As a young girl who is gradually trying to organize my life and grow my finances to a sustainable point, I am very concerned about the type of man I would get married to because indeed, I would like to get married someday. The question/reasoning of financial compatibility started to play in my head when I watched the video of one of my mentors and she was speaking on financial compatibility, at that juncture, I figured out there is a need for me to likewise look towards this direction while planning my own finance.
That you are financially compatible does not mean that you and your partner would earn the same amount of monthly income or salary, or even that you both have to share the same behavior around money, it is certainly okay for the both of you to have styles, opinions, and roles about handling money. Financial compatibility is answering questions about how you feel about your partner's attitude on handling money, it means that you both understand one another's belief about money, how it ought to be used, and communicating openly about how to support each other's financial goals as a couple.
Minor difference in finance will not necessarily indicate the presence of financial incompatibility, for instance, your partner may want to track her own income and expenses through the help of a spreadsheet while you may want to use a budgeting app for access, the both of you could compromise at some point when handling joint finance. The both of you ,however, should be willing to set financial priorities and financial expectations together, this will help you know what parts of your finances are negotiable and what parts are not.
Red flags to watch out for are; financial infidelity, the hiding of money, and constantly and conveniently entering into debt will definitely harm the finances of the couple.
Constant arguments about the way your partner has chosen to spend money, your partner preventing you from seeing the way he or she spends your money are real deal breakers, and before you proceed with the relationship, you must be ready to ask yourself the sincere question, is that a sacrifice you are willing to make?
The need of having frequent, respectful conversations with your partner about money cannot be over-rated, this will strengthen your financial relationships. If you are planning to get married to this person, or you bith live togethre and share finances, talking about finances constantly and in a healthy manner is significant. Also looking out for redflags and running as soon as the person remains unredeemable will save you a lifetime of arguing about money.