MONEY AND LOVE; 7 TIPS THAT WILL STRENGTHEN THE FINANCIAL COMPABILITY OF COUPLES.

Have you ever wondered why talking about money in a relationship sounds unromantic? Yet it is
one of the major things that causes stress in a relationship. Have you tied the knot ? Or you are
about to tie the knot, even though you are in a serious relationship that you feel might lead to
marriage discussions about money is very important to have.
Couples need to start trying to get comfortable with discussion about their finances, because in
the long run money makes life a lot easier. Their financial state will practically affect almost all
their decisions and choices— from the kind of house they buy, to the kind of car they drive, their
lifestyle and all. Money actually makes couples comfortable and even increases their
passion—when their financial state is at the level they want it to be. The earlier they start
discussing their finances the better for them and their future.
Here, I’ve listed tips that will help couples to get comfortable with discussing their finances and
also strengthen their financially compatibility;

1. Keep it simple and cool:

start the conversation with something cool, make sure you’re
both in a good mood, because our mood sometimes affects how we respond to things. You both
need to be honest about where you stand financially, if one of you is paying back a debt it better
you say it too. Discuss your spending habits too, do you buy things on impulse or you stick to
your budget no matter what. Do you save your money or would you rather invest it? Your both
answers do not have to be the same but if it’s not similar in any way, then you both need to talk
about it and compromise to avoid misunderstanding in the future.
You should both share your experience about money, how your families handled financial issues
when you were much younger— do they have more than enough or do they live on a budget?
Your experience from then will affect how you spend money as an adult. This information will
help both parties understand each other better and also to know what they’re getting into. You
both should not avoid Sharing your real financial situation, make the tone of the conversation
even and use it as an opportunity to discuss your future together. Couples should have financial
talks regularly, it should not be a once in a while thing for them.

2. Be honest about your income:

Here, most couples are usually not honest about their
income, they find it difficult to disclose exactly what they earn per month, and even when there
is an increase in their salary they do not disclose it. Couples need to be honest and have trust in
each other if they really want to have a stable and strong financial state.
Couples need to discuss their income and review their financial documents —like savings, debts
and their assets too. Know each other’s net worth by subtracting your debts from your assets.
Along the process, avoid being judgemental as you accumulate these facts about each other,
see yourselves as one team and always find ways to improve each other’s financial status.

3. Get a joint account as a couple:

don’t get me wrong, you can always have your own
personal account aside from the joint account. Having a joint account as a couple will
strengthen your bond and increase your closeness as a couple.
Set a target amount for the joint account that you both will work towards, saving some certain
amount of money every month to meet the target. Reaching the targeted amount will give you
both a sense of accomplishment. So any money needed for the household or even family
vacation, a new house etc, could be taken from the joint account preventing the couples to even
touch their personal savings.

4. Set priorities:

As a couple, it will be difficult to achieve your goal if you don’t know each
other’s priorities or what the other person wants. Anything you want to do together will be easier
if you know what you want. Buying your first house or changing changing the previous one to a
bigger house？ or planning to open a family business? Talking about your dreams and what
you both want is one of the first steps to making your joint goal realistic.
So knowing what you both want will help you both as a couple to set joint priorities. One
important joint priority should be planning how to reduce debts as it will eliminate the interest
you pay on your outstanding debts balance. Paying off debts is like saving because you will
have more money in your account to spend the following month.

5. Talk about money before getting married:

yeah like I said before, talking about
money is the most unromantic discussion among couples. People say money doesn’t buy
happiness but when it comes to marriage, even kids are expensive to take care of.
Couples that are about to tie the knot should save for the wedding and also for the
marriage(after the wedding, when they are living together). Immediately you announce your
engagement, aside from saving for the big day, open a separate account to save for the
marriage itself. For instance, you both might want to make a down payment for your first home
or you want to go for a honeymoon. Either way, save beyond the wedding.

6. Have a financial date night:

unromantic right? Yeah, I know right, but it is necessary
and very important to the financial growth of the couple. Talks about money should be a healthy
one and a regular conversation between couples. Instead of waiting for a financial crisis to arise
before having talks about money, pick a date every month and make it strictly for money
discussion.
Talk about your current financial situation, talk about the progress you’ve both made in the past
month and otherwise too, talk about the decisions you both want to make on finance in the
future. Also, if you both have a joint goal , talk about the progress you’ve both made in achieving
it.

7. Create a budget that suits the both of you:

well, a couple that budget together stays together. Although it is not so romantic to sit down and make a budget together yet, it is
necessary and it strengthens the couple bonds as well as it increases their closeness.
However, building your life with someone is not all rosy and making joint budget is no different.
Budgeting as a couple requires the couple to both agree on what they want, their
differences—in term of spending and how they can work on it. The couples need to stick to
there goals, they also need to spend within their budget and they need to be accountable and
transparent to each, contributing their agreed portion of income every month.