The Money Talk
by Credit.com
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a printable version
Talking to your spouse or partner about your financial goals is key to avoiding
financial conflicts. Not sure how to start the conversation? Use Credit.com’s
helpful worksheet to break the ice and keep the discussion productive. Start
the conversation now.
Step 1: Schedule some time
Set aside about an hour with your sweetheart that you
can spend talking about your family finances uninterrupted. It shouldn’t
be a serious
“we need to talk” discussion, but you should both be ready to
commit some time and attention to your money. Try to stay focused on goals
and facts in your conversation. Bringing your emotions into the equation can
throw the entire conversation off track.
Step 2: Make a list of goals
Come up with a list of five or ten financial goals. These
can be anything from wanting to buy a new lawnmower to saving for retirement.
Think about both long term and short term objectives that you share. Aim for
positive goals (saving for a vacation) rather than negative goals (I wish
you would stop spending so much darn money). Don’t spend time discussing
the goals during this step; just write them down:
Step 3: Discuss your goals
Once you have written down all of your financial goals,
think about what they actually mean. You should take notes during this discussion.
For each goal, talk about the following questions:
- Do we both agree on this goal? If not, how can we compromise?
- When do we want to achieve this goal?
- How are we going to start working on this goal?
- Do we need help from anyone?
- What are some obstacles that we need to overcome?
Step 4: Develop a plan
At this point you should have a good idea of what your
financial goals are and you should be in agreement. Now, you need to start
setting some objectives to reach your goals. For example: if your first goal
was to buy a home in the next year, your objectives could be to boost both
of your credit scores above 700 and to save $5,000 for a down payment. Or,
if your goal was to establish a college savings account, your objectives could
be to open a 529 account and set up automatic withdrawals from your bank.
Write down your revised goals, objectives, and dates in detail using this
worksheet:
| Our Goals |
Our Objectives |
Key Dates |
| 1. |
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| 2. |
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| 3. |
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
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Step 5: Take action
Now that you have a plan and deadlines to keep, get to
work! Work together on achieving your financial goals and set regular check-up
meetings to see how you are doing. Charting your progress each month is a
great way to keep you on track. Just like a fundraiser, put up a paper thermometer
on the refrigerator and mark your progress regularly. Don’t forget to
celebrate when you accomplish a goal!
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