Couples with high income but no savings: Causes and solutions

The couple's total income is more than 100 million VND per month, so Thu Ha was very surprised when she realized she had no savings when preparing for the wedding.

"The estimated cost is 200 million that we cannot afford, we have to deposit in stages and limit spending," said Thu Ha, 31 years old, in Ho Chi Minh City.

Before getting married, Ha lived with her parents so she didn't have to worry about spending. The money she earns is mainly spent on traveling. Ha's boyfriend, Peter, is British and works in Vietnam with an income of about 80 million VND per month. Seeing that prices in Ho Chi Minh City were cheap, he spent freely.

When living together, they pay more than 20 million VND in rent each month. Eating out several times a week, each meal costs 800,000 to more than one million VND. Ha spends money on raising cats, shopping, and hiring hourly maid; The boyfriend pays for the rent, living expenses, gym, sauna, and 4-5 trips a year.

To have money for the wedding, Peter's lunches of nearly 200,000 VND were exchanged for free canteen meals at the school where he taught. They canceled all travel plans. For three consecutive months, Peter lived feeling "like a man with no arm" because he couldn't spend money.

After the wedding, the two have no plans to have children because their family finances are unstable.

In Vinh Long, husband and wife Thu Nghiem and Van Sang, 26 years old, also fell into a similar situation. At the end of last year, when they needed money to repair their house, they realized there was no money in the house even though their income was more than 40 million VND per month.

Nghiem and his wife own a pizza shop. Mr. Sang works as a real estate broker. Both have no children, have their own house, and do not have to pay debt or support either side's parents. "40 million is not a small income in the countryside. Not being able to save is difficult to accept," Thu Nghiem said.

The couple blamed each other and started a cold war. Decoration plans and furniture purchases must be shelved and replaced with less expensive options. The two also had to borrow more money from their grandparents to manage.

"We realized we were spending money unconsciously," Thu Nghiem said. For example, every morning she buys coffee or milk tea, and in the afternoon she buys snacks. She also bought many kitchen utensils but often ate out both lunch and dinner. Mr. Sang spends a lot on unnecessary social meetings.

The situation where a family has a good income but cannot save is not uncommon. A survey by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), in 2022, showed that 61.4% of Vietnamese respondents did not plan and manage income and expenses; 53% said their families had difficulty saving and 23.7% did not save.

Dr. Nathan Gehlert, Fulbright University Vietnam, said that not being able to save is not only due to income or spending levels. A big reason is that couples lack a common goal and a specific way to achieve that goal.

Couples may have different ideas about money. One person views money as security and wants to save, the other sees money as a tool for enjoyment, sharing or self-reward. Another situation is that as income increases, lifestyle and expectations also increase, making it harder to save.

Professor Nathan advises couples to track and categorize spending for 1-2 months to know where the money goes, instead of hastily cutting back or criticizing each other. After that, two people need to agree on priorities, automatically save as soon as they receive income, set personal expenses, large purchase thresholds, and maintain regular financial exchanges.

Thu Nghiem realized that when living together before the wedding, the two people's income was only about 10 million VND, living in rented accommodation, eating on the street, not expecting much but still feeling satisfied and happy. When married, income is better but conflicts appear. "When you don't have money, you put the other person first, but when you have money, you prioritize your own needs," she said.

Then, when they had to borrow money to repair their house, the two started dividing the money into sections: 6-8 million VND for food, 15 million VND for investment, 10 million VND for reserves and 10 million VND for living expenses. Nghiem buys ingredients to make drinks, liquidates kitchen waste and cooks at home. Sang refuses unnecessary meetings.

After 8 months of practicing saving and increasing income, she and her husband were able to buy a car and be financially proactive when needing to raise capital. Ha and Peter plan to build a systematic financial plan after the wedding so they don't continue to fall into the "0 dong account" situation.

To help young couples, Professor Nathan believes that premarital financial education needs to combine financial knowledge with psychology, communication and relationship skills, helping couples budget, manage debt, save and agree on goals and obligations with both parents.

In the US, the Council for Economic Education's 2026 survey found that 39 states require students to study personal finance to graduate. According to Professor Nathan, Vietnam can refer but needs to focus on "our money" management skills in marriage: making decisions together, agreeing on priorities and resolving disagreements.