Relationships in many regards are much like your own personal finances. Your relationships take a great deal of work, planning, communication, understanding, goal setting, deposits and withdrawals. Personal finances need the exact same kind of dedication, organization, understanding, goal setting, deposits and withdrawals. The two are inexplicably connected in a lot of ways and if one finds some form of hurdle the other will likely be adversely affected. Here are several ways you can manage your money and your relationships and help both grow amazingly together.

GOAL SETTING: Where will you be in five or 10 years? This could be a ideal conversation starter for you and your partner. The great thing about this topic is managing money can easily be connected with relationship goals. Your life partner may not be happy with their current occupation and has hopes of starting their own business or planning to go back to college. Together you could discuss what steps need to happen to accommodate each others goals and not sink the financial boat. If you keep this line of discussion open you will be able to set realistic goals in money and in life.

COMMUNICATION: This is probably the most important requirement for any solid relationship. Because most quarrels are over money it is wise to keep an open line of conversation in everything else so that talking about money comes naturally. That means that any major purchase should be thoroughly discussed. just think about how angered you would be if your mate came home one day with a $1500 plasma T.V. or a $1500 dress or fifteen hundred dollars in penny stocks. If you can talk about finances, that would be one less topic that could result in a fight. Communication is key in relationships and in financial planning as well.

JOINT ACCOUNT: The age old question. Some feel that sharing a joint savings account is important because it displays a big degree of trust. Some people feel that it is wise to keep your personal finances apart from the relationship because of the freedom it creates. The issue is it may cause disruptions in your relationship. Why not have both? First you should figure out is what your expenses are and what is left over for pleasure. {In my opinion|I think a simple formula to use is each of you takes twenty percent from the paycheck every week to deposit into a personal account. That cash is for you and you alone. You can use it to buy a fancy pair of shoes, football tickets or anything you desire. The remaining 80% is placed in a joint account that covers living expenses such as food, mortgage, retirement planning, car payments etc.. This way if you choose to treat yourself, you will be using your money to do so.

STAY ON THE SAME PAGE: This is vastly important. Know what’s going on. One of you could know a bunch more about personal finances. There aren’t many things more exciting in a relationship then learning together and knowing the same things. If you both know where the money is going, in what way it is being invested and what investments to make there will always be an understanding. There is little more heartbreaking than when one person makes a solo decision and loses out. If you constantly inform each other of financial opportunities and financial decisions it will be more difficult to make silly mistakes. As the saying goes, two minds are better than one.

Relationships are always a work in progress. It is inevitable that you will run into problems and not see eye to eye with your partner all of the time. Finances are one conflict that can easily be avoided with an open line of communication, goal setting, planning and understanding. If you and your spouse can communicate honestly when it comes to finances and put the right plan in place, your relationship with each other and with money will grow stronger and stronger every day.

About the Author:

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True wealth can never be diminished

“A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, “Who would like this $20 bill?” Hands started going up.

He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you but first, let me do this.”
He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, “Who still wants it?”

Still the hands were up in the air. “Well”, he replied, “What if I do this?”  And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now who still wants it?” Still the hands went into the air.

“My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson”, he said, “No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.”

Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.

We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value. Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless…. and especially to those who love you.

The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or whom we know, but by WHO WE ARE. 

Anon

What value do you give yourself?

Do you equate your value to your perception of success?  Is your success measured by how wealthy you are?

What does wealthy mean to you?  Personally, I love Roger Hamilton’s definition of wealthy. In this video he explains the wealth paradox.

Enjoy! Ed

Roger Hamilton’s Wealth Paradox

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