It’s true: talking about finance with your partner can be intimidating, boring, or even a sign that many fear: “things are getting serious”. After all, dating should be a time to have fun, learn new things, get to know each other and…wait…since when does this include money talk? For sure, talking about this topic with your partner does not mean taking control over your significant other's money, it simply means that it's healthy -and appropriate- getting to know each other's financial habits, because…
1. You will share common goals
From scheduling dinner to organizing a trip together, as a couple you do activities that require a budget in order to be carried out. Although both of you earn your respective salaries, it’s a good exercise to set a goal that the both of you want and together save money to achieve it. You can even apply the method of saving your spare change or your cents in a bottle to accumulate money for a goal.
2. You can compare lifestyles
They say there are three elements that must be in balance for a relationship to work: physical attraction, love and shared lifestyles. If you are satisfied with going out to eat at dinners, but your partner only eats at gourmet restaurants, this could give you an idea of the expenses that the other person has in mind to maintain their lifestyle. When you're dating, this isn’t a problem because each of you manages your own money. This is also valid, but it doesn’t hurt to think that if this is the person with whom you want to share a future, you will eventually have to make decisions together that implicate both of your money: deciding on your children's school, the type of wedding you want, the house in which you’ll live, your fun activities… If the values and the desires that each one of you follows to satisfy your lifestyle are complete opposites, then you will have many discussions that could lead to a break-up. The important thing is to learn how to reach agreements.
3. You’ll learn to talk formally about a topic
According to a study done by the site Money and Love, 70% of couples argue mainly because of money. The good news is that it’s also stated that Millennials are more open to talking about financial topics with their respective partners. Our Advice: talk about finance with your partner, but avoid making it like a court date; go to your favorite restaurant, have a beer or a tea while you're at it. Understand and enjoy your relationship with money.
4. You’ll know your financial habits and savings capacity
Besides budgeting, in order to achieve a common goal, you need good management and commitment. Imagine that you want to go on a vacation and both of you agreed on saving a percentage of your salary for it; one of you kept the commitment and gathered the money required, but the other one only saved a portion of it because each month they spent part of the money on other goals. These types of situations reveal how important a common goal is to the other person, as well as their saving habits. If you think dating is for learning new things, learn how to manage money with your partner, it may be difficult at first, but that’s what it’s all about: trial and error.
5. You will learn if they have their feet on the ground
Dreams are born as a couple, you come to imagine a shared life, but very rarely do we think “what am I going to do to get what I want?” Dreams remain a fantasy, and we don't take concrete action to make them come true. Money is a means to an end, and if you have no idea of what it takes to obtain it, it’s very likely that you’ll be perceived as somebody that doesn’t value money and doesn't know how to maintain something in life. Another significant aspect is that by having a goal and a financial plan to back it up, you show that your ambitions go far beyond having fun on the weekends. It can be something as simple as saving to go to your favorite band's concert, to saving for your master's degree. These types of people show their partners that they follow their dreams, and that can be very attractive and admirable.
