Can't buy me love: Communication about money key in relationships
As Valentine's Day approaches, I couldn't help but dive into the fascinating connection between financial smarts, killer communication skills, and how they affect our love lives.
The term "money language" pertains to how individuals evaluate and understand financial concepts. It is essential to have a solid understanding of how individuals perceive and manage their finances, as well as how they communicate their values.
Knowing how someone communicates about money is key in any relationship. It's all about teamwork and being able to have open and effective conversations about finances, ultimately promoting collaboration in achieving financial goals.
A recent online survey conducted by Harris Interactive, on behalf of ForbesWoman and the National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE), gathered responses from 2,019 American adults between December 17 and 21. The study findings indicate that 31% of individuals who combined their finances with their spouses confessed to deceiving their partners about financial matters. Another one-third admitted to having been financially deceived.
Common offenses committed revolved around concealing money, small transactions, and unshared bills. Some individuals said that they had hidden substantial purchases, kept undisclosed bank accounts, and provided false information on their debt or income. These breaches cause significant damage to the partnership.
The study goes on to show that financial infidelity caused arguments 67% of the time and decreased trust in the relationship 42% of the time. Another 16% claimed that financial infidelity was the cause of their divorce.
How can you make this Valentine's Day more memorable and less likely that you'll be spending it alone? It might help to be more direct. Find time to talk with your partner. Collaborate to address the most pressing concerns. To kick off the discussion, here are some pointers.
Get involved: Both parties should contribute to the creation of a spending plan, future goals, and a strategy to carry it out. This guarantees that issues essential to both parties are addressed.
Meal planning: You don't have to go wild and chop vegetables for the entire month, but knowing what's on the menu for the upcoming week makes staying on budget much easier. Food, whether from a grocery store or restaurant, is one of the most overspent categories people have when trying to budget.
Mine, yours, and ours: I’ll probably receive some pushback on this, but creating separate accounts is the easiest way to allow guilt-free splurges. Setting up accounts as his, hers, and ours ensures that household bills are paid, savings goals are reached, and the rest is distributed fairly. This latter amount can be spent on whatever the individual wishes, whether entirely on tacos and cotton candy. No judgement here.
Get techy: Apps make it easy to track spending. Better yet, login credentials can be shared, looping in your partner.
Withholding financial information harms relationships, leading to misunderstandings and confrontations. To show that special someone you love them, build a shared awareness of financial issues and work together to overcome them.
Michelle Kuehner, ChFC® is the President of Personal Money Planning, LLC, a Wichita Falls retirement planning and investment management firm.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Can't buy me love: Communication about money key in relationships
