Financial tips will always be necessary – even when it comes to matters of the heart. Believe it or not, there are even dating rules that you can use to help you manage your money.
Although a relationship is something that involves your emotions, you will be surprised at how influential your finances can be to make it a success. A lot of couples – even those who are already married have gone their separate ways because of financial problems. Money stress can create tension between couples and this can be destructive to any relationship.
If finances can ruin those who are physically together, how do you think couples in long distance relationships or LDR fare? According to an article published on BusinessInsider.com, 3 million married Americans are currently in a long distance relationship. Half of college students are also in the same relationship status.
In case you are starting to feel a bit of pity for these folks, don’t be. According to studies mentioned in the article, LDR couples are more satisfied compared to those who are geographically close. It seems that the saying is true: absence makes the heart grow fonder. The study revealed that LDR couples are more emotionally intimate and tend to share their thoughts more often than those who are beside each other.
Of course, nobody would willingly look for this type of relationship because being physically away from each other can be a problem. But then again, there is a solution to that – you can go see each other as often as you want. While the concept is simple, it can be a challenge to your finances.
This is where long distance financial tips will come it handy.
How to make your long distance relationship financially possible
In an article published on RagsToReasonable.com, there is a hidden cost to having a long distance relationship. Obviously, you cannot go for long without physically seeing your significant other. Apparently, this is the biggest expense that you have to worry about when you are in love with someone from the other side of the country (or the globe!)
Although there are ways to travel on a budget, the frequency by which you need to do it will help make your relationship successful. According to the Chris, the other half of the LDR couple in the Rags to Reasonable website, you usually have to see each other within 4 weeks to keep the relationship alive. Anything beyond that could make everything seem unreal and the relationship could fade from that point.
Of course, visiting your significant other is harder and more expensive the farther they are from you. The cost to travel can get burdensome and that can also put a strain, not just on your finances, but also in your relationship.
The article on the site gave one interesting, and seemingly obvious, solution: a long distance relationship fund. This will help make your trips scheduled and will allow you
Here are some financial tips that can help you overcome this issue.
Set a budget. A budget will allow you to determine how much you can afford to put aside from your paycheck. If you usually need $500 to finance a trip to your significant other, that means you need to put aside $125 a week. Take note that these savings should be a joint effort. Even if only one person will travel, it still concerns the both of you. That being said, you can split the effort to save. For instance, you can each put $62.50 each week towards your LDR fund.
Be practical. It is also important for you to be practical when it comes to making decisions about visiting your significant other. For instance, if the holidays are coming up, you can probably skip the 4-week visiting cycle and opt to wait to see each other during the holidays. The money that you can save should give you more funds to enjoy each other’s company.
Use resources available to you. Some couples enjoy perks from work that allow them to visit each other at half the price. For instance, if one works in an airline company, you can make use of huge percentage discounts on your airline ticket to visit your significant other. Or if your work gets you travelling on business, you can see each other if the meeting happens to be in close proximity to the other. Grabbing the chance to see each other as often as possible will surely keep the love alive between you two.
Opt for frugal fun. Finally, you have to opt for some frugal fun. Among the financial tips, this might not be something that people would agree to because they try to justify that their time with each other is limited. Why would you want to be strict with your spending? According to an article published on TheFinancialDiet.com, it can be hard to focus on what you are spending if your time together feels like a special occasion. There is some truth to that but then again, you also want to be practical. Do not splurge today because there are other trips to finance in the future.
It is very important that you define the rules on how you will use the LDR fund. Will it be strictly for your travel expenses? Or will it include the money that you will use while you are with your significant other? Knowing the rules will allow you to limit your spending and make wiser choices about how you will spend your money. That should help ease the tension associated with the expenses that a long distance relationship will cost.
Tips to build your long distance relationship fund
With all the saving goals that you have to meet, including your LDR fund may not seem important. Please do not think that is justifiable. Your relationship also requires an investment, not just your emotions or your time, but even your money. The harder you work for the relationship, the more valuable it will be.
Here are some tips that will help you build your LDR fund.
Know how much you need. Is it $500 or $1,000? As mentioned, you have to understand how much money you will save for every meetup. This amount will help you decide how much money you should put aside each paycheck.
Look at a current expense and find ways to lower the cost. Check out your budget and look at the different expenses that you have. The Rags to Reasonable article said that they initially have a $1600 budget for their home. They were able to find an apartment that only cost them $1300 because it was big enough to be shared with a roommate. That allowed them to save $300 a month – which goes to their LDR fund. There are many ways that you can lower your spending without changing your lifestyle. You just have to be smart about your spending choices.
Stop spending on one or two expense. Choose the expenses that you can eliminate completely. For instance, do you really need a separate cable subscription if you already have an Internet connection? Obviously, the latter is more important because it helps you communicate with your significant other. Why not cancel your cable subscription so you can add more money towards your LDR fund.
Find ways to earn more. If you have a hobby that you can capitalize on, you can possibly use that to give your income a boost. Any extra money you earn can contribute to your growing fund. The more money you have, the more time you can spend with your loved one. Ideally, you want to set up a passive income so this side gig will not take up much of your spare time.
Since travelling is probably going to be the biggest expense in your long distance relationship, you need some serious financial tips that will help you save up for it. Here is a video from a travel vlogger about how she saves money to afford her travels. This is something that you can probably follow when you are trying to save cash to visit your significant other.
