Financial Conflicts and Compatibility in Dual-Career Couples: A Phenomenological Study

The purpose of this study was to identify living experiences of dual-career couples as regards financial issues.

This research was done by qualitative approach and by the method of interpretive phenomenology. In this study, the researchers selected and interviewed 12 dualcareer couples with snowball sampling and 12 dual-career couples with marital conflicts through purposeful sampling. Interviews were analyzed using the Dicklman, Allen, and Turner’s (1989) method, which is team-based.

Analyzing the participants’ experiences led to the identification of two main themes under the heading of financial conflict (with the sub-themes of absence of financial preference, inappropriate financial relationships, absence of financial commitment, weakness in financial skills, individual financial management, and financial violence) and financial compatibility (with the sub-themes of lack of financial preference, optimal financial relationships, financial commitment, joint financial life, and equal financial skills).

The results of the study showed that the scope of financial issues in the lifestyle of dual-career couples is not limited to talking and arguing about money and budget. Moreover, what is more important than financial challenges and money-related disputes is how such couples understand these financial problems and the way they deal with them. The dual-career couples also can move toward financial sustainability with the help of appropriate prioritization indicators, appropriate financial relationships, financial responsibility, team-based financial life, and financial skills acquisition.