Are your money habits hurting your marriage?
How to resolve the issues arising from conflicting money personalities.
1. He says...Spender: “She’s a miser and only wants to save. She’s taken the fun out of living.”
She says...Saver: “He spends a lot and makes random big-ticket purchases very frequently.”
Resolution: Prepare a budget and have clear goals. With goals in sight, it will be easy to control spending. Start automated investments and bill payments to ensure you have a limited amount to spend. Create a slop fund for occasional, impulsive purchases in order to keep frustrations at bay.
2. He says...Risk taker: “She wants to invest only in fixed deposits and gold.”
She says...Conservative: “He wants to put all the money in stocks and equity funds.”
Resolution: Sit together and check the returns of various asset classes, and the time horizon of your goals. Then build a portfolio based on asset allocation instead of focusing on one or two assets. Choose assets according to the time horizon of goals, funds needed, and combined risk profile.
3. He says...Punctual: “She never pays the bills or makes her credit card payments on time.”
She says...Procrastinator: “For him, every payment has to be made the moment the bill arrives!”
Resolution:Set an alarm or reminder on your phone for a suitable date and time to make all payments.Give an ECS mandate to your bank to automate all your loan EMIs and regular investments like mutual fund SIPs and insurance premiums.
4. He says...Silent: “She wants to talk about the smallest of financial transactions each day.”
She says...Communicator: “He keeps me in the dark and we never have financial discussions.”
Resolution: Fix a day in a month when you can sit and discuss all important financial issues .Share crucial information like account passwords, nominee status and investments so that the spouse is in the loop if something untoward happens to you.
5. He says...Organised: “She has no idea how much she spends or where she keeps the documents!”
She says...Chaotic: “He wants to keep track of every rupee spent and trace all the papers.”
Resolution: While it's not important to account for every single rupee, you should ideally have a household budget, which will take care of tracking all major spends. To organise paperwork, keep important documents in the bank locker or a home safe.
6. He says...Lone ranger: “She wants everything to be joint— accounts, investments, house.”
She says...Team worker: “He never wants to work as a team and does everything on his own.”
Resolution: If you take the spouse into confidence before all major financial decisions or transactions, it will help ward off suspicions and insecurities. Have both joint and single bank accounts, make your spouse a nominee in investments and insurance policies, and have joint house ownership to avoid problems in case of unexpected death or disablement.
SHARE THIS INFORMATION WITH YOUR SPOUSE
1. Account details and passwords
Both partners should know all account numbers, and as most financial transactions are online, they should have access to log-in details and passwords. In case of an eventuality involving one spouse, the other can operate it. Share details of bank accounts, PF, demat account, credit cards, mutual funds, insurance policies, and income tax.
2. Investments and nominees
It is important that the spouses share all details of investments, whether it is in mutual funds, bank deposits, post offi ce schemes or real estate. Ideally, the spouse should be a nominee in all these so that the access, operation and transactions are easy in case of an emergency.
3. Insurance policies
Again, the policy details should be known and access to original policy documents easy so that the processing and disbursal of proceeds is not a problem. Besides, the premium can be paid on time without the fear of policy lapsing.
4. Loan/ credit details
The amount of debt and all other details, be it in the form of loans and EMIs, or credit card bills, should be in a place where these can be accessed without a problem. This will not come as a rude shock to the spouse in case of an untimely death.
5. Will / Estate planning
To ensure the smooth transition of all assets, especially property, it is a good idea to keep the papers in a bank locker or home safe and have the spouse know how to access it when required.
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