Managing your finances as a couple can be tricky. How can you work together to manage your spending, save for the future, and grow your wealth — while having fun along the way? 

The first step is to identify why budgeting together has been tough, so you know what your budgeting app needs to address. Check out the list of issues below. Do any of these sound familiar?

The trouble(s) with managing finances together

Remember, these issues aren’t unique to some rare group of couples — you’ll find them in just about any relationship. Let’s look at some of the most common sticking points when it comes to budgeting and managing your finances as a couple: 

  • You don’t have enough information. Most people don’t need (or want) to keep track of every dime their partner is spending, but couples do need to feel confident that they’re aligned on the big picture. If you aren’t sure you’ll have enough for a summer vacation this year, let alone your retirement, the stress of what you don’t know can shoot through the roof.
  • Multiple accounts are hard to keep up with. The complex nature of modern finances makes it a lot tougher to keep track of your own finances, let alone your finances together. It’s all happening in so many different places! You each have your own bank accounts, credit cards, loans, digital wallets, and more. This makes the information problem even more complicated.
  • It’s tough to track your joint spending. Even when you’re aligned on your spending priorities, it can be tough to know how you’re doing — not to mention how your partner is doing! When times are good, this might not lead to conflict, but when money feels tight, not being able to track your financial plan can weigh on you both.
  • It can be hard to prioritize saving. Popping spare change into a piggy bank on your kitchen counter is one thing, but saving for a home, a wedding, your kids’ college education, or retirement is something else altogether. Holding back enough money for your savings each month can be a real challenge, especially when there are so many competing priorities for your cash.
  • Debt makes things complicated. Whether one or both of you have student loans, nagging credit card debt, or a long-term car loan, managing debt as a couple can require some tough decisions. Even when you have a great debt-reduction plan, managing and tracking it together can be rough, especially when there are different accounts to keep up with and bills to pay.
  • Tracking a joint nest egg is messy, at best. 401(k)s, IRAs, stock portfolios, real estate equity — as your financial position grows, it can get harder and harder to keep track of everything, especially when there are two people involved in that equation. 
  • You don’t have hours to spend on it. Today’s household finances can feel like they need a dedicated CFO — entering all that data, tracking it day by day, updating the budget and how much you have left to spend for the month … it’s more time than most people have. It’s definitely more time than most people can afford to spend!

How Quicken Simplifi solves these problems

There’s no right or wrong way to manage these issues — as long as you find a way to solve them. Addressing them one by one can break a larger problem into smaller pieces. 

Instead of asking, “How should we manage our finances as a couple?” you can ask easier questions, like “How can we get the information we need?” or “How can we prioritize our savings?”

Here’s how Quicken Simplifi solves each one.

See what you need to know, automatically

The obvious solution to needing more information is to share financial data with each other. But that can be easier said than done. For one thing, gathering those numbers together is a real chore — especially since your finances are a moving target. For another, not every couple is ready to be a completely open book all at once.

Quicken Simplifi solves it by letting you decide which accounts you want to connect, and when. If you have a joint account, you can start by just linking that one. Or start with all your spending accounts, like your bank accounts and credit cards, but don’t connect your debt or investments until later.

Once any accounts you add are synced, they’ll be updated in the app automatically. So you’ll both be able to see things like upcoming bills, bank balances, and credit card payments whenever you want to, without all the work (or the awkward conversations).

Track and plan all your finances in one place

The more accounts you want to keep up with, the tougher that is to do if you’re trying to keep up with your joint finances in a spreadsheet, let alone on paper. After all, the real goal isn’t just to share your finances today but to keep up with them together over time. That means entering all your latest bills and other transactions daily. No thank you.

Quicken Simplifi uses bank-grade security to connect to your accounts, so your balances and transactions are updated in the app automatically as your bank posts them.

Say goodbye to checking 8 different banking apps, credit card apps, loan apps, and websites just to try to figure out where you stand. The Quicken Simplifi dashboard gives you an overview of your spending, savings, recurring payments, investments, and more, all at a glance.

Use tags and watchlists to get the targeted answers you need

As you track and plan your finances together, you might want to watch a few things more closely. Maybe you want to keep an eye on your take-out budget, for example, or maybe you want to know how much each car is costing in maintenance each year. 

Quicken Simplifi lets you set up watchlists to see those spending areas at a glance. For the car example, you can create a tag for each car — say, #SUV and #Hybrid. When the SUV needs maintenance, tag that bill #SUV. When the hybrid needs maintenance, tag it #Hybrid. Now, you can easily track each car separately, so you’ll see when getting something new might be a better investment.

PRO TIP: Do you have a side gig or hobby income? Give that a special tag so you can track your related expenses. Some if not most of them are probably tax-deductible!

Create and track your joint savings goals (and pay down your debt)

Whether you’re saving up for a house, a child’s college fund, or a romantic getaway, Quicken Simplifi makes it easy to create and track your savings goals. By clicking on the Savings Goal tab, you can input what you’re saving for, set a value, create a target date with a monthly contribution, and start saving!

When you create a savings goal in Quicken Simplifi, you can even tell the app to include the goal in your monthly spending plan. The app will prioritize your savings for you, setting aside enough cash to make sure your monthly savings are covered.

PRO TIP: Do you have a plan for paying down your debt? Use the Savings Goal tab to make sure you hit those goals too!

See your investments in a new light

Investing is one of the cornerstones of growing your wealth and raising your collective net worth. But keeping track of your investments can be a behemoth task, especially if you’re combining assets. 

If your portfolio is diverse with 401(k)s, IRAs, pensions, mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, crypto, and other investments, Quicken Simplifi can track all those assets in one place so you can check their performance at a moment’s notice — by individual account or as a comprehensive portfolio.

Customize and automate your notifications

With Quicken Simplifi’s customizable notifications, you won’t have to worry about upcoming bills, missed payments, or upcoming withdrawals. By automating your notifications, you can get alerts about anything you want to know without having to watch your money 24/7.

Want to know about large transactions? Tell Simplifi what “large” means to you — the app will alert you about any transaction over the limit you set.

Want to know if your bank balance is low? Tell Simplifi what “low” means. Choose any minimum balance you’re comfortable with and the app will help you make sure you’re staying above it.

With plenty of notifications and customizations to choose from, you can tell Quicken Simplifi exactly what you want to know — and only what you want to know — so you can stay on top of your money like a pro.

Explore and plan your finances with fast, easy financial reports 

One of the greatest strengths of managing your finances together as a couple is having a full suite of financial information at your fingertips. 

Is your spending trending up or down? How are you doing each month relative to your income? Do you need to set aside more cash for the holidays or summer vacations?

You can find the answers to these questions and much, much more in Quicken Simplifi’s customizable reports. Tweak your budget, pivot your savings goals, create the tags and watchlists you need, and create a strong financial plan for both your short-term and long-term goals. 

With Quicken Simplifi in your pocket — and in your corner — you can reach those goals with confidence.