopt an 'our money' approach in which the earnings can be shared and managed together.
Earning alone is not the only way to save, but optimising the expenses can also yield the same result.
The article quotes Monica Louie who left her job to take care of her children. 'My role in taking control of our finances has allowed me to feel like I am contributing financially to my family because my husband gives me credit for staying on top of our budget to make sure we’re paying as much toward our debt as possible each month.'
The next problem comes when the non-earning partner wants to spend on something. They constantly may have to ask the earning partner for money or permission. The only way this can be solved is by managing personal costs. The couples can share the income and have some amount separated for their personal expenses.
For all the above points to be successful, the partners should communicate with each other.
'Don’t wait for a problem to discuss your finances. Make it a frequent conversation and always be open and honest. That is our key to financial success on one income,' says Eric Rosenberg of Personal Profitability.
