The Secret to Financial Success as a Couple...

[@docscrealities]

Been married for 20 years. These conversations happened within dating 3-6 months, then after we moved in together, subsequently married. However, to this day, my wife and I have a monthly meeting when we sit down, I’ll show the reports, portfolio, investments, businesses, and then we talk about our goals, vision, and what we want to do more of. This year we want to give back to charity more, and travel more to give more to charity. Our home was a planned investment, all our vacations, goals, is all planned so we are super stress free! Oh, she wants a new car, so we are already working together towards that goal. We also play games, whoever does this or that, puts more of their spending money towards that account to buy such goal. Money is fun, when there is respect and love to one another. There is no I when it comes to money, this is about us.

[@ramitsethi]

YES!! I love it. Beautiful example

[@lowlowseesee]

I always advise people should do this AND also do this same thing with emotional needs too

[@hantzmetellus7177]

I love all of this. My wife and I combined EVERYTHING 6 months before marriage. We have been married 8 years now. Same checking, same savings, we have a strategic credit card plan, but both are authorized users on each other's cards. It's what works for us. It's our money, not mine or hers. So we think of our income as one, even though we both have separate checks. (We also work together in the same place.)

[@fredvc]

The concept of joining finances while having guilt-free spending for couples is absolutely genius. It is an amazing way to bring couples together in a joint goal while at the same time giving each one their sense of self. Thank you, Ramit

[@damienbates]

It can work as long as you think/behave similarly with money. But If one person is a spendthrift they can feel bad because they can’t manage their behavior. For example, I had a partner that felt she needed a much larger amount of to spend because she couldn’t control her wants. I’d save mine and get nice things, while she’d spend hers on eating out at lunch, shoes and clothes. As a result she’d constantly go back on our agreements and we’d be dealing with debt. Needless to say it didn’t work out. Once I wasn’t there she quickly spiraled into debt.

[@jared3235]

After 5 years of being married I finally am able to talk about money with my wife without it being a stressful conversation. It feels amazing.

[@ReaveIdono]

I hope to get there.

[@SuzanneU]

Good going! It took 20 years before my husband stopped treating money discussions as if they were bad smells. He'd still rather leave me to get on with it...

[@colour-play]

It took us about 4 years! And we are finally there. It feels much happier and we are on the same page 🎉

[@SuzanneU]

My husband and I share one checking account, one HYSA, and one credit card. We each have a personal allowance for guilt-free spending. Very simple, very efficient, very transparent.

[@Hell2Kaiser]

I enjoy that Ramit mentions not caring about someone’s financial past. All that matters is what they are doing about it currently. I’ve made the dumbest decisions with money and I’ve learned from them and am not afraid to talk about them because it may help someone without even realizing it because they may be afraid to discuss it but not know how to go about it.

[@Azel247]

We went through a brief marriage course before getting married. We talked about money and found we share similar views and goals. That allowed us to join all of our accounts comfortably and we don't worry about who pays for what. Anything that comes into the account became ours and it's liberating not having to care about "fair" contribution.

[@Eightpspi]

We need a season two of the Netflix show

[@xoxoinge]

Yes!!

[@livelaughlove4635]

I agree ☝️

[@jakeandsarahhealthnuts3299]

definitely

[@SaronMisgna]

Yes

[@flash12319]

Agreed!!

[@lbpearson88]

Thanks Ramit! I am getting married in July and was curious about joining our finances, so this was super helpful. I’m also proud to say that I, in fact, did not break up with my fiancé, but we just finished closing her Bank of America accounts!

[@chinazaro.9448]

What other banks do you (or have you heard Ramit) recommend for checking accounts?

[@lbpearson88]

@@chinazaro.9448 I use capital one for my checking, savings, and credit card, as it helps me to have all my accounts in one place, and I’ve been very happy with it! In Ramit’s book, he mentions that he uses the Schwab Bank Investor Checking with Schwab One Brokerage Account. You have to have the brokerage account to get all the checking features, but never actually need to use it. For savings, he recommends capital one or ally.

