Everyone has different relationships with money, and everyone has different responses to stress. And unfortunately, those are two things that tend to go hand in hand. Money causes stress, and in a relationship, it’s even more true. If you’re in a partnership and sharing money, you need a good way to deal with that. The best way to start solving that problem is by communicating. Nothing gets solved unless you open up a dialogue about it. This is especially the case if you’re struggling financially. Maybe one or both of you were laid off, maybe you’re experiencing a life change, or maybe the world is just squeezing you a little bit tighter than it normally does. This happens to so many of us, and yet we have no cut-and-dry path forward. 

The best way to start, though, is by sitting down to figure it out together. Maybe you can draw up a budget that both of you will try to stick to. Maybe you make clear demarcations about whose money is whose. These are all ways to start.