This piece is part of my 2016–2026 archive migration. Some original formatting, content, and external links may be missing, changed, or not be optimized.
Uh oh, is your romantic buddy a financial mismatch?
They complain about gas prices.
They complain about prices for things in general.
They have maxed out credit cards.
They don’t track their spending.
They don’t track their credit card usage.
They don’t know what comes out of their bank accounts.
They don’t have an emergency fund.
They never have enough money to cover emergencies.
They can never spot you if you forget your wallet.
They rarely invest in you financially or spend money on you.
Their friends and family never ask to borrow money from them because they never have any to spare.
They effed up their credit score and aren’t doing anything to repair it.
They try to move in with you too early in the relationship to cut their housing expenses because they can’t afford it.
They don’t ever educate themselves about personal finance.
They don’t have a car if they live in a non-walking city.
If they have a car, their car payment is too expensive, and they struggle to pay it monthly.
They struggle to pay for basic things such as fixing the air conditioning.
They only have one source of income.
They spend excess money on entertainment, shopping, recreational activities, or addictions.
They are not on track with their retirement savings.
They don’t know how much money they want to retire with and don’t know when they want to retire.
They don’t believe in working for themselves and never really have.
They don’t understand the concept of money and spend little time educating themselves about it to change this predicament.
They always want you to contribute to anything and everything that requires money because they can’t afford to pay for it themselves.
They always have to travel on a strict budget because they can’t afford to splurge.
They never save in advance for large purchases and possess no financial discipline.
They don’t understand the value of time over money.
They’re comfortable working for another person for the rest of their life.
They don’t like to have transparent and honest conversations about money and quickly get upset about money discussions.
They don’t have any financial goals.
They are not charitable or generous. They are stingy with their money and resources and claim that since they don’t have anything, they don’t have anything to give.
They do not hold any financial boundaries with themselves or others, which is another reason they’re broke.
They often want to stay “in” because they can’t afford to “go out,” If they do, they’re charging the experience to a credit card or using the last cash they have on hand.
You and your partner never meet eye-to-eye on financial topics. There is always dissent in the air concerning financial conversations.
Your partner thinks you care too much about money and are obsessed with it.
This content is for informational purposes only — not professional advice. Consult a qualified professional before making any major decisions.