Financial planning is necessary if you want to be able to get the best out of life.
Without it, you can end up unable to afford luxuries like holidays, getting behind on your mortgage payments, or not being able to support your children.
In a healthy relationship it is necessary for both partners to be interested in their finances. After all, only through working together can you ensure that your finances are in order and that your money is well spent. However, there are instances when your partner might completely ignore your financial plans. What to do then? Here are the essential steps that you must take if your partner refuses to take note of financial planning.
1. Communicate honestly
One of the first and most important things to do is to communicate openly and honestly.
If you don’t articulate your concerns, how will they be able to understand them?
Tell your partner why you would like to try financial planning. Explain your worries and fears, as well as how you feel financial planning could help.
Tell them about the future that you want to build together, free of debt and with a comfortable life. Hopefully some of this will get through to them, and they will be able to respect your wishes.
2. Make them feel useful
Helping to contribute towards bills, or savings, is a great way for your partner to help out in the household. If they do manage to do this, then make sure that they feel their usefulness.
Praise their actions and emphasise the fact that this is going to help you in the long run as well as in the short run. Most people like to feel useful, especially in the household. For men in particular, this may prove to be motivation enough.
3. Focus on goals and dreams
Your partner may be finding it difficult to take financial planning seriously because they don’t understand the repercussions of following or not following a plan.
Focus on goals to help them understand why they should avoid extra spending.
You can even make a chart to be updated weekly towards your next goal. Show them that you have managed to pay off a credit card or a piece of furniture. Show them the next little luxury that you are saving up for. This will help them to focus and start saving too.
4. Work together with a planner
If you have a financial planner, it’s important that the two of you meet them together.
This planner can help figure out what is important to both of you, and show you how to cut things that won’t hurt so much. It’s also important that both of you are comfortable with this planner.
If something should happen to you, your partner will be in sole charge of financial planning. They need to be able to take up that mantle easily.
5. Secure your assets
If you are worried that your partner’s behaviour could put your financial situation at risk, take steps to secure your own assets.
You should be able to do this with the help of your planner, or a lawyer in extreme circumstances.
Make sure that your finances are as protected as possible should your partner end up spending everything you have.
6. Organise a direct debit
If you are seriously worried about your partner’s spending, and they are too, then you could switch things around a bit. Why not get a direct debit organised so that all of the money you need to save goes direct from their account and into yours on payday?
This would take out a lot of the stress. You could even put it into a joint account which only the both of you are allowed to access if you are there at the same time, so that everything is kept safe from spending.
7. Demand transparency
If you can’t trust your partner to keep themselves responsible, you should at least be able to trust them to be honest.
Ask them to share with you the details of their incomings and outgoings, so that you can see where you can make some changes. If your partner isn’t transparent with you, it might be time to seriously consider your relationship.
After all, the leading cause of divorce is often cited as financial difficulties.
Don’t let poor financial planning ruin your relationship. Take these 7 essential steps before it is too late to salvage what you have left.
About the Author:
Alana Downer is a business and financial blogger who enjoys writing about topics which help people achieve financial freedom and stability. As a part of Learn To Trade organization, Alana is also deeply interested in