[@BeachandCoffee]

Thanks for this. I'm about to move in with my partner and not making financial decisions on my own is a new ocean for me. This really helped.

[@ramitsethi]

You're welcome!

[@NickiBluIs]

A fun way I start money convos with my family is to imagine what we’d do if we won the lottery! It gets us laughing and dreaming big and opens the door to talking about our rich life

[@beea4456]

The video I've been waiting for! My cousin just got engaged and I was looking to her for advice about talking about money and she said they haven't talked about it. My mind was blown.

[@AlmaMariaRinasz]

You are one of the smartest financial ‘gurus’ I follow bc you understand people’s psychology. Your google doc suggestion is actually something that parenting experts who work on positive discipline also suggest - they are called family meetings and they always have an agenda that starts with compliments. Ty for being so authentic and helpful Ramit and team!

[@beea4456]

You should do a call in series. I am interested in how to do it when one person comes in with a lot of money and the other one doesn't

[@ramitsethi]

I do live Q&A in my money coaching program: iwt.com/moneycoaching

[@sihr07]

When I was separating my therapist asked me ‘how are your finances combined as a couple’ and I was like “what do you mean combined?” 😅 I think it was the first time I understood the lack of commitment we were showing from the beginning, no one was willing to even share the basic information in order to build a future together. Then I heard Ramit and everything fell in place…This podcast has been hugely eye-opening

[@djas94]

We both started out with nothing as students, zero help from either side. We had to combine our funds to work from one pot that way we could see what we had, what we could make for the year and then plan what we could spend. 32 years later we still do that. We were never equal in salaries but we had zero other options or resources to raise a family. Perhaps not for everyone but it works for us

[@michaelao7871]

I love you video . Problem with combining finances when one person overspends is that I don’t want to waste time discussing why my partner did not stick to the plan. I could use that time to solve world hunger

[@_ssjim]

I feel when it is separate it keeps the individual accountable / responsible with conscious spending

[@DavidMedina-cb7pk]

To some extent, I highly doubt most couples can do this type of conversations without an outside support. I love the video and idea you share.

[@o0usf0o]

My girlfriend and I have full financial transparency. It’s so nice!

[@DavidMedina-cb7pk]

@@o0usf0o love It, my partner and I too. And we also have things we come up againts and challenges and triggers. That's why I work with my own coach 💚😊

[@User55pk46]

Why? How would they even be a couple if they can't discuss this simple and critical subject???

[@DavidMedina-cb7pk]

if you are sincerely asking this, I'm not sure you understand how challenging it is to have an intimate relation with someone or even if you have one - no judgment over here. It is sort of like asking how comes building a business is difficult or having children ... this is just inherent to this aspects of life because of our human nature,@@User55pk46

[@ramitsethi]

Outside support definitely helps (e.g., my money coaching at iwt.com/moneycoaching), but you can also DIY using books and podcasts and my journal. Two people building a vision together can be very powerful.

[@chingsynnteo7112]

We need episodes of couples with past marriages with kids. With past issues, how couples look into finance again together.. Not trying to earn $ from a relationship but we are talking about 40s to 50s year old couples, not fresh grad, not just going to get married. I mean committed to relationships without getting married, how to ensure we protect one another. Especially if one partner believes in marriage , believes in financial discussions, but not the other one. If need real couples story, I’m ready to speak to this.

[@jermainehuell7745]

You mentioned a specific aspect of this discussion that i came sifting throught the comments for, "past relationship with children". This is important because tbis is where things get even more complicated.

