I gave my fiancé a debt ultimatum before marriage, says Sarah

When Sarah Reeve got engaged, she gave her fiancé Lee an ultimatum: pay off his debt or no wedding. "I told him I wouldn't marry him if he had any debts," says the 45-year-old. So they set a wedding date two years ahead, giving Lee time to clear the £2,000 bank loan he had taken out for a car — equivalent to £4,000 today. Once the debt was gone, the couple paid everything into a joint account and Sarah took charge of bills, saving and budgeting. "He said 'you can sort it all out and take charge with money because I'm rubbish with it,'" she recalls. Sarah now earns £24,000 working part-time in insurance; Lee, after 27 years in maintenance at the same factory, was made redundant four years ago and now works for himself in property maintenance, earning about £30,000. They have been together 25 years and have two daughters, aged 19 and 21. "It's very much our money rather than mine or yours," Sarah says, noting she took four years off work when the children were young. They have never overstretched themselves, making regular mortgage overpayments. "We've also always been savers — well, I've been the saver for us," she says. Every month she writes down how much money is in their accounts. "That really helps as if we've had a bad month, at least you know and can find the reason." But being the financially responsible one has not always been easy. Sarah wishes Lee would take more ownership: "I feel like it's all down to me." She says Lee is not money-orientated and is happy for her to make the decisions. "He says, 'I met you and I had nothing, so I don't care if I have nothing,'" she says. Yet Sarah felt the pressure of planning for their future. They had "a little pot of money" saved, but the article notes the source text was cut off at that point.