HOME FINANCES for COUPLES. Resolve Money Problems in Marriage and Learn Easy Steps to Manage your Family Budget

This was a surprisingly good and helpful read for me, the guy who hates keeping track of the bills.My wife does everything, including trying to sit me down once or twice a year to push some budget papers in front of me. I resist like she's trying to feed me castor oil. We've been married over 15 years, and it is one of the few sore points in our marriage.I came across Leo's book, and something in the title drew me in - finance for couples. I enjoyed reading it, and learned a thing or two to both help my marriage, and to incorporate some basic financial hygiene into my life.Home Finances for Couples starts and ends with shared values. Leo argues that couples should not have separate financial accounts. A marriage is about "us" and keeping the money together is a concrete way that the couple can commit to each other. He also encourages couples to talk about their shared goals, and uses the financial plan as a way to get there. Leo brings a human approach to money, and reminds us that love and relationship are at the end of the day more important than the dollars. At the same time, we are responsible for playing by the rules we agree to with our loved one.This is not a book with tips and tricks on how to save or make money - there are lots of books like that out there. But this is a book that uniquely brings the dynamics of a marriage into issues of home finance. Leo provides a few different choices for how a couple can track their finances: a simple system that is easy to implement, to a complex system for those who want to keep track of where every penny goes.I like the simple system, which he calls the basic technique. He begins with recomendations for software to help manage the budget, including specialized software to help with debt reduction, people who spend too much, or people who want to gamify home finances. Leo also provides concrete examples of how to create a simple and finite number of categories. I cringed as I read it, because I really don't like this stuff. But, he made it seem doable to me. Each chapter has practical suggestions, and a few exercises at the end to help implement the suggestions.Leo also includes a few tidbits that compare the Ukranian and American financial systems. I found these interesting, fun, and sometimes helpful.Overall, the book gave me a better grip on why I should care. If for no other reason, my wife wants me to, and it will remove a source of frustration in our marriage.

I would recommend this book for those couples who strive to generate savings while being on the same page with each other. Book is fast and easy to read (it took me around 3 hours), and after finishing it, you will have a bunch of useful ideas to apply in your family money relationship.What I like the most about this book is that it teaches you not only about managing your home finances, but also how to save and grow your relationship, how to stick your personal goals in a family, how to understand your partner, and how do not allow your expectations to damage your marriage. Author is sharing his personal lessons learned, and I really touched by his family story!In this book you will find useful questions to ask when analyzing your monthly spending, practical tips on managing family finances with the help of online services and mobile apps, good advices on how to move small steps towards your goals, right questions to ask to understand shared and personal financial goals and more.Book full of practical tips that the author recommends trying right away. I found that it is quite hard to try while reading so instead I picked up some of the advices, discussed them with my husband and now applying several of them. For example, we discussed our goals - personal and shared once, reviewed the structure of our family budget, set up monthly money talks, agreed on personal monthly allowance and established family emergency fund. Thank you for this book!

I am happy to have found this book as I got engaged a few months ago and this forced me and my fiancee to discuss our financial situation and plans ever more. Both of us had been financially independent people and each had our way to keep track of the expenses. The book gave us some ideas on how to have a shared budget and at the same time leave freedom for both of us for small purchases.Although I don't agree with some of the thoughts on relationships, marriage and gender roles in the book, most concepts related to home finances are universal and can be applied by any couple. It's an easy read (apart from some financial terminology that I had to skip to stay sane) with real life examples and offers practical exercises. I also liked suggestions for other blogs and books on this topic.I'd recommend this book to people who are planning to get married or recently got married. I am not sure how well it would work for families with teenage kids who need pocket money and take part in family decision-making process. I wish there was something about how to teach kids to deal with money.

The author did a great job at explaining the fundamentals usefully. I enjoyed and appreciated this book because it was practical, yet made it very clear that financial success is a behavioral and psychological journey, not simply an earnings race. Very succinct, lacking unnecessary financial minutiae.

Easy read that will get you on the same page with your partner. Great references and tools all throughout this book. You can read it in less than 3 hours or work on it weekly with your partner.

This is a great book for delicate question of many people. Written in easy language with examples and good tips. Leo openly shares his experience as well as experience of other people. I liked interviews a lot.Recommended for reading!

I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters.I almost threw my kindle when I got to the part about the tips to a happily financed marriage including the man making more than the woman and the woman always being there to support the man's ego.Ugh.Just give me the finances and not the gender roles, please!

Advice might have been taken more seriously if it was delivered in a misogynist, “men are the breadwinners” tone. Couldn’t get past that.

Thanks Leo! This book gave me lots of great ideas on how to start budgeting with my wife. Leo explains why it's easier to have joint accounts, when it comes to family budget.