[@stacyklein2497]

This is perfect. We are about to jump into a complete different lifestyle. My boyfriend and I have been together 8years, and we're both self employed, and we're almost done building a house and will have a mortgage soon, and I'm also 8 months pregnant! So we have all these new expenses! Then we want to get investments set up after. ❤

[@rickmc73]

Most people that have a “successful” way to do finances as a couple should admit they got lucky. They did not do specific planning. But they love to tell you “it works for us so you should do it” without that key part that it worked by accident. Not to distract from Ramit’s point here as it’s great advice. Just to note the vast majority of advice from people on this topic comes from people that lucked into something that worked for them.

[@ramitsethi]

What do you mean?

[@adamp6320]

Yours mine and ours works for us, with total transperancy on assets/income/etc and expenses split based on incomes. Never once had an argument about money. Do what works for you. Combining everything would lead to arguments for us.

[@brianadiaz3919]

Thank you for the advice. Lately I’ve been struggling and playing the blame game instead of looking at the bigger picture which is having general conversations about money and how to strategize a plan for how we can move forward.

[@pandaevenstar]

My fiancee literally uses BofA and we are now not choosing them for our joint accounts thanks to your video!

[@jamineup12]

Thank you. My partner has been upset with me because I don’t talk about my finances with him. and this really help clarify a lot of stuff in my head on why money negative is a topic for me. Being with Bank of America is bad?

[@user-gr7jo9qb3l]

This was the most helpful advice about discussing $. As a high-earning woman, I'm terrified of getting used by a broke, loser man-child...to the point where I don't want to get married bc I will lose

[@bethw9289]

Don’t date a loser broke man child!

[@SuzanneU]

@@whereswarren3719Electric blankets are wonderful for warming one's bed - and far cheaper than a manchild.

[@Mama2CDHsurvivor]

We call those guys “hobosexuals.”

[@youngjesus5992]

I’ve been with my girlfriend for over 6yrs already. We def plan on getting married sometime in the future. I’m becoming much more financially literate at 22 yo whereas shes 19, 20 in a month, and she’s still going thru that phase of getting into debt for things she wants and into debt for things she needs. She doesn’t really care about money at all and says she doesn’t want anyone telling her on how she can spend it. She’s not worth giving up on so my hope is to just have casual conversations about how my finances are improving and letting that influence her finances as well. Like that saying, “you are who you surround yourself with”. I’m already helping her get rid of that victim mentality when it comes to school. Letting her know that she can accomplish anything as long as she makes herself believe it. To try and avoid saying, “the world doesn’t like me so ima just give up”. She also has a diff rich life than I do. Mine consist of having a nice single family house in the US, happy family, driving a nice car, and enjoying life using money as a tool to get there. Her rich life is living a humble life in the village she grew up in Mexico. She isn’t materialistic. Just wants a quiet peaceful life with almost no ppl around and having “waches” (that’s what she calls dogs since she loves them) with her. I def don’t wanna b living a “humble” life like that so idk how it’s gunna go. I’ll just have to see how I find a way to live our rich life together.

[@DanCooper404]

Wait, you got together with her when you were 16, and she was 13?

[@darbymori350]

I like that you talk through the different options, and the steps on how to bring up the money talk. Gentle but powerful.

[@bootmanmstz]

Gread advice. Just wanted to chime in that my girlfriend and I are one of those couples who don't combine our finances, but we're 100% transparent with each other about our money. We talk about money regularly, show each other what's in our bank accounts and all that. We're also both very anxious about money due to how we grew up, so we're aware that if we saw money leave the account we'd both freak out and ask "WHAT'D YOU BUY FOR $___?!". So, we keep it separate and are both great with our money and have savings and investments set up. We split major expenses and fund trips together, and I'll often pay a little bit more due to having a higher income.

[@swithheld9905]

would definitely read a book with ramit outlining all of the observations he's gathered about attitudes and finance strategies couples have, and how they play out in the real world. maybe with a licensed psychologist explaining what's going on in each scenario...

[@Avamoneta]

Downloaded your video quickly to watch during my lunch break. This I want to be more like this and what’s going on now! I respect so much about having couples financial communication.

