This is a common thing that unfortunately a lot of couples have to deal with. One of the partners will be financially responsible and make excellent decisions, while the other partner is seemingly careless or just simply has poor spending habits. Ultimately, situations like this usually lead to arguments and money is one of the big factors in causing divorces. This is due to the fact that one partner is going in one direction, while the other partner is going the opposite direction. Therefore, no financial progress is being made.

Arguments will typically begin to initiate more often as tension builds in the home. Each person begins to become more frustrated. Before you know it, a situation like this can easily end up in divorce court. Of course, no one wants to end up in divorce court battling against someone that they love, so what do you do if you’re facing this problem with your significant other? Below, I’m going to give you some tips that will certainly help you out.

Calm down.

It’s extremely important that you calm yourself down and make sure you’re not angry by the time you decide to have a discussion with your partner. Remember that you fell in love with them for a reason and keep in mind that they just simply have different spending habits than you do. If you talk with your partner and you’re angry, you’re likely going to end up fighting with them and that’s not going to help either of you and it certainly won’t solve the problem.

Remember, just because your partner has different spending habits than you do doesn’t make them wrong and it doesn’t make you right. Instead, you’re just not on the same page as each other. Therefore, you need to keep that in mind while talking with your partner.

Get on the same page.

Now that both you and your partner are calm, you need to sit down with each other and start planning out your future. If you want to make any progress, you both have to get on the same page and think about what goals you would both like to accomplish financially. Think about what you both want out of life.

What I suggest is that you each get out a piece of paper and write down all of the goals that you would both like to accomplish within the next five years. After you’re both finished, you should compare your lists with each other. Instead of focusing on goals that differ, you should look at the goals that you both have in common.

Once you know which goals you’d both like to accomplish, you can start creating a plan on how you both, as a couple, can work towards those goals. Now, it’s important that you hold each other accountable, so list out the things that both of you need to do in order to make these goals come to fruition. That way, both of you will be more likely to stay motivated and stick to the plan.