4 Money Conversations You Need to Have with Your Spouse A.S.A.P.
Let’s face it—financial conversations can be awkward and uncomfortable, but if you’re married, these conversations are essential for creating financial harmony in your relationship.
We’re going to share four questions you should ask your spouse to jump start the money conversations you need to have to keep your finances and relationship on the right track.
What is Our Overall Financial Plan?
The first conversation you should have with your spouse is about what you want your overall financial plan to look like. This plan should include both short-term and long-term goals and strategies for achieving them. You will also want to include contingencies for unexpected expenses like medical bills or job loss. Knowing what the future looks like financially will help you both feel secure in your current situation and confident in planning for the future.
Some goals you may want to include in your financial plan are:
Buying a home or vacation home
Funding a child’s private school or college education
Paying for a child’s college
Creating a family trust
Helping to pay for a child’s down payment on a home
Financing a renovation
Taking a special trip
How Much Do We Want to Save for Retirement?
Talking about retirement planning is something that’s easy to push off, but it’s an important conversation to have with your spouse so that you can both prepare financially for the future. Once you come up with a number for how much you want to save overall, you can discuss how much money each of you will need to save each month. From there, you can come up with a retirement savings plan that works best for your combined income and lifestyle.
What are Our Individual Financial Responsibilities?
When it comes to managing finances, it helps if everyone is on the same page when it comes to who is responsible for what tasks (i.e., who pays which bills). It doesn’t necessarily matter who handles the responsibility—just make sure each person knows what their role is when it comes time to manage finances within the household and establish expectations around that role so there isn’t any confusion or disagreements down the road because of misunderstandings about responsibilities related to money matters within the home.
How Much Money You Will Allocate Toward “Fun Money”?
Not all money conversations have to be about boring aspects of your financial life. Once you do the hard work of determining what your financial goals are and how much money you’ll responsibly put away for goals like saving for retirement, you can start to have some fun.
Sit down with your partner and discuss how much money each of you will allocate toward discretionary spending each month—or “fun money” as some people call it—so that neither of you feel guilty about spending on things like entertainment or hobbies. Having this understanding ahead of time will help ensure both partners feel comfortable spending on themselves without feeling guilty because they know they are on the same page as their partner.
The Takeaway
Financial harmony in marriage starts with open communication about money matters between spouses and having regular conversations can help ensure that all parties continue understanding one another's point of view while still working together toward common financial goals.
With these four financial conversations out of the way, couples can focus more on enjoying life together without having to worry about major money disagreements popping up—just in time for Valentine’s Day!