Feb 10, 2022

This time of year is filled with hearts, flowers and candy as we show our love for those closest to us on Valentine’s Day. It’s one of our favorite days of the year, but it can also be a reminder of negative feelings for others.

As we approach another Valentine’s Day, we wanted to spend some time talking about marriage and money. As most people are aware, money is often one of the top contributors to issues within a relationship. On this episode of the podcast, we want to talk about the primary problems that we see and how we help our clients improve their relationships with money.  

The first issue that comes with money in a relationship is power. This power can emerge due to a few different dynamics. The first is when one spouse works and the other doesn’t. Another time this happens is when one spouse makes much more than their partner. And the other most common scenario where power plays come in is when one spouse’s family has much more money than the other.

When power plays into the relationship, it often leads to the one spouse making the money decisions for the couple. Many people will opt to use a joint account and think that will solve the problem, but that doesn’t always work in a power play situation.

Children are the next area where financial disagreements can often creep in are with children. Anyone that’s been blessed with a child knows how expensive it can be, but the arguments start to arise when you get beyond the necessities. How many toys do they need? Can you afford certain schools or extracurriculars? Does one spouse need to cut back on working hours? What’s the best way to take care of your child? All these money discussions will come up at one point or another.

The third issue we’ll discuss on the show is how to support extended family. This is one that the sandwich generation is facing all the time. They are having to decide how to support both parents and children and that puts a lot of stress on your own retirement.

With all of these, we always start with communication and honesty. Talk through how you feel and what you believe because both partners in a relationship need to be on the same page. Approach things with empathy and set your ego aside, and you’ll have much more success.

Make sure you listen to the full episode to hear everything we talk about. If there’s anything you want to discuss further, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.  

What we discuss in this episode:

2:02 – Our annual couples and money show

3:32 – Some perspective on how blessed we are

6:25 – First issue: Power plays

8:43 – Second issue: Children

10:23 – Third issue: Extended Family

12:45 – How to handle these issues

15:11 – Dealing with debt  

17:08 – Financial personalities

19:50 – Ego

Get additional financial resources here: http://flemingfinancialservices.com