A good friend of mine, who is also a financial planner, wrote a great blog about 5 guidelines to use when it comes to talking about money in marriages. My two years of marriage have been great and I believe a big part of that is because we use these guidelines. With that said, I know my two years of marriage does not come with a lot of first-hand experience in the subject. Taylor has a beautiful family with 10 successful years of marriage. I hope you enjoy the following wisdom by him.
Greatest Pet Peeve About Your Spouse? By Taylor Stanfill with Verisail Partners
My wife and I were on a weekend couples trip last year for a running event I was participating in. We didn’t know the other couples very well so we began to get to know one another. Someone asked the question…”what is ONE pet peeve about your spouse?” Lovingly, my wife chimed right in and shared a FEW (even though they only asked for ONE)! It was hilarious. Her PRIMARY pet peeve is that I want to talk about our finances / budget too often. Understandably, this is very annoying!
I came up with a saying that I share with my clients…”In order to make money a non-issue, you must consistently make it an issue.”
Apparently, I take this principle too far at home, but it’s true. Finances are too complicated, overwhelming, ever-changing, and dynamic to NOT talk about them with someone we trust.
Why talk about money at home? It’s simple; if you consistently talk about your finances, I guarantee your stress, anxiety, and fear about money will DECREASE!! Who doesn’t want that?
Here are 5 guidelines when it comes to talking about money:
- Do it! It may feel hard or awkward or worthless at first, but you have to start somewhere.
- Recognize that everyone sees money differently. Just as there are many different personalities, there are many different ways of handling money. Start and end with humility.
- Give a little! If you are married, there are TWO people involved. Someone will be the natural leader in this area, but that doesn’t mean they have all the power!
- Make it a party! We have friends who drink champagne during every financial discussion. This can take the sting out of money talk.
- Do it again! Maybe not as often as me, but remember “if you want money to become a non-issue, you must consistently make it an issue!”
