Staying on top of finances can help couples achieve their shared goals.
Whether saving for a house, a holiday or seeking to grow or preserve their family wealth, setting up and sticking to a budget can help couples attain their common goals. By handling money well, they can avoid disagreements that could put a strain on their relationship.
So how can people in a relationship keep their finances healthy? Here are some practical tips.
Sit down and talk
Money can be a sensitive topic in relationships – and for this reason, many couples avoid discussing it. But it’s vital to talk about your finances and how to manage them, to avoid potential conflict. It’s particularly important to be upfront about your:
- financial situation
- financial goals
- concerns about the future
The American Psychological Association also suggests discussing your beliefs about money early in the relationship.1 This will help you to better understand each other and set the stage for healthy conversations.
Set goals as a couple
Couples often have different financial priorities – one may want to spend on experiences such as overseas travel, while the other may prefer stability by building long-term investments. But this doesn’t mean you can’t set common goals and work together to save for them.
Keeping an open line of communication about your financial aspirations could help you adjust your priorities and plans, and keep on track to achieving your shared goals.
Assign responsibilities
Divvying up the responsibilities for paying for your expenses and building your savings may help ensure you and your partner are on the same page when it comes to financial matters. You may opt to split those responsibilities equally or put one person in charge of most of them. Whatever you choose to do, it’s important that both partners are happy with the decision.
Create a budget
Having a budget helps you achieve your financial goals by setting limits on what you spend. A budget usually tracks your spending on a weekly or monthly basis. However, if this is too restrictive, you may simply agree on a plan for spending – and saving – your money.
Build your retirement funds together
If you are married or in a de facto relationship, you may want to ensure that your partner is nominated as a beneficiary on your superannuation accounts and insurance policies. You may also want to consider helping each other build your retirement funds. If your partner is not working or earns a low income, you might explore making a one-off contribution to their super or arranging to have some of your contributions put into their super account.
Let us help you!
Before you decide to make any such arrangements, it is wise to get professional advice on how they work. Your financial adviser can talk you through the rules of spouse contributions and contribution splitting, and the eligibility requirements for receiving a tax offset. Please CONTACT US for an obligation free meeting!!
Visit us on Facebook!!
If you enjoyed this article or wish to share it with family and friends, You could send this website link via email OR you could also go to our Facebook page and tag those you feel would benefit from this or any other editorial we have published.
Disclaimer: This editorial and the information within, including tax, does not consider your personal circumstances and is general advice only. It has been prepared without taking into account any of your individual objectives, financial solutions or needs. Before acting on this information you should consider its appropriateness, having regard to your own objectives, financial situation and needs. You should read the relevant Product Disclosure Statements and seek personal advice from a qualified financial adviser. The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the author; they are not reflective or indicative of Licensee’s position, and are not to be attributed to the Licensee. They cannot be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of the author. RI Advice Group Pty Limited ABN 23 001 774 125, AFSL 238429.
1 The American Psychological Association, ‘Happy couples: How to avoid money arguments’. Available at https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/money-conflict.aspx.