Financial Stress: Keep the Communication Open
June 20th, 2008 | by Molly's Brother |Being in a relationship is hard work–and when you bring money and financial stress into the relationship, doubly so! In this difficult time, it is important to work on keeping the communication open.
DON’T HIDE SECRETS
All too often, communication seems to break down when it comes to financial decisions. Wives keep those purchases at the department stores from their husbands and husbands keep the true cost of golfing or that night out drinking with their buddies from their wives. In order for both to know where the couple stands financially, you can’t keep secrets. Be honest. Communicate how much credit card debt you have. Communicate when you think you might be behind on a monthly payment. Although it sounds stressful to communicate these issues, it causes even more stress to keep them hidden.
DEVELOP TANGIBLE FINANCIAL GOALS TOGETHER
Create a plan to sit down and develop a clear picture of what you want–as a couple–in your financial future. Do you want to be plagued with credit card debt well in to retirement? Or would you like to work on spending your golden years free from financial worries? Sit down and chart out tangible hopes and expectations with your life–and share them with your partner. Hopefully, together the two of you can begin to live the lives you want.
WORK ON THE COMMUNICATION
When stress seeps into the relationship, the lines of communication seem to get clogged. Work on keeping these lines of communication open and free-flowing through the stressful–and unstressful–times. It will pay off in the long run.
