When it comes to talking money with your partner, most people just don’t. In fact, 78% of couples are okay to talk about past relationships, full medical history, deep feelings but not about their financial history. This needs to change! Below you will understand why every couple must have money talk and some tips on how to do it.
Benefits about having the money talk with your partner
Understanding how your partner handles money, is a great way to prevent fights and misunderstanding. Study shows that your partner affects a lot your own behavior, so it is important to discuss it and align it.
So it is important that you and your significant other talk about money and that both parties are active partners when handling your household budget!
You may say: “My partner and I don’t need to talk about money. My partner handles all the money”.
It is important that both parties are involved in the prosses. Study shows that the person who handles the money increases significantly their financial literacy while the opposite happens with the other partner. Finance is like speaking a foreign language. If you don’t use it often, you start forgetting.
Imagine if something happens: a break-up, sickness, or (God-forbid) your partner dies too early. If the person that didn’t handle the money is left alone, that person will struggle to re-gain their financial skills. In some cases, money can be lost in the process. And 79% of the time, it’s the women who outlive the men.
Talking about money can be scary, but sharing vulnerabilities improves trust, collaboration and intimacy.
How to get started
Here are 3 questions you need to include in your conversation with your partner:
- What are your long term financial goals?
What do you want to accomplish together?
2. How do you measure your financial success?
Is it a house with a white fence, or is it having the ability to live anywhere around the world?
3. What’s the one thing you wish your parents had done differently financially?
It’s important to answer these questions together, as a couple. Research shows that couples who talk openly about money leads to taking fewer risks, that in turn can lead to higher savings.
I understand it can be difficult to get started. My suggestion for actionable tip is to block a day in both of your calendar for a sit down and honest money talk.
Go ahead and send the calendar invitation to your partner right now to have the money talk that every couple must have.
Your future-self will thank you!
