Ask Gwen: Financial Disagreement

1907

My partner and I frequently get into arguments about money, He likes to spend a lot and I like to save and have a budget. How do we compromise?

Gwen’s Answer:

Issues around finances are one of the major things couples fight about.  You need to sit down and talk about your financial goals. Do you want to buy a house or save for retirement? Look first at long term goals and see if you can find agreement there. Then look at how much you would need to put away each month to work towards those goals.

If you want quite different things and cannot find agreement you need to decide if the partnership will work for you long term. If you want to stay together, then you will have to agree to talk with an accountant or financial adviser. The advisor can present you with different scenarios and together you can choose the one you both agree upon. Then you must follow through on it. This can include set amounts for saving as well as agreed upon spending limits.

This does need to be worked through as if it is not there will be frequent conflict and it will affect your quality of life.

Communication in Relationships MP3

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