[@KC-qr3wk]

1. I plan on not moving in with my partner until we’re married. 2. I plan on keeping everything accumulated before marriage separate. 3. I plan on combining everything going forward 100% I believe

[@ohasumirawr]

Why not move in together before getting married? Imo I think it's a great testing ground to not only see how the other lives, but to also see how they think and talk about money and expenses.

[@francescaruggiero7673]

Io e mio marito non lo abbiamo mai fatto e quando ho iniziato a parlarne lui non voleva mai ...si offendeva, è un grande problrma in una coppia se non sene parla . Infatti poi ci siamo separati per tanti motivi, uno è anche la mancanza di comunicazione sulla gestione del denaro grazie Ramith

[@benks464]

please more money conversations to have with your spouse! I would love the chance to sit and talk IWT frameworks but I do not know how to really bring it up

[@lisajane4330]

Always enjoy your video's!. My partner & I have always had separate accounts going on 16yrs now & its worked for us, as theres a set amount my partner will transfer to me to manage most of the bills & he keeps the rest for his weekly expenses like petrol etc. We were late 20's when we met so both already very independent. Ive always loved budgeting but could have done a much better job with managing our money, anyway better late then never.

[@brunagosta7296]

I wish this video was ready an year ago.. thats the only flaw in it 😅 very good to hear i wasnt going crazy on what i proposed. Its just clear his fear of commitment. Thank you!

[@KellyBoettcher-qo9tx]

Do not combine finances until you are married.

[@Naoompje-lw2xf]

Depends on your situation I guess. My partner and I are not married, but combine 50% of our income and send it to a joint account for joint expenses. Works like a dream. The rest of the money is just our own.

[@TheOfficialArthurMorgan]

yeah thats a way to do it. It's still odd tho because people frequently don't tell their partner about all their income. They hide things. Just seems like a weird way to play pretend marriage without actually committing to marriage

[@KellyBoettcher-qo9tx]

@@Naoompje-lw2xf no married

[@matthewharrigan3568]

Combining assets before marriage, like a house, is problematic. Having a joint bank account before marriage with a low balance and has money flowing through it for shared expenses can be positive.

[@TheOfficialArthurMorgan]

​@@matthewharrigan3568can be, but best thing is to no mingle anything until marriage.

[@shannon1999able]

What about one partner’s money inherited from parents and grandparents?

[@kriismuss]

Hey Ramit, love the videos! I've learned a lot about budgeting in a single week from you. I gotta say, you should look into asking your editor(s) to de-ess your video audio a bit more. The "s" sounds when you talk are really really ear-demolishing :D Wish you the best!

[@auntviv1251]

The idea of not combining finances as a married couple boggles my mind. Wouldn’t this result in one person having more money than the other? Isn’t that strange? It’s like oh I am going on this vacation I saved up for, sorry you can’t afford it since you haven’t saved

[@IBPaintsppp-wt5ou]

My partner and I keep our bank accounts separate, but we each pay a percentage of our shared expenses based on our incomes. We also do our own monthly budgets and talk about money fairly often. It's been working very well.

[@mih-entertainment]

Please try to combine your finances

[@BobSure_AKA_PotatoSmasher]

Do not combine incomes until you're comfortable looking at one another's credit report files.

[@jneumonik]

Option 2 for the win.

[@Kwallss]

👏👏

[@jocose2206]

Thank you Ramit! I’ve been curious about this topic and your video just clarified things for me. Couldn’t come in a perfect time. Thanks for educating us all!

[@bomchikawawa8989]

Hello👋🏾, I love your videos! A question on ratios with inequal earnings. My partner made a concious decision to leave their job to persue starting their own business. Before we made equal amounts. They went against our long term plan to hit some life goals first before quitting regular work and launching their business. I am now covering all of our living expenses and have no money for myself. The decision benefits them as they now have a much less stressful life, while I have to push for a promotion to improve our long term situation. Eventually when they start bringing in income would it be right to do your proportionate ratios when they’ve benefitted so much from the move and I’ve lost?

