Six Money Conversations You Should Have With Your Partner

As we say in Maltese, bla flus la tghannaq u lanqas tbus.

Money – it’s a tough subject to talk about even (or especially) with the person you want to spend the rest of your life with. But if communication is the basis of a solid marriage, you need to have regular conversations about money to make sure you’re on the same wavelength. After all, there’s almost no major decision or goal that you can take as a couple that won’t involve money one way or another. Here are six major financial topics you should definitely discuss regularly.

Earning

Unless one of you is earning really big money, the earnings of a two-income family and a one-income family are very different. Do you both plan to have a job for the long term? If you have children, will one of you spend time as a stay-at-home parent?

Saving

Many couples are not equally matched when it comes to being natural ‘savers’ or ‘spenders’, and this can lead to big disagreements unless a compromise is found. You need to reach an agreement about how much savings you each want to have on hand, and the goals that you’re saving up for.

Spending

Along with saving, setting out spending priorities, both short-term and long-term, is very important. Are you saving up to pay off the loan on a house? Travel the world? Pay for your children’s private education? You should also agree on a set amount of money, for example €400, that you’ll consult with each other about before making a single purchase.

Investing

Do you want to put money in the market? You and your partner may have different views on whether to invest at all, let alone how best to invest, and how high your risk tolerance is.

Book-keeping

What system will you use to keep track of the money that’s going in and out of your bank accounts? How will you divide the financial tasks in your relationship?

Building Wealth

Although retirement may be light years away, it’s never too early to think about how to help your money grow over the years and how to make sure you’re in a good financial place when it’s time to retire.