I wouldn't marry him until he paid off his debt, now I'm in charge of our money

Sarah Reeve explained that when she became engaged to Lee, she set a condition: he had to clear his debt before she would agree to marry him. She recalled that, at the time they met in their early twenties, she was covering her own expenses while Lee was paying his mother an excessive amount of rent. "I was paying my owe and bills whereas helium was giving his mum immoderate rent," Sarah says of their situations erstwhile they met successful their aboriginal 20s. She added, "I told him I wouldn't wed him if helium had immoderate debts," says the 45-year-old. To meet that requirement, Lee spent two years repaying a £2,000 loan he had taken out to purchase a car, which amounts to roughly £4,000 in today's money. Once the debt was settled, the couple pooled their finances into a joint account, with Sarah assuming responsibility for bill payment, saving, and budgeting. Lee reportedly told her, "He said 'you tin benignant it each retired and instrumentality complaint with wealth due to the fact that I'm rubbish with it,'" she says. Sarah’s experience reflects a broader trend noted in St James's Place's Women and Wealth Report, which finds that more than 4 fifths of women are actively progressive in managing regular finances such as day-to-day spending and household budgeting. Sarah earns £24,000 working part‑time in security, while Lee spent 27 years at the same factory, earning about £26,000 before being made redundant four years ago. He now runs his own business in spot attraction, bringing in approximately £30,000. The couple, who have been together for 25 years and have two daughters aged 19 and 21,