[@iankamau222]

strategically placed wedding picture over right shoulder sitting impractically on top of two books

[@ambbb4691]

I noticed that too lol

[@soumyajeetchakrabarty6872]

This has been very very insightful and I love your concept of we

[@mehith_karanam]

This video has some awesome insights! I'm definitely sharing it with my partner to boost our financial game.

[@devijahn]

Awesome Ramit, thank you so much 🙏🏻💫🕯

[@samaaaa7]

Love this advice, thanks for the video!

[@topseekrit]

First date questions: do you listen to Ramit’s podcast? Have you read his book? What does your rich life look like 5 years from now? 10 years from now? You can get a lot of clues long before the first baecation happens 😂

[@ramitsethi]

LOVE IT

[@joyfulone1]

My suggestion for the “first few dates” is to ask more general questions, which allows you to see if you are really on the same page or not or have the same interests. For example, what do enjoy doing most? What does the perfect weekend look like for you? I love this question because if it doesn’t include church it’s a major red flag for me. What’s your favorite book(s)? If they don’t read books or include personal finance books it’s a major red flag. Etc.

[@zaheermoosa3233]

Starting a business from stretch balancing your finances according to your budget some basic rules and information one can acquire

[@justvincenturb]

Talking about money, and other important values, after engagement seems a little late, no?

[@coya8coy]

You’re either all in or all out. There should be complete transparency before building a life together. Don’t move in or combine finances until you are married or have other legal protections in place that simulates similar rights. Love will not and cannot be everything in a relationship; you need to use your head as well as your heart.

[@eileenwatt8283]

His spending habits is an indicator of his money habits. If he shows up in status symbols. I am thinking " this guy is in debt."

[@TheSmartSneakerhead]

When my wife and I we got married we made a joint account for our bills and one for savings/fun goals. We even have a monthly budget But having a joint acct for day to day personal expenses/hobbies; is more of a struggle for her. And some of that extra money isnt on our budget sheets. Even though she hasn"t flat out said she is opposed to it, I am determined to bring up this topic when we pay our bills next month, but want to do it in a gentle way and smooth way and thats my issues. I feel no matter how I bring it up, it might be a little testy I dont mind if we come to an agreement on how much we keep for ourselves say $100/200 a month. And then everything else goes in our joint accounts. But since she has an event planning side hustle that brings income every few months, i think she is hesistant to completely combine all funds.

[@juliamontejo1563]

If you have a set amount for fun money, have it diverted to a separate account. That’s what we do. We have our own accounts for the small percentage of guilt free money we allocate. We also have some joint credit cards but I still maintain one on my own.

[@joyfulone1]

My suggestion for the “first few dates” is to ask more general questions, which allows you to see if you are really on the same page or not or have the same interests. For example, what do enjoy doing most? What does the perfect weekend look like for you? I love this question because if it doesn’t include church it’s a major red flag for me. What’s your favorite book(s)? If they don’t read books or include personal finance books it’s a major red flag. Etc.

[@mehvids]

8:10 I laughed way too hard at this 🤣

[@eddiemalvin]

What's the ultimate goal or "end game" for married couples who keep their finances separate? I can think of a few scenarios (ensuring inheritances for children from a previous marriage, spouses planning to leave, etc.) but, if you intend to spend a lifetime with someone, isn't it all shared assets in the end? Not judging. Genuinely curious.

