There are 7 financial topics to have with your spouse so talking about money is less painful.
These apply to almost everyone who shares a household in a romantic relationship (so you don’t need to be married).
I recommend setting aside a planned time of at least one hour where you and your partner go over the 7 financial topics I’ve listed below. This will get the conversation started and make money less taboo (which it shouldn’t be).
Okay, here are the 7 financial topics to discuss with your spouse…
1. Financial mistakes of the past
Talk about all of your past financial mistakes. Part of trust is having complete transparency. This is especially true with your life partner. When you’re discussing your finances, tell your partner everything relevant in your financial past. Don’t hide anything. “The cover up is always worse than the crime” – don’t make this mistake by lying or hiding information about your past.
2. Your current financial status
Talk about your current financial status, including your debts (credit cards, student loans – everything), assets, budget, credit score and anything else that is relevant.
Knowing where you both stand financially is the first step toward creating a plan for the future.
3. Financial goals for the future
Discuss your long and short term financial goals. This includes talking about your savings and spending goals, in addition to buying a house, retirement, investments, insurance, and health care. This is a good time to talk about whether you want kids and the finances relating to education and daycare. Deciding what you would do if a family member asked for financial assistance is another way to see if you’re on the same page with your finances.
4. Bank accounts – joint, separate, both?
Decide how you want to combine your lives financially. The traditional way of combining finances is to have all monies go into one account. The more modern approach is for each person to have a separate account and for there to be one joint account for expenses. Whichever method you choose (and there are several more than I mentioned), remember that separate does not mean hidden. So, even if you and your partner have a separate account, there should be complete transparency when it comes to those accounts.
5. Budgeting
Decide how you want to budget together. Have budgeting meetings together, either monthly or weekly in the beginning.
Get started with this resource: Budgeting For Budget Haters
Budgeting can be the tool that you use to create a plan with your partner. It can make your financial goals possible because it can be the roadmap by which you achieve them.
I love my budget because it allows me to accomplish my financial goals (and payoff my student loan debt).
6. Decide who will be in charge
Determine who will handle day to day finances like budgeting and bills, and who will be in charge of long term finances. Maybe a rotating schedule will work for you. Maybe one of you is much better at being organized and keeping track of things. The point is to decide proactively who is going to manage the money. If both of you manage your finances together, set up times where you go over your finances to make sure you’re on the same page.
7. How much communication you both expect
Communication in a relationship is paramount to most things. So, deciding how much to communicate about money is one way to be ahead of the curve. Do you need to tell the other person if you’re spending a certain amount of money? Do you want to meet weekly to go over your budget? Do you want to have quarterly and yearly money evaluations? You don’t need to do any of these things, but you do need to be on the same page as your partner. Having these discussions is the way to decide what will work best in your relationship. It will also help when you are fighting about money.
A Final Note.
Contrary to popular belief, money doesn’t have to be a point of tension in your marriage. It can be one full of trust and respect.
