Why Couples Should Talk About Money?

One of the biggest chunks of money that you cannot trim out of your budget can be alimony/child support. The truth is that in the case of bills that cannot be trimmed down you have to cut money and other places to subsidize them. They must be paid. The only advice I can give on that part of your budget is to try to find ways to prevent getting there. Talk about money with your partner.

Why Couples Should Talk About Money?

Money can be one of those topics that will cause extreme arguments in most couples. One thing my husband and I like to do is purchase a lottery ticket every week. We play our birthdays and our anniversary and put a dollar down. $52 a year can do so many things. The biggest thing is that it starts is conversation. It opens the door to talking about a variety of topics that normally don’t get covered. We like to daydream about winning the lottery and what we would do with our winnings if we got it. If the lottery jackpot is really high or topics usually tend to be “what vacations we will take, what cars we would like to have, where we would send our kids to college….”. If the jackpot is small, the conversation tends to be a little more realistic (“how much would we give to family members, what repairs we could do around the house, what are the different types of investment plans”). The “in between” weeks we tend to talk about things like “what our favorite charities are or did you hear about this project we could donate to, would we ever want to open our own business?”. The great thing about it is that for one dollar a week we buy ourselves a lot of silly daydreaming and great talking points. We also learn a lot about each other and what the other one likes and dislikes. It helps maintain our connection to who the other person is growing and changing into. It also is a great way for us to segway into talking about any concerns we have about our finances.

A lot of times couples do not want to talk about things such as the other person spending habits or debts that need paid. There’s a lot of shame and secrecy when it comes to money. It is the type of things that can destroy a family. And then it leaves you with an unchanging unmovable section of your budget that you have to accommodate every single month.

Read part 1 of Angie’s Living on $30,000 Best Frugal Tips on Thriving and (not just surviving) on $30,000 a year!

Part 2 – Basic Home Budgeting

Part 3 – How to Budget Monthly Finances Wisely

Part 4 – How to Not Spend Money

Part 5 – Smart Money Saving Tips to Control Your Debt

Part 6 – Money Management Skill

Angie Rumpf

I am a stay at home mom and happily married to my husband Tom. I have a five year old daughter and a two and a half year old son. I grew up in Orlando, but went to school in New York City and lived in Los Angeles before moving home to raise a family. I have worked in the film industry since the early nineties, and for over a decade with the Florida Film Festival. I also spent many years working in marketing with Glaceau and Honest Tea. But, I am happiest at home building my family.

For more Money Tips, read these:

How to get rich in 5 minutes a day

Frugal Ways to Save Money: Getting Out of Debts

How to Save Up Money: Tips for Living on $30000 or Less

Living on 30000 or Less: Raising a Family of 6

Living on 30000 or Less: Raising a Large Family