A Week of Ups and Downs
Life lately has been very much a series of good things followed by something bad. Luckily nothing so far has been too terrible, but it can still make for a rough week.
Andrew officially graduated with his MBA with NYU commencement at Yankee Stadium and then the Stern School ceremony at MSG. That was the good. The bad was that we got rear-ended while driving home from Yankee Stadium in the Bronx. Luckily traffic was moving slow enough that no one got hurt. I may have freaked out a little, but I’m 8 months pregnant, what do you expect?
So, that has left us dealing with our car insurance company to negotiate repair costs and figure out how to get it fixed. The saga is still ongoing but we will get it done eventually.
We also headed down to Virginia to see my family for a baby shower over Memorial Day weekend. It was wonderful to be able to celebrate with family and friends. We are heading into the home stretch with baby now!
How We Manage Our Personal Finances
In preparation for the budget review we are about to do in June, we have been talking more about how we manage our finances jointly and how we view personal finance in general. Andrew and I are very much on the same page when it comes to money. We are both financially conservative and don’t make big purchases without lots of thought and research. The impulse purchases usually happen at Target in the home section for me or on the candy aisle for him (he has a major sweet tooth).
Since the beginning of our relationship, we have both been very open about our finances. While we were dating, we tried to split things. For example, on one of our early dates, he bought the movie tickets and I bought the snacks. We were both college students at the time so it wasn’t like one of us had a ton of play money to do things with.
We have always wanted to be on the same page because money can be a huge stress point in a relationship. And as our relationship got more serious, we started talking about bigger picture things like goals for a family and a house. I think it was good for us to start talking about it early. And, I think working in the industry helped me understand how important it is.
Transition to Joint Finances
Once we moved in together, we really tried to divide as equally as we could but knowing that he was making more than I was. So, if he wrote the rent check one month, I would cover groceries, laundry, and other bills as they came up.
After we got married, we moved our money into joint checking and savings accounts. For us, that worked best because it made things easier to keep track of and all the bills could come from one place. We would also get a little more money in interest on the savings account that way. It’s not much but it’s something.
We know that having bank accounts completely combined is not for everyone. We have some credit cards that are under both our names and then we each have one that is separate. It’s not intentional, but it makes sense if we need to buy a gift for the other person and don’t want them to see the transaction on the statement. Otherwise we pretty much know what each other spends on a regular basis.
Our Married Money Philosophy
Since we got married, I’ve found it interesting to see how other couples manage their finances. Some consolidate completely, others not at all. For some couples doing it separately but with good communication around it can work well.
But, where doing things separately can cause issues is goal planning if the communication good. If you and your partner aren’t on the same page with your finances, then it will be difficult to plan for your joint goals. As a couple, I think it’s important to be on the same page about what you want to accomplish and when. It’s the basics of goal setting, but so important.
Since I have been with my family recently, I thought it would be interesting to see how my sister, a fellow Millennial, feels about money but at a different point in her life.
A Different Millennial View on Money
My sister Lauren is only three years younger than me, but I wanted to talk with her about her views on money since she is in a slightly different place in life than I am. A short bio: Lauren is an ER nurse who just got into Georgetown University’s Masters of Professional Studies in Disaster and Emergency Management program. Her big sister is so proud! She is single and currently living and working in Raleigh, NC.
How do you feel about money and personal finance?
I’m probably more like a typical Millennial. As long as more is coming in than going out, I feel OK. I also don’t have a budget. I don’t think I’m a great money manager, but I have managed to save $10,000 in the last year. So, something about what I’m doing is working! I’ve also always been a money hoarder even when I was a little kid. I had stashes of coins and bills from birthdays and holidays all over the place.
Are you going to make any changes to pay for grad school?
I think I need to not spend as much or go shopping whenever I want to. I plan to monitor my finances more closely with grad school. I would love to come out of grad school without debt, but I will probably have some.
Before I got into grad school, my goals were to travel and save for buying a house, but now it is paying for school. I think goals have to change as life changes. I know that my degree will pay off with the job that I can get once I’m done, which makes it easier to make life adjustments to pay for it.
What do you wish you knew more about?
I wish I knew more about the investing side of personal finance. I have some money from grandparents that I’m planning on using for school, but I want to make sure that selling the mutual funds to pay for school is the best way to go. There is just so much to learn in that area.
Lessons to Learn
I think my sister falls into the group with a lot of single Millennials. Goals are in transition as their lives are. Budgeting is something that no one wants to really spend the time doing unless there is a specific motivation. And like most of us, understanding how investing works is the biggest challenge. And she has read The Millennial Money Fix. But I know it is a steep learning curve to understanding how investing works given that most of us don’t learn about it until we have money to invest.
I also think that deciding to get a graduate degree is something that younger Millennials may now be giving a little more thought. They can see from their older cohorts that it may not always lead to the job they want and then they are stuck with the large bill. I hope that it does give some perspective to those still in college or considering a graduate degree.
It may be hard to make that kind of decision, but what you do in your younger years, can have a large effect on your future.