[@muckyecm3836]

My husband and I do this. We have one joint account that we put equal amounts into. The rest goes into our personal accounts, which we basically do whatever we want with as long as it doesn't impede the other person's space or habits (in which case we discuss before buying). A few advantages: 1) Either of us can leave at any time and still be financially sound, not feeling like our ex would end up with all the stuff we earned with our personal hard work. That makes us work harder to be good spouses, because neither of us actually NEED the other person. We're still together because we want to be, not because we're afraid of the fallout of a divorce. 2) Neither of us have to ask for permission or feel guilty buying anything; we only discuss when it may bother the other person to have the purchase around. We're both adults, and we can both be responsible. We've actually never had any disagreements about money. 3) If either of us get sued, the other person's assets are more protected because they're not community property. We discussed what we think is fair on finances and how many children we want on our third date, and we've pretty much stuck by that for 9 years. This method works well for us because we both have good jobs (at the time we started dating, my income was about 80% higher than his; currently it's 50% higher. We both make 6 figures).

[@eddiemalvin]

@@muckyecm3836 Thanks for sharing! To be honest, I still don't get it. All property acquired during a marriage is owned 50-50 by each spouse, regardless of which name is on the account. That basically negates #1 and #3. If you separate, he has a claim to at least half of what you have in your account and vice versa. If you earn significantly more, he can also claim alimony. For the same reason, separate accounts won't protect against lawsuits. There are much better and easier ways to protect assets. The only one that makes any sense is #2 but you can achieve this with joint accounts unless one is an avid saver and the other is a voracious spender with no self-control. Living separate financial lives just seems so complicated and unnecessary unless one of you came into the marriage with a lot more than the other. My wife and I are both very high-earners and have roughly the same income. We both prioritize saving and investing over spending. When we married, we had similar net worths so we simply merged our financial lives from day one and it's never been a problem. Having said that... There are no right or wrong answers. Do whatever works for you. Best of luck!

[@eddiemalvin]

@@muckyecm3836 Thanks! That makes some sense, I guess. We live in a state where none of that matters. Money held in either spouses name is still joint assets and would be treated as such in a divorce or lawsuit. There is no asset protection by having one spouse name vs. both. I guess my wife and I are just fortunate. We both have very high incomes and similar frugal spending habits so we just combined our accounts from day one. If we ever had to split our assets 50-50, neither of us would feel like we were losing out because we've increased our combined net worth far more than either of us could alone.

[@satasaderoberts9273]

What banks do you recommend?

[@renemontenegro6143]

NO WAY!

[@punisher6659]

Thanks for your content. Subscriber from St.Louis

[@Nikarichi]

This was great! Thank you :)

[@myname7890]

I understand the incomes & expenses part of joining finances. But how about equity? Property or shares in a business, both from before the relationship and those which started during it?

[@ramitsethi]

Good question. You tell me -- how would you handle this?

[@myname7890]

Equity from before marriage, prenup. During marriage, each one would get their own equity. There could be shared equity (the house, but also investments).

[@kittleo9124]

How do you combine finances when the other person has a child 50/50, child support and alimony? (Pre-marriage, at time of considering moving in)

[@chingsynnteo7112]

Need more episodes dealing with above 40s adults situation…

[@MrMustlovecats]

This was amazing. THANK YOU Ramit. My husband and I just had a talk on Monday about this. I’m gonna watch this again when he gets home. I offered to reopen a joint account. Question: what is the best bank out there for a joint checking account? Thanks again,

[@dr.sakshi5805]

Can you guide us ...how to manage finances when both of us is running our own business...when there is no stable source of income

[@_ssjim]

What if one person wants to purchase something and the other doesn't? How would 50/50 work. When is it okay to break the 50/50 without building wrong attitude/ resentment ?

[@UnwanaUdoh]

Great advice and life lessons 👌

[@AriamL-l1q]

Question, how about a podcast episode for singles? We have goals too ….

[@sihr07]

Ramit normally answers to this with ‘read my book’😅 And I agree somehow but yes, these series allow way more insight, maybe because the format allows for more emotions to show ..Hoping he’ll do one day!

[@stephanmanning5277]

Dang it! I've been using BofA for 20 years! What should I use?

