Valentine’s Day and Finances: Tips to Conquer Money as a Couple

Introducing the Valentine’s Day staples: romance, chocolate, teddy bears, and finances. Yes, finances! To embrace this annual celebration of love, we’re redirecting our cupid’s bow to target helpful money tips, encouraging your relationship to grow and your finances to blossom.

(Financial) Communication is Key

A wise person once said, “A relationship without communication is like a ship lost at sea, adrift and destined to sink.” Brutal, but true.

When it comes to managing finances as a couple, a lack of communication destroys financial plans and relationships as well! According to recent studies, 25 percent of all couples say money is their greatest relationship issue, with 65% of divorced individuals citing communication problems as a factor leading to their separation.

To summarize, a lack of financial conversations leads to broken relationships. But when two people speak the same language regarding money, something beautiful occurs.

Love Your Budget

Relationships are all about partnership. As they say, “What’s mine is yours.” However, that warm and fuzzy idea can get tossed out the window when you throw money into the mix. Money is a valuable resource, often making it challenging to share and proceed financially as a couple. The solution? Openly discuss preferences and budgeting. If you don’t know where to start, check out this helpful list of money-related questions to ask your partner.

Now, I’m not telling you to ask someone about their budget on the first date. However, having those conversations early on will help you decide if you want to get more serious with someone. Working collaboratively with someone on finances is a HUGE step in a relationship. Keep this in mind as we discuss action steps for couples, as most are not fit for casual dating.

If you DO want your finances to align with someone else’s for the long term, more serious planning is necessary. Discuss what your budgets look like now, what you want to be financially responsible for as a team, what personal spending will look like, and your goals for the future.

Here’s an example of a financial decision to consider:
When paying shared expenses, will you pay a proportional amount to your income or split it evenly? In other words, if one person makes 40 percent of your total combined income, should they pay 40 percent of the bills or 50 percent?

Dump the Debt

Another topic to discuss with your significant other is debt. For long-term relationships, you can decide if you’ll tackle debt as a team or individually, affecting how you plan for your future together. Discuss the debt repayment strategies in use and explore other options, such as those listed below.

  • Use the avalanche or snowball method
  • Use a personal loan to consolidate debt

Happily Ever After

Love lasts forever, but there will come a day when you or your partner is no longer around. Knowing what happens to your money when you die is one of the most significant ways to help your loved ones when that time comes.

Here are some helpful estate planning tips:

  1. Create a will

A will eliminates uncertainty, helping your loved ones understand exactly how your assets will be distributed. This simple step can greatly reduce stress during an emotional time.

  1. Organize your credit cards

If a credit card owner dies and you are an authorized user on their card, do not continue to use the card. The card issuers will close the account within a few weeks of the owner’s death. They may sue if they see that an authorized user has continued to use the card. To ensure uninterrupted access to credit, it’s wise for each partner to have their own credit card.

  1. Gather important account passwords and paperwork

Don’t leave your partner scrambling to locate essential information. Compile account passwords, legal documents, and other important paperwork in a secure but accessible location.

  1. Establish a POD or right of survivorship agreement for bank accounts

For individual accounts, designate beneficiaries through “Pay on Death” (POD) arrangements. These ensure the funds in your account go directly to your chosen recipients.

For joint bank accounts, review your account agreement to confirm if rights of survivorship are in place. This ensures that account ownership automatically transfers to the surviving account holder.

We’d Love to Help

Strengthen your relationship and your finances with the help of Texas National Bank.  Contact us for assistance with account management, debt repayment, and more!