You believe that your spending habits are fine. You can always pay the credit cards off at the end of the month and you put aside a little bit of your income for savings, but you make sure to spend money on things that you want. For you, financial freedom means getting to buy the things you want or have the experiences that you’re looking for.
But your spouse doesn’t agree. They are a saver, so they always want to keep as much of the money that you’ve earned as possible. Maybe they want to save for retirement, or maybe they just like the financial security of having tens of thousands of dollars in the bank. Either way, it’s clear that the two of you don’t have the same values when it comes to money. Could this lead to a divorce?
Financial issues are a root cause of many divorce cases
Something like this certainly could lead to divorce, and it is known that many couples split up because of financial issues. This may mean that they have overwhelming debt or other serious problems like this, but it could also just mean that they have different values. One person values saving, the other person values spending, and it’s clear that neither one is going to change. They either have to learn how to compromise or accept the way the other person is, or they have to get divorced.
This isn’t even to say that your spending habits are worse than you think or that your spouse is correct. The issue of who is right or wrong doesn’t matter so much as the fact that you both view it in different ways. Maybe you think that your spouse is wrong because they are depriving themselves of an exciting and happy life just to save up for some hypothetical purchase in the future. Once again, it’s not about proving who is right, but realizing that your values just don’t align and that can cause a lot of issues in the relationship.
Getting a divorce
If you do get a divorce due to a situation like this, it’s likely that the property division process is going to be complicated. Make sure you know exactly what steps to take.