[@deniap.zvikonyo6662]

Amazing very very helpful

[@gabsfairchild]

Hi @ramit thank you for all of your helpful videos! I wonder, could you make a video like this "sitdown" video, but have the audience be both partners? While I try to have these conversations with my partner myself, (ive tried to have this gentle conversation so many times without my desired result of having a designated meeting ONCE PER YEAR). Rather than having talking points to one partner who's trying to gentlely guide the other, have the whole script be talking to both partners? I'd like to say, 'hey let's watch this video together' amd have it be like an intro.... BUT I guess that's what the new book is going to be like 😅

[@ramitsethi]

This is the new book! iwt.com/moneyforcouples

[@TravelFun-qw8pi]

It’s fun to buy or rent 2 houses so you can have lots of time alone to create a masterpiece of art 🖼️ and your life! 😂❤🎉

[@Kilabyte21]

I can only imagine a divorce being complicated with combined finances

[@leer.4747]

Keeping finances separate does not simplify divorce proceedings unless you have an extremely amicable divorce. Your spouse can still make claims on "your" accounts or assets. For the simplicity you are seeking, you need a prenuptial agreement. There is an edge case for which you are correct though: for funds obtained through inheritance, if the funds are not co-mingled, that will simplify things and help you maintain your claim on them.

[@Kilabyte21]

@@leer.4747 thanks, prenup is a good idea

[@cm88__ny]

Option 2 feels scary. I wouldn't mind having an account where we both maybe contribute a certain amount to take care of shared expenses. But I don't know how I feel about combining it ALL.

[@adamp6320]

The horror stories you hear from a spouse that has an addiction; I agree with you. There's no reason you can't have financial transperancy and honesty with joint and separate accounts.

[@ambbb4691]

Yeah, I've seen this go wrong too many times to think it's a realistic option.

[@sarahdamico8283]

Ramit, we need fitness transformation content. Thank you

[@diegomatos2219]

I earn around 8000 per month, my wife earns 1000 per month. We have a two-year-old daughter. I already cover all expenses, including her health insurance and her mobile subscription, and I also transfer her money weekly for grocery shopping. She can do whatever she wants with her income, yet she says she feels excluded from the money. I have openly shown her all of our expenses, and we have defined savings goals together (which I will save for alone). Do you have any advice on how I can improve my/our situation?

[@ohasumirawr]

Seems like you're still managing your money and she's still managing her money. Instead of transferring her money for weekly groceries, just have a joint checking where both of you put a percentage of your incomes to cover your monthly expenses including groceries, health insurance, mobile subscriptions. This way neither of you really have to ask the other about necessary expenses. You both just understand that that money is for necessary expenses.Then have a fixed amount automatically transfer to your savings, and another fixes amount automatically transfer to each of your personal checking accounts to serve as your own money you can do whatever you want with. i.e. Joint Checking: 70% of income ($6300) Joint Savings: 25% of income ($2250) Personal Checking Husband: 2.5% of income ($225) Personal Checking Wife: 2.5% of income ($225)

[@Nikarichi]

My husband and I are in our late 20s and combined we make ~$300k/year. A little less than a year ago I come up with the idea of having a shared checking account and each contribute 33% of our salary (that covers our fixed expenses and everything that is left over goes into joint savings). Additionally we set up a joint savings and recently started contributing there. The next question and step will be is to figure out how and if we join investment accounts? Do we just keep ours and start over with a new one? But then it takes away a lot of compound interest over time. What would you recommend? How to “join” investment accounts but also make sure that both partners keep what they had before marriage to their own accounts?

[@excitedaboutlearning1639]

I believe Ramit has said that he does the following: he and his wife have their own accounts and they have joint accounts. So, my recommendation is to have your own 401Ks & Roth IRAs or so. If you have money left owner, taxable investment accounts as well. Now, you also want to have a joint checking account and a joint savings account. individual accounts + joint accounts.

