Your Honey and Your Money

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At Financial Woman, you’ve probably read that the place to start achieving your financial goals is by defining your money reasons, or why money matters to you. With this being Valentine’s week, I thought it would be the perfect time to address a common question I hear; “What do I do if my husband is not on the same page with me about our finances?”

If you are in a committed relationship, or considering one, complete this money reason process together since you’ll be working as a team toward the life that you want to create. Schedule quiet time to allow 10 minutes for each of you to individually write out what you really want that money can buy, preferably in your wealth journals. At the end of the time, share your goals with each other, with the rule that neither of you can interrupt nor discredit the others’ ideas. Just this simple exercise may expose things that you didn’t know about the other; things that are really important.

You may see commonalities in your vision. For example, one of you may have written of dreaming of owning a lake house for fishing, and the other may have written of wanting a mountain vacation home for family time. The two of you can work toward a common goal, such as a first or second home in the mountains on or near a lake.

After you identify and understand what you each really want in life, you’ll be much more likely to work together to create it. Once you begin estimating the financial cost of your goals, then you can refine and blend your choices, leading to a logical and obtainable option. This is a wonderful bonding exercise for a couple on so many levels, both practical and emotional. Besides being fun, it fuels the drive to create the life of your dreams. And who doesn’t want that?