Financial mistakes couples make

Money can create a lot of arguments and tension for couples. Corey Blake with New Horizons Credit Union gives you some tips to stop the fighting and get back on track.

What is the issue when it comes to couples and money?

• The fact is, most couples talk about money on a weekly basis. The problem is that they don't knowing how to talk about money. People tend to be more emotional and reactive about money and not strategic.

Should a couple merge their finances?

• Some take the approach, 'united we stand, divided we bank', and others take the approach, 'it's yours, mine and ours.'
• In my opinion, assuming both have a clean bill of health, finding a way to combine finances comfortably will reduce the likelihood of fights over money.

What is one partner has more debt than the other?

• The wrong approach is to say "it's your debt and you have to find a way to pay it off before it ruins us."
• The better approach is to say "it's our debt, for better or worse, and let's decide together on the best way to get it paid off".  

What about the husband that complains about the wife's daily spending, but then comes home with a 60 inch widescreen TV?

• If the wife counted up her daily spending, and compared it to the husband's one time purchase, the odds are that they spent about the same amount.
• Because they both spend differently, a good idea would be to sit down, create a written budget and decide together on how much money to allocate toward those types of purchases.
• This will also be easier to do provided that the finances are combined.

New Horizons Credit Union
https://www.newhcu.org/