One of the only things scarier than facing up to your own financial shortcomings, is sharing and discussing your money habits with someone you’re dating – especially if it is a new relationship. Suddenly, all of your impulse purchases, debt payments, and failed attempts at budgeting are out in the open.
What if your partner judges you? Or worse, dumps you?!
It doesn’t have to be this worrying. Everyone comes into a relationship with “financial baggage” in the form of different family backgrounds, life goals, and ways of handling money.
You don’t have to show each other your credit card statements on the third date. But as you get to know each other, you’ll discover a lot about your partner’s money habits and values, by discussing subjects like:
- Your family’s attitude toward money
- Your career goals
- Your personal goals like travel, donating to charity, or buying a home
- Your friends
- Your hobbies
Just by having the usual “get to know each other” conversations, you’ll learn a lot about how you each handle your finances – and how you handle other major life choices, too. If everything goes well, eventually you’ll create joint dreams and goals and these will bring you closer together!
Also bear in mind that you may be fundamentally incompatible when it comes to money and if you can’t agree about money issues, it’s going to be a rocky road! Whilst it’s not impossible, our experience is that where individuals have very different money attitudes, it is very difficult when making big life decisions and setting joint goals to achieve the life of your dreams. So, don’t avoid talking about these things, because it’s always better to have fun finding out about one another and seeing if your habits and values can align, rather than avoiding the subject before it’s too late.
Who said that money isn’t romantic?