The most important conversation to have with your spouse about money
The most important conversation to have with your spouse about money
Financial compatibility plays a big role in a relationship, especially in married couples. It refers to understanding and respecting your partner’s behavior, values and habits in handling money. If you and your partner are different in perspective about money, you are setting yourself up into a lot of fights in the future which can be the reason for a broken relationship. However, better communication with your spouse is important in marriages. If you are discussing freely the topic of money, you are more likely to experience a happy and peaceful married life.
Determining your financial compatibility with your partner starts with a conversation. It is never too late to start discussing money no matter how long you are in a relationship or a marriage. So here are the tips on how to talk to your partner about money
1. Define what is money to you
The first thing is to have a clear definition of money for you and your partner. Talk about how much you earn or how much savings do have in your bank account, how you budget things in the house. Does he/she have loans in the bank? And since you are already married, it's proper to know about each other’s finances because it helps your relationship progress if you don’t have secrets, especially in money.
2. Talk about your goals financially
This is where you and your partner will go in-depth not just about how your money looks now, but what your plan is in the present and the future. Discuss your financial habits and goals together so you can know if they are compatible with one another. Plan to track your expenditures using a spreadsheet to view your expenses.
3. Joint Finances
Joint finances mean differently for every couple. Some couples tend to keep their money separate from different bank accounts. While the other couple combines everything. From bank accounts, credit cards, investments, and more.
Combining finances does not come mainly to personal preference. Yes, you may feel like you need to protect yourselves by keeping your finances separate, however, you might prefer setting up joint accounts to make things simple and avoid arguments. Couples’ decisions should be mutually discussed when it comes to budgeting because of the money you spend on things you are already shared. Being honest about money is very vital in marriage.
These conversations with your spouse can help you both improve the financial future of your relationship. The more hands-on you are about starting open conversations about these topics, the better you’ll be in the coming years