[@TorontoNeurospicyGirl]

Aaaaa! 1st comment for the 1st time ever! 😂

[@r6ppygbx13]

I completely understand wanting financial conversations to be organic, but you don’t want to wait that long into dating to find out if someone had good financial habits. I didn’t reach any of your milestones until a year + into dating.

[@stevyakpaka4451]

Great advice! But how to combine or manage our finances together when only one person has an income? Or when your partner cannot not contribute.

[@SuzanneU]

The person who is the sole earner should not be a dictator. What non-financial contributions does the non-earner make? What would it cost you in money or time or both to buy or do those services yourself? Many men think that their wives don't contribute and are horrified to discover that they couldn't afford the services! You do it the same way that couples with two incomes do. You sit down together. You look at what you jointly genuinely need to survive - housing, utilities, toilet paper, food...Look at your net income. How much is left when you deduct barebones expenses? Now you talk about savings, investments, and wants. You remain courteous and engage civilly.

[@JF-vw9lv]

@@SuzanneU Hmmm they can't afford the services (I'm going to assume you mean cooking and cleaning ) they took care of themselves before you entered the picture?

[@debbiecurrlin335]

Great advice 😊

[@kaleahmccants6531]

"Love you! Love you babe! But I'm not living on a farm. Goodbye." LMFAO

[@blacnium1]

I thought about getting a Primerica term life insurance policy. Are those bad, or are you referring to their other products? Please let me know. 😂

[@grantzwingelberg8752]

I've been looking all over the internet for someone to explain how a teacher/state employee with a pension between 40-65% of their take home pay at retirement should invest for maximum medium to long term wealth (retirement and brokerage). At 35 is my pension considered my safe percentage so I can invest very aggressive or do I ignore the pension completely and invest in Roth/403(b) and ETFs?

[@luisaparra4799]

I’m a little Late I think. Why not WF or BOA? Is it because they don’t really give back?

[@mhodge0890]

Do quarterly if you get paid the middle and the end of the month

[@sanggu3423]

Amazing.. ❤

[@johanaroc]

Excellent! If not Bk of Ame or WF, what banking institutions would u recommend?

[@ramitsethi]

Please read my book. I cover specific accounts in there: amzn.to/3GrLywk

[@yani7nov]

I feel like combining all of our finances is a risky move, what if the marriage ended? How do we make sure that the separation does not bankrupt one party? Plus, many people end up in an abusive marriage. Combined finances does not allow the victims to pack up and leave. Your video does not address it, it's all scenarios based on a positive, successful relationship, which is not always the case for many people.

[@ramitsethi]

You tell me. What are your options?

[@haldenseierup5103]

Hey Ramit! Your videos have taught me so much about finance and I was wondering why you’re so against Band of America and Wells Fargo? (As someone who is 22 years old and my only bank account is with bank of america you can see why this caught my attention 😅) thanks for the videos!

[@excitedaboutlearning1639]

Because both of them have high fees, they've been guilty of discrimination against minorities and their incentives forced their employees to open thousands of new accounts for existing customers without the customers' consent. They've been fined billions for their behaviors. Google is your friend.

[@jessicamorales2066]

What's wrong with primerica?

[@xrpjon_998]

Awesome!!!!!!!

[@einahsirro1488]

I had an account with Bank of America. I am divorced. I never made the connection till just now... =)

[@Erepk]

Ramit, I know you are just joking about the response to predatory banks (well kinda..) but I wanted to let you know, if you don’t already, that Wells Fargo is the only bank that I know of that can bank the undocumented community in the US. Which of course is verryyyy intentional. They are the perfect community to not push back on fees or other sketchy activity. I wish it wasn’t this way, but being unbanked is even worse :(

[@celinelover]

The constant jabs at Wells Fargo and BoA kill me every time hahaha

[@21truthbetold]

Talking about money is not the same as agreeing. Husband and I are 2 yrs married he doesn’t agree on anything. It’s exhausting. I’m always tried. I just want to financially separate.

[@dreamer-bk2gk]

Bgm name