I've seen dozens of couples split up not because of cheating or different values, but because of constant financial stress.
Can you keep a warm relationship going when there isn’t enough money?
I’ve seen dozens of couples break up — not because of cheating, not because of different values, not because of everyday friction, and not even because their feelings cooled.
It was constant financial stress.
When you can’t provide a comfortable standard of living for the people you love, it triggers a deep sense of humiliation and disappointment in yourself.
Financial instability creates a heavy emotional backdrop where any small thing can turn into a fight.
Someone once said money is like air. You don’t notice it when it’s there, but you feel its absence very quickly and very sharply.
For many years I felt a real desire and drive to earn more, but I didn’t always know where to start. How do you “pull yourself together” and start acting systematically? How do you stop spreading your attention across dozens of small things and focus on what matters most — the thing that actually moves the needle?
I’ve worked directly with clients since I was 17, and over that time my income has gone up and down many times. When you’re single and only responsible for yourself, that’s one thing. When you have a family and real responsibility, everything changes.
A solid income creates completely different conditions for building a relationship with someone you love. You no longer have to worry about money for basic living, and you get the chance to actually plan a future together and simplify your everyday life right now.
So personally, I believe that under chronic money shortage, keeping a warm relationship alive is extremely difficult. I’d say close to impossible.
I don’t think money can solve every problem in our families, but it removes a huge amount of tension and frees you up to grow in other areas of life.
I’ve been deliberately studying financial literacy since I was about 19.