(Newswire.net — June 25, 2020) — For those getting serious about their relationship with their significant other, financial planning is high on the list of priorities. Agreeing on ways of spending money and rules on what to prioritise is an excellent way to develop and nurture trust with your other half, helping to build the foundation of a bright future together.
Not only does working on your finances as a team help build trust in each other, it will also free up money that can be invested in spending time together doing fun activities that you’ll remember forever! Instead of spending your money in a haphazard way, you can enjoy the potential of being able to do more by knowing what is going where and in what amount and frequency.
With these benefits established, let’s look at specific techniques to get you two on your way to becoming a well-rounded team!
Track your money more often
Many blogs will recommend tracking and recording your money on a monthly schedule. This is fine, and still a fantastic step beyond having no planning, but can be limited in usefulness where couples are concerned.
By working on a weekly planning system, you have more agile control of your money. This lets you react quickly to opportunities of fun things to do and deals to take advantage of. Instead of being burdened to the ‘here comes the pay cheque’ monthly feeling which can feel a touch boring, you can keep things dynamic and fun by planning entertainment within a budget each week.
Keep a shared list of bills
Transparency is key. Instead of bills coming in unplanned, keep a simple list or spreadsheet showing the bills for the month and when they’re due. You can use Excel for this, or even a shared Outlook account that you use for the calendar feature.
The key to this is to keep things easily accessed; you won’t end up using the list if it’s a pain for you both to get hold of it. Make sure that whatever your solution is, you can access it on your mobile as easily as a laptop or computer.
Keeping a shared list like this makes you more robust and reliable in your savings. It’s also a great way to start considering things like debt consolidation, helping you to bring all your financial admin together into one simplified place and process.
Have your own wish lists
A common mistake made by eager couples is to throw all of their plans and finances in together. While this can work well in some cases, it’s important to maintain your own individuality as a partner. You can do this when money is concerned about keeping your shared lists in addition to having a personal one.
This can be anything you’d like; a section for surprise gifts for your partner, entertainment items or even travel. Try to keep things on your list unique to yourself so that you can still enjoy treating you and you alone as well as working alongside your partner on a wider scale.
Tips like these are key to sustaining a vibrant relationship. Every adult knows that sometimes we need to spend time on ourselves and keep our sense of individuality fresh; it makes a wonderful counterpart to spending time and becoming closer with your loved one.
If adopting this great tip, be sure to agree with your partner on a limit to spending for each of your private lists; it’ll create a buzz of comparing what you’ve done with your budget and will help avoid the unpleasant situation of your other half having spent more or less on themselves than you did!