Three Tips Every Couple Needs to Know to Meet their Financial Goals

Three Tips Every Couple Needs to Know to Meet their Financial Goals

Are you on the same page with your partner when it comes to your finances?

Did anyone ever tell you that money affairs and managing your finances are crucial aspects in the lives of couples?  Well it is essential for a healthy relationship to be able to understand and establish these money management habits early on in your lives. Many times, we knock heads with our partners because of: over spending; increasing credit card debt; poor spending and saving habits; lack of insurance; too little investments; poor prioritisation of funding and the list goes on.

At every life stage, we require sound financial and investment advice to guide us through toward achieving our financial goals. The Trinidad and Tobago Securities and Exchange Commission’s (TTSEC’s), Investor Education Programme provides guidance to potential investors and investors on the rights and responsibilities of investors in making wise financial decisions for themselves and their families.

Here are some additional helpful tips to guide you and your partner, toward building a stronger, happier and more connected relationship.

1. Support each other’s goals and save towards a common goal

It is always important to allocate your resources so that everyone is happy. Helping each other achieve his/ her goals is always important and contributes to growth of the relationship. Your attitudes toward saving are essential, especially when you are both saving toward the same goal such as a car, land or a house. It helps to budget and plan for the year and have more focused discussions around money: your savings, your debt, investments and goals.

2. Keep the money talk flowing

Ensure that you have regular conversations around money. Establish your spending boundaries and know your partner’s spending habits. You may even decide to have spending rules if that helps to keep the saving habits intact. Saving in advance for your short-term goals are also important, such as saving for a vacation; carnival events and activities, or a short–term course. Regular ‘check ins’ with your partner about meeting your goals can help in readjusting your spending to help navigate safely and comfortably toward fulfilling your dreams.

3. Grow together and be transparent

Growing together means accepting each other’s differences and being willing to work with these differences toward achieving each other’s goals. Assess your tendencies. Are you a saver or a spender? Savers can tend to hoard and spenders can tend to splurge. Balance is important and you can agree to set a spending budget. Savers can choose to invest their money and Spenders still get to spend without over spending.  “Accepting and working with each other’s differences, and compromising on a plan that takes into account both your money habits are the best ways to keep your relationship and finances healthy.” https://www.thenest.com/content/get-on-same-page-about-money.

Growing together also means learning together. Educate yourself and your partner on responsible financing and investing and do your due diligence in conducting thorough research, and consulting registered financial and investment professionals before making any investment decision. Should you and your partner be interested in making a financial investment in securities, you may visit www.ttsec.org.tt to ensure that your investment adviser, broker, and the investment product are registered, before investing your hard earned money.

Transparency is also essential when dealing with finances. It requires being completely open and honest about your good and bad money choices and habits. Talking and acknowledging where you stand are the first steps to identifying triggers that can set your financial plan awry.  Agreeing to a financial plan and communicating during the process is one way to keep you on track. Regular financial check-ins, at least once a week or fortnightly is important. It is also essential to keep those financial goals in mind and work towards them.

All in all many couples struggle because of financial disagreements. These three basic tips can help you attain your financial goals and maintain happiness in a relationship. A lot of it requires constant communication, openness and compromise to make it work, the basics of any solid relationship.

Keep your finances and your relationship intact, and enjoy your years together, long after retirement.

For more information on these and other financial investment articles visit www.investucatett.com. To schedule your free Investor education session send an email to ccei@ttsec.org.tt .

Adapted from:

https://www.businessinsider.com/signs-youre-on-the-same-page-as-partner-about-money-2019-8

https://www.thenest.com/content/get-on-same-page-about-money

https://atypicalfinance.com/getting-your-spouse-or-partner-on-the-same-page-as-you-financially/

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