Money Management Tips For Couples

pHaving to manage personal finances is one of the stressful realities that makes up a part of normal daily living. As a single person managing his or her finances, he or she doesn’t have to be concerned with coordinating financial management efforts with anyone else. However, if the scenario involves a couple, such as a husband and wife, an entirely new dynamic is introduced. In theory, at least, there should be some sense of coordination between both members of the couple. What affects one member of the couple affects the other member of the couple, right?/ppIf you and your partner are like most couples, chances are, you fight about money. Numerous studies have shown that money is the No. 1 reason why couples argue — and many of the a href=https://www.key.com/html/couples-financial-planning-articles.htmlrecently divorced/a say those battles were the main reason why they untied the knot./ppWe’ll begin with the following quick points, as noted by a href=https://www.key.com/html/couples-financial-planning-articles.htmlKey/a, that address a number of financial mistakes that partners can make that create serious angst in their relationship:/ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline1 - Merging The Finances/span/strong/ppThe Wrong Approach: United we stand, divided we bank (i.e. separate bank accounts)./ppThe Right Approach: It's yours, mine and ours (i.e. share the bank account)./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline2 - Dealing With Debt/span/strong/ppThe Wrong Approach: Your debt will ruin us; you must find a way to pay it off./ppThe Right Approach: It's our debt: Let's decide how to pay it off together./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline3 - Keeping Spending In Check/span/strong/pp/ppThe Wrong Approach: I'm a saver and you're a spender. That's the problem./pp/ppThe Right Approach: We both spend, but on different things. Let's budget./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline4 - Investing Wisely/span/strong/ppThe Wrong Approach: You're a risk-taker, I'm risk-averse. Hands off our retirement savings./ppThe Right Approach: Let's think in time frames and take as much risk as our goals allow./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline5 - Keeping Money Secrets/span/strong/ppThe Wrong Approach: What my spouse doesn't know will never hurt him/her./ppThe Right Approach: Big financial secrets can ruin a marriage./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline6 - Emergency Planning/span/strong/ppThe Wrong Approach: We're fine. We don't need to worry about money./ppThe Right Approach: Anything could happen. Let's plan for emergencies./pp/ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underlineExamples of Financial Fights All Couples Have /span/strong/ppIn a a href=http://www.cnbc.com/2016/10/27/the-five-financial-fights-all-couples-hav... by CNBC/a on the topic, the following examples of conflicts provide more insight about problems to avoid:/ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline1 - Risk Taker vs Risk Avoider/span/strong/ppOne of you is more comfortable with the ups and downs of the stock market. If your spouse is intent on taking more risk than you're comfortable with - by putting more money into stocks, or investing in start-ups or buying Bitcoin - agree on a small percentage of your money that can be used in that way (no more than 5 to 10 percent) and a similar amount that you can save or invest as you wish. Then stick to your plan with the rest./ppstrongspan style=text-decoration:underline2 - Lending or Giving Money to Family and Friends/span/strong/ppForget about loaning money to friends and family in the majority of cases. If you can't afford to do it as a gift, don't do it at all - it won't end well. If you've already done it and you want to preserve the relationship, tell the recipient you're forgiving the debt, but that you don't want to be asked for more in the future./ppIn conclusion, the above points make it clear that good communication and teamwork is the real key to conflict-free financial partnership in marriage. A health dose of humility, patience, and selflessness will go a long way too because, after all, no one is perfect./pp/p