Romance and Money: Questions you need to ask your partner.

I can’t think of many topics that are less romantic than money. It’s not fun or sexy to talk about dollars and cents with your significant other, but it’s a really important topic if you want to last for the long haul. To avoid being one of the many couples that break up over money, here are a few questions you should ask each other to make sure you are on the same financial footing:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻?– Talk about budget, saving habits, and current debt (yes, ALL of the debts).

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝘆?–How have you prepared for loss of income, car repairs, medical emergency? Would you need to go into debt to cover your expenses?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘀?--Talk about it before resentment grows for always being the one to pay, or before you agree to a big trip when you’re excited and not thinking rationally.

𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗹𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘀?--Everything down the middle? Split expenses by percent of income? Maybe some combination of the two? If one person is moving into a home that is owned by the other, do they pay rent? If you break up, how do you divide things equitably?

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀?-- Do you want to purchase property? Start a business? Will you need to care for your parents or another family member?

While it would be ideal if you and your partner had exactly the same thoughts on all of these questions, you can still be in love and have different opinions. What is most important is understanding each other’s point of view and laying out expectations. By avoiding surprises, you can take a lot of the pain out of joint financial decisions and save yourself from being a casualty of money conflicts.

What money topic do YOU think is especially important for couples? Let us know in the comments!