Financial Advice: How To Talk About Money With Your Partner

Let’s face it, our paychecks are one of our most closely guarded secrets. Sadly, a lack of clear communication around money is one of the leading causes of stress on a relationship.

There may come a time in your relationship where you may want to talk money with your sweet honey. Money is unfortunately still a taboo topic with many of us playing our cards very close to chests when it comes to chatting finances.

Like most things in a relationship, the money topic can be easily navigated through clear and honest communication. But ignoring the money matters won’t make them matter less and if you’re in it for the long haul, it may be worthwhile to explore the topic.

Start Talking About Money Early On

Anuj Nayar, financial health officer at LendingClub suggests to “Business Insider” that addressing money before it becomes an issue is the best time to have the conversation.

“Waiting until you have a money related-issue means it’s too late, emotions are high, and rash decisions will likely be made.”

Nayar tells “Business Insider”

How Does Your Money Look

You may want to open up to how much each of you’re working with money wise. It’s not a commitment to anything but it will surely provide a guideline for potential future plans. For instance, how does your partner having thousands of dollars in debt affect the trajectory of your relationship?

“Sharing our numbers didn’t mean we suddenly swapped ATM pins and ran to get a joint bank account. Instead, it provided a foundation in which we could create hypothetical scenarios about how to handle money if we decided to get married (an important conversation to have after [several] years of dating).”

"NBC News" quotes Erin Lowry of 'Broke Millennial.'

Things Might Be Getting Serious Between You And Your Partner

There are different conversations that may feel are more appropriate to have at certain stages in your relationship one of which is asking the question about the compatibility of your spending habits.

Some people are spenders while others are savers. You may also want to talk about how you can meet each other half-way.

Start With The Smaller Conversations

Money conversations can be challenging, but you can start with the easy and ramp-up to big stuff like how the two of you may if at all, combine finances.

Whether or not you do decide to combine funds is up to you however, personal finance blogger Desirae Odjick of Half Banked suggests to "NBC News" that couples at least need a joint budgeting spreadsheet.

What Are Your Future Money Goals?

Ben Barzideh, a wealth advisor at Piershale Financial Group, suggests to “Forbes” that ‘future money goals chat happens before moving in together.

And while you’re on the thought of possibly moving in together, you might want to also have the conversation about what happens if you break up. Foss tells “Forbes” that until you are married, keep major purchases separate and documented and have a list of what belongs to whom.