5 Steps to start your journey, to help you and your spouse / partner talk the ‘Money Talk’.
Things to consider.
Put ‘MONEY’ into some kind of context before you start the discussion.
Talking money at home is so often a sore subject – if you feal this, don’t worry – you are not alone. Just thinking about it yet alone talking about it really can be quite stressful, bringing on anxiety and unbalance in your general and mental wellbeing.
Combine this emotional, heavy topic with the fact that we don’t know how to talk about, and you will see why it’s such a point of tension for most relationships. The money you earn and save has so many stories and feelings behind it.
If you read the MONEY page on the Money Life Balance website, you’ll see that we refer to it simply as a tool.
Begin the Discussion
What does money mean to each of you, individually, and jointly.
Most of us inherit (not the money) our attitudes to money from other people’s experiences (whether positive or negative). Sometimes, resulting in actions/attitudes that are not in our best interests or aligned to our values. It’s hugely important to understand whether your current attitude to money accurately reflects your values, both now and in the future.
There will come a time whether in a relationship or not, that you should have the ‘money talk’.
Money should be thought of as a tool, think of it as your means to an end.
Then take that ‘end’ and talk more about that. We don’t mean the end end, we, and you, are talking about living and enjoying the days of your lives when the income stops and you self-fund retirement from the provisions you made during your working lives.
Consider – Life, not Money
Take a look at the LIFE page on the website and you will see what we mean when we ask you to put the M word into context.
Don’t ask – how much is enough?
Ask, what do we want our lives to look like? What stories would we share with our grandchildren, perhaps when they introduce their family for the first time.
What memories would you like to create in the years to come?
We understand the usual questions are – how much do I need to save for retirement? When / how should we (yes, we) start?
When is the best time to plant an orchard … 20 years ago. When is the next best time – NOW?!
Take ‘Wellbeing’ into account.
Another page to look at on the Money Life Balance website is BALANCE. This explores further still the broader aspects of life, lives that affect the balance of one’s wellbeing.
Social understanding is as important as fiscal scheduling.
All the money in the world can’t give you the happy memories to share with family and friends if you don’t have your health, mental capacity, friends and family – the very things that add up to a life well lived.
Don’t try to do it alone.
Talking to an independent third party will help you develop the right discussions between you. We’ll help you structure the way you not only could, but should be considering your tomorrows. We have done it so many times with so many people.
You get just one chance, one life – so make it count.
We have recently restructured Greycoat to introduce the MLB concept, allowing even more time to sit with clients to discuss their status and ambitions, aspirations and objectives. We build a plan tailored individually to their lifestyle now, and intentions for the future.
Subject to available assets, planning for anticipated events is fairly straightforward, the trick is to keep things flexible enough to deal with the unforeseen.
Now is the time to recognise and share the fact that: money is just a tool. Money feeds the life we live and wish to continue living. To create and manage an effective Life Plan, we must first understand and paint the Lifestyle that makes our client happy.
Happiness in life is more than building a pile of cash. Happiness is the ‘Wellbeing’ that supports us, having efficiently balanced the role of Money as the vehicle, enabling the plan for Life.
Reach out, CONTACT us, and let’s start that journey together.