Monday, April 9, 2018

How to make an agreement with your partner about money problems!

How to make an agreement with your partner about money problems!


Life isn’t simple!

Rather things get tougher and difficult as you age, get married, and start living in a relationship!

This post will be dealing with one big issue that nearly we all couples face at the end of the day. It is about coming to an agreement with one’s partner about money problems and other financial issues like fighting debts together and merging finances!

What makes a financial agreement so important in relationship?

Finance is a very sensitive and personal subject to discuss.
If you think minutely, then you will realize that hiding deep financial secrets from your partner can only bring future chaos in your relationship!
Being a couple, you share so many personal secrets. To be precise, sharing is the main driving factor that keeps a relationship intact. The more transparent you are with your partner, the better is it for the relationship!
If you approach any financial therapist or counselor, you will understand what I am trying to say. There are many instances where debts and other financial problems cause divorces, breakups, delays in conceiving child, and many other mental health issues.
Also united we stand and divided we fall. As I will talk later in this post, if you can merge your finances with your partner, then you can fight emergency expenses and other costly issues efficiently.

Is discussing finances with your partner difficult?

Absolutely not!
If both of you are ready to participate equally in such discussions, then it’s not difficult. The initiatives should come from both sides.

How can you approach your partner to discuss money problems?

  1. Sit with your partner in a relaxed mind. Tell how you’ve been feeling lately about solidifying your relationship more than ever. To do so, you believe, that both of you must be clear about finances just like other aspects of life and love.
  2. Open up your financial issues one by one. Remember to speak out the worst problem first. By doing so, you will be able to throw out the other petty issues without any dilemma or shyness.
  3. Reveal both of your salaries, and don’t hide one’s financial strength from the other.


Merge the finances and handle debt together:

The main reason for coming into an agreement about financial problems, with your partner, is to merge your finances together.
If both of you are income holders in your family, then you can easily divide the expenses between you two, and take charge of obligations separately.

You can take care of groceries and the utility bills, while your partner can take hold of debt payments.

Debt payments is a very important factor in merging finances.
Do you have enough debts to take away your night’s sleep? Do you feel your income is not enough to suffice your debt payments?

Well you must discuss in brief with your spouse about all the debts that you have, whether or not you can fight it alone, how helpful will it be for you if your spouse plans to contribute to your debt payments.

When it comes to debts, or tackling loan bills, you both should work together to get the optimum results.

If both of you are breadwinners, then having one low income won’t be much of a problem. Surface your options to pay off debts even with a low income, by merging your salary with your spouse’s.
Start making extra payments, with the help of your partner.
There’s nothing called “your debts” or “my debts” in a relationship. By being together, you agree that everything will be shared by both of you equally, including liabilities and responsibility, and debts are no different.

Ultimately the money agreement should look a bit like this:

  1. There will be no secrets and hiding of facts when it comes to sharing personal financial information.
  2. Each should have a brief idea about one another, regarding income, expenses, debts, obligations and other miscellaneous costs.
  3. Savings and expenses, should be divided between you two, based on who earns how much.So if you earn $5000, and your spouse earns $8000, then your spouse’s contribution will be more than you.
  4. You can deal with small expenses, while your spouse can deal with the bigger ones.
  5. The same thing will happen with savings. Your partner’s contribution will be a bit more than yours.
  6. From now on, every financial decision is to be taken jointly, be it a vacation planning or managing medical debts, or even your kid’s college expenses.

That’s all I had to say about making a financial agreement with your partner. No doubt it will be helpful in whatever financial goals you want to achieve.

Also don’t forget to check out the book family travel hacks and tips for any budget, if you are planning a vacation with your family on a tight budget, and want to deal with the travel expenses together.

Andy Masaki is a blogger and financial writer associated with the Oak View Law Group. He is a debt expert and a member of several online forums where he shares his advice as well as tips to lead a financially independent life.