A Relationship's [Negative] Impact on Savings

So. The Guy and I have very very different feelings about personal finance. I am deeply in love with The Guy – enough to overlook some of his financial habits (like buying tons of food at expensive gourmet grocery stores that expires in his refrigerator because he goes out to eat almost every night; buying bottled water by the case, when we have perfectly great-tasting municipal tap water; becoming overly generous when drunk – “champagne for the entire bar!”; going for routine massages when he usually demands the same task of me anyway; and lastly, buying expensive home accessories for his condo, when he plans to relocate within a year.)

By the way, you are correct to surmise that The Guy does not read this blog. He has many other endearing qualities. He is funny and compassionate, understands the coffee before real conversation rule, eats off my plate without asking, and is genuinely kind to parents, wait staff and taxi drivers. In a word, endearing! But, he does often interfere with my saving goals. He is a charmer, hard to say no to.

I found a cutesy quote in a February 10th Washington Post article (you can google it if you like correct attributions and all that) that said: “In a Money Management International survey, 70% of those surveyed consider financial savvy an important trait when searching for a mate; 58% said they consider financial security more important than a person's looks, though it was women driving that phenomenon.”

I think this is crap, and I certainly don’t prize financial savvy over hotness. But would still love to hear thoughts on how any of you out there have made it work with an SO who has mismatched priorities. Anyone?