463: TIME FOR THE MONEY CONVERSATION

“Money problems destroy marriage, get on the same page with your spouse and work together toward a common goal.” —Anonymous

We all shy away from talking about money in any meaningful way. By doing this, we discount the value of having good communication on this topic that is central to everything we do.

Early in our marriage, we had lots of confusion to say the least — we didn’t have a handle of what bills even existed. Add to that being self-employed, going down to one income, struggling with debt and not having a budget.

Not only were we ill-equipped to handle our finances, there was so much emotion that when conversations did happen they weren’t constructive.

It’s time for many couples to break the cycle that they’re in: money issues → marital tension → lack of communication → more money issues.

While the popular labels of “spender” and “saver” have been good to surface some critical thought about finances in marriage, they also cause tremendous harm because no one perfectly embodies them. When we self-identify with these labels we limit our ability to grow and often falsely judge our spouse.

We talk about the importance of starting the conversation on the right foot by creating a big-picture vision for your financial future with your spouse. Only once you agree on where you both want to go should you tackle the specifics, and then you can do so confidently and as a team!