Every romantic relationship is as unique as the two people who make up the couple. There are no hard-and-fast rules about how long it should take to reach any financial milestone, but if you find yourself skipping over steps, you should dig deeper into why.

Read on for 11 typical financial milestones in a relationship.

Talking to your partner about mistakes you’ve made can be challenging, especially when you bring finances into the equation. Emotions like shame, fear, and frustration can escalate things exponentially. 

To ease the process, here are a few tips that will help facilitate a safe, productive, and even bonding experience.

While queer couples have been able to obtain “domestic partnerships” for years, actual “marriage” has only been federally recognized for a little over five years. With state recognized marriage, queer couples also have to navigate their joint finances. There are so many different ways to manage finances as a couple! Here are some tips for embarking on that journey-including lessons my husband and I have learned!

Saving money doesn’t sound like the most thrilling activity in the world, but keeping your finances under control and watching your funds grow can give you a major sense of accomplishment. You don’t have to limit yourself to saving for just one financial goal either. It’s possible to save for many things at the same time. Here’s how to save money for your goals by breaking them down and creating a different strategy for each one.

Money is frequently a stressful subject in romantic relationships and one of the leading causes of divorce. Even when finances are not a point of contention in a relationship, they can easily become an afterthought with everything else going on in life. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Working with a financial trainer will help you and your partner align on your finances and free up more time (and money) for the things you both care about.

Ever since the abolition of slavery in 1865, there has been a prevalent racial wealth gap in America. The abolition of slavery was supposed to begin an era of Black wealth in America, but structural racism has made it challenging for Blacks in America to build and maintain wealth. Structural racism is: “a system in which public policies, institutional practices, cultural representations, and other norms work in various, often reinforcing ways to perpetuate racial group inequity.

Rent is the biggest monthly expense for most people, including myself, and typically, our only payment option is writing a check or making an automatic payment out of our checking account since most landlords do not accept credit cards. Even in the rare case a credit card is accepted, a hefty processing fee is charged, which will typically outweigh the benefit of any credit card points earned.

Here at The Financial Gym, we are all about making small changes that won’t impact your day-to-day life too much but will impact your budget (for the better!). Below is a list of six things that we think you can easily cut back on (or cut out!) for a month that will substantially lower expenses, without too much of a lifestyle change. 

Are you stuck living in the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle? It’s time to build your emergency fund. An emergency fund is money you have set aside for the emergencies that inevitably come up. Your car breaks down, you lose your job, etc. But if you have no savings, getting to that first four figures is tough. It can seem daunting even. If you’re just starting your savings journey, here’s how to save your first $1,000 for your emergency fund. 

Have you ever felt like you’ll always be stuck in a negative money mindset? Do you always feel like there’s never enough money? If that’s the case, we hate to break it to you: you have a scarcity mindset. Here’s the good news: you can switch up your money mindset! Is it easy? No. But it’s possible to make progress, so you can better your relationship with money.

With fixed mortgage rates at their highest level in decades, adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) are making a comeback. While an adjustable-rate mortgage can save you money in the short term, they come with a lot of uncertainty and can cost you in the long run. Anyone considering an ARM should carefully evaluate their current financial situation, their future plans, and the details of the loan. 

When we have so many competing priorities: rent, bills, retirement, student loans, credit card bills, and day-to-day discretionary spending, it can be hard to know what “living within your means” actually means. 

Living within your means is the first step toward achieving financial health. Read this post to find out if you’re already doing it.

If you are hoping to travel in 2023, you are in good company: the U.S. Travel Association is forecasting that Americans will be taking more trips and spending more on them than in 2022. But amazing adventures to sip wine in Porto, Portugal or to hang out on the beaches of Puerto Viejo in Costa Rica don’t just happen, you have to prepare for them.

Money can help catapult you closer to larger life goals making rewarding milestones, like buying your first home or retiring early, a reality. On the flip side, the lack of money can also feel like a setback keeping those very goals out of arm’s reach. According to a 2018 Northwestern Mutual study, 44% of Americans claimed that money was a source of stress. In that same study, an overwhelming nine out of 10 respondents said “nothing” makes them happier or inspires more confidence than having their finances in balance.

With the new year and new goals on the horizon, we thought it would be a good idea to share six roadblocks you may hit while taking action on your finances. 

In order to motivate yourself to change ingrained habits, you need a compelling “why”— something that you can leverage when the initial excitement wears off and the real work begins. Doing something because “I’m supposed to” isn’t going to inspire you for long. But if you dig deep and find a reason that moves you, you can become unstoppable.

January is a popular time to work on new goals, including financial goals. But after the shine and excitement of setting a new goal wears off, it’s hard to stay on track: studies show that most people abandon their New Year’s intentions by February. To avoid a similar fate, you need to find ways to stay motivated and accountable.

Here are five strategies to do just that.

Without fail, the turn of the New Year gives many of us this burst of “you can do it” energy. It’s almost like a new car smell or the gleam of light breaking off the horizon in the wee hours of the morning. A new year is a sunrise to a new set of goals and dreams. One recommendation I offer you now is no matter your goals, you should make them achievable and measurable. Now that we’re feeling good, let's discuss some of the personal financial goals you should have to start the new year!

The one-on-one monthly accountability membership at Financial Gym connects you with a Certified Financial Trainer ®, also known as your B.F.F. (Best Financial Friend). Your financial trainer has one job: to help you achieve your financial goals.

Here’s what to expect when you are considering adding a financial trainer to your life.

So much of our day-to-day lives are made up of habits: small actions we perform frequently without much thought—checking our phones when we first wake up, brushing our teeth, or crashing on the couch after work, for example. These small actions compound and have a major effect on our well-being over time. This is especially true for our finances. If you aren’t achieving your big financial goals, it’s time to look smaller and examine your financial habits. 

On one hand, managing money is just math: how much comes in, how much goes out, and how much gets set aside. On the other hand, it has nothing to do with math and everything to do with emotion. It’s about your perception of time, energy, desire, self-worth, and so much more. All of those non-mathematical factors combine to create money mindsets, or money scripts, in your head. These can manifest as self-limiting beliefs that will keep you from reaching your goals.