The other day I saw a story posted on CTV ‘s website about how most married Canadians regret not talking about money earlier. My first reaction was “Well, duh”, but then I realized that most people probably aren’t like me and my HB who have always had an open dialogue about our finances.
I know when you’re in love the last thing on your mind is talking about your financial goals, but I am a firm believer that love is not all you need to make a relationship or marriage work. The article highlighted that 98% of married couples said that they thought it was important to be on the same page as their spouse regarding financial goals, but how many of those people found out their spouse’s financial goals after they were married?
What if they had planned to save up and invest vigorously in order to retire early whilst their partner planned to spend all their money freely and live paycheque to paycheque? I think conversations like that are the ones that lead to big arguments and possibly even divorce, which is why the sooner you communicate the better!
I understand that compromise is part and parcel when it comes to marriage, but I think that before you consider popping the question to your lady or lass, you really should have that conversation about your future goals and even how you perceive money. When I think about money, I see a number of opportunities to better my life if I’m responsible with it.
For the most part my HB agrees with this thought process, but he’s also been known to say, “It’s only money” (which irritates me to no end). Luckily, I knew this before I married him, so we’ve been able to avoid many arguments and make good financial decisions together. Of course, we have only been married for two months and we don’t currently have any money coming in, so I guess we’ll have to see how things go.
Did you talk to your spouse about money before marriage? What kind of money conversation do you think couples should have before saying “I do”?
