Love, Purpose, Duty, and Respect are principles of a successful marriage. It will be hard to find someone who follows and believes in these principles, but they exist. However, to find this person, you will have to live and die by these remarkable principles as well. Do you?
Life is full of surprises, and getting married and having children is one of them. No matter what you think marriage is, it will be vastly different than what you expect. After 15.5 years of marriage, I can say marriage is 100% better than I could have imagined.
We got married in February 2006, during the cold season of Helsinki, Finland. I was a young US Marine, age 25, and Kris came from Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, age 22. We didn’t have much at this age, and that’s genuinely how married life starts best.
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Everything we have today, we built together from the fateful day in February 2006. We bought our first house in October 2008, and it has been an ass-pain ever since. However, we still have it, and it gives us a little rental income each month.
We bought our second house in 2017 and our third in 2020. Through all the ups and downs of homeownership, our love has grown more potent than ever. The funny part is that once we started taking our finances more seriously, we realized that life was not a game.
That’s the true magic of marriage. It’s not buying cars, boats, and huge mansions together; anyone can do that. The true magic of marriage is building an empire based on love, trust, and financial responsibility.
When both members of the marriage work towards the same goal, there is nothing the marriage cannot achieve. On the path to financial independence, two people are better than one. Yes, things will start off rocky—that’s part of life.
However, learning the language of money will translate to better communication of love, romance, and finances. I’ll give you some examples.
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Buying new furniture. Women (and men) love to upgrade things around the house. Instead of saying “no,” first figure out the total cost to upgrade the particular room. Then, set small goals to achieve over the next year. For example, “let’s save $300/month until we can upgrade our living room.”
Not only does it keep the couple on the same page, but it also keeps them on the same purpose. There is nothing to argue about because you lay everything out, and both have agreed.
Buying a car. Having a car payment is one of the most destructive things to do to your wealth. But, I (kind of) understand that people want the safety of new cars. How long you keep your vehicle is where you make money. If the intent is to keep the car for 10-15 years, it may not be a bad idea.
But, you’ll need to discuss these things before. Not just “I want this car,” but deep conversations about how this purchase will affect your investments and ability to support your children in the future.
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The naysayers. I know many people out there are saying, “I can just stay single and decide how to manage my own money!” Yep, you sure can—a couple of things.
1) There is absolutely no challenge in staying single. You do whatever you want; however you want, and whenever you want. Okay. It sounds fun until you are 60 years old, and things become much different.
2) Becoming a power couple is the best feeling in the world. Eventually, you’ll reach a point where money is not an object. The married couple will hit this point much faster than the single person.
Marriage, the wealth accelerator. Yes, most married couples live an excellent quiet life without much in the way of finances. That’s not the magic of marriage. You harness the magic of marriage when you both gain financial education.
Once you understand the process of building a cash flow retirement system, multiple streams of income, starting businesses, living on dividends, and creating royalties, life morphs into something much different.
My wife went from -$77,000 to +$150,000 in 22 months. Now we are sitting on $200,000 in our dividend portfolio, three houses, and budding writing business. Each month we are saving and investing $5,000-$7,000.
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We don’t worry about shit anymore. We have enough cash flow to insulate us from the common emergencies that could deeply affect our financial relationship. Life is near-perfect when you have the money to live in peace.
Our purpose. Now, we have a shared purpose of ensuring our kids can live their best lives. That doesn’t mean that we give them piles of cash—the exact opposite. It means that we speak the language of money.
When our kids grow up, we can help them buy houses, start businesses, and invest in the stock market. That is truly how they will become healthy and happy, not through a job. Being able to focus on our children’s wealth and happiness has brought Kris and me closer together.
Our Grandkids. I don’t like the current school system. When I went through in the 80s and 90s, things were much different—there was more passion from kids and teachers. I am making it a priority to homeschool my grandkids. I think that we can do a better job of preparing our grandkids for the future than school. Maybe I am wrong, but when you are rich, you’re always right (joke).
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Our Love. Through it all, our bond has grown stronger than ever. We met when we were still babies (age 23 and 20). We made mistakes, of course, but we never questioned our love for each other. It’s hard to imagine a world without Kris. I have talked to her every single day for the last 18 years (except some days in Afghanistan). She is a part of who I am.
When I started this investment journey and path to financial independence, she jumped right in with me—no questions. And it was that trust that helped me gain the confidence to invest in the stock market, buy multiple homes, and start releasing books!
Together we can do everything, and boy, does it feel good to become rich together. There is no better feeling than waking up next to my beautiful wife, having the entire day to ourselves, and getting $100 in dividends. Together, that is the life we will live forever.
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Conclusion. Today’s world doesn’t value marriage as much as it used to, but that’s okay. All that matters is that you value the sacred bond between two complete strangers. The idea that two complete strangers can build an empire together is total madness (in a good way).
Learning how to communicate finances will also assist you in talking about love and romance. If you can articulate your needs and desires, you’ll have a successful marriage. Don’t let the love of money prevent you from building something special. In the end, you can have it all; you just have to sacrifice a little upfront.
Thanks for reading. I don’t talk about marriage enough. However, getting married was the true life-changing event in my life. Please follow me on Twitter and my Facebook Page, where you’ll see my daily articles and new book releases. Enjoy and Happy Investing!
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Disclosure: I am not a financial advisor or money manager, and any knowledge is given as guidance and not direct actionable investment advice. I am an Amazon Affiliate. Please research any investment vehicles that are being considered. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.
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