1: Sharing is caring
Your bank account is a personal reflection of responsibility and hard work that you have spent years building (or destroying). It can be difficult to give someone access to something so personal but rewarding to find out you can manage something so important together. The most successful couples have a joint and hold each other responsible for responsible management of their finances. Whether they also have another account for personal use is up to them.
2 Budgeting
In the world of financial relevance there is a definitive line between two types of people: The spenders and the savers. Can we co-exist in a relationship? The answer should be yes, similar to all other aspects of personality clashes, messy vs clean, night owl vs early riser. Couples don’t have identical personalities and often that is what balances them out. A spender and a saver can have a joint account and learn to make it work using their individual strengths.
3 Dealing with debt
In a relationship of any kind, children to parents, spouses, siblings, there comes a responsibility that blankets not only yourself but the ones you love. When a spouse is in debt, essentially their problem is your problem, especially if you have a joint bank account. Much like the coexistence between the savers and spenders it is essential that you work together to get rid of his/her debt in the fastest most efficient way that will benefit the both of you in the long-term. (Try the Stack method). You are in this together.
4) Investing
Not everyone is comfortable with investing money outside of the norm, where there is higher reward and higher risk. One person might hate the thought of investing in something that has no guarantee of success, while the other might feel that your money has more potential in higher risk investing than sitting in the bank with a 1% interest rate. Give your significant other a trial period and assess the situation after you have some seen some results. You may be swayed by the outcome.
6) Emergency savings
Every person has a level of comfort that can be satisfied by having set aside a certain amount for emergency situations based on their lifestyle. What if your number is much higher than your partners? Only in this scenario is it wise to save the amount of money to match the highest person’s comfort level. You can never have too much money saved for the unexpected, but you CAN have too little. Its always better to be over-prepared, and your partner will thank you for it.
5) Secrets
There should be none. Its never a good a idea to hide your debt, excess money, spending habits, etc. Keeping your partner in the loop of your situation, good or bad, is the only way to ensure that your financial relationship is successful.
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