Communication is KEY If you and your partner are looking to eliminate your debt If you are both looking to do better financially The “secret ingredient” to any sort of success is COMMUNICATION! BUT when couples try to improve their communication, they don’t know where to start or often start in the wrong place Just adding to an already tense situation Then generally leading to an “all to familiar” fight ---- I actually remember in my early marriage, fighting about money was commonplace And nothing like being married to reveal you need to work on your communication (Even though I thought I was a pretty good communicator) I used to force conversations, which was overwhelming for my wife I would always want to talk about something straight away She needed time and space to process things We learnt through heartache and whole bunch of patience from my wife Money was a topic we needed to approach differently Especially when it came to our financial situation, which at the time was less than desirable It hit me like a tonne of bricks… Yes our current situation was a headache… BUT more than anything else, I wanted to know where my wife wanted to go and what was important to her So I went away and thought about some good future focussed questions Questions that would reveal what was important to her and what she wanted to achieve AND that is where it all began… We started by sitting down regularly to talk about our financial future and what was important to each of us Starting from a place of knowing what we wanted in the future and what was important The conversation about our present simply became a question of how to do we get the financial future we both desperately want ---- So if you and your partner are wanting to tackle your debt Or better your financial position AND communication isn’t quite there yet. Here are 5 questions to get you started If you had an extra $50, 000 in your account right now, that you needed to spend, what would be the five things you would do with that money? Also prioritise these 5 things If you were wealthier, do you think you would be happier? And why? How much is too much to spend without checking with your partner? What does being financially ‘comfortable’ look like to you? Kids should have pocket money without doing any chores. Discuss Make the time, sit down with your partner (at least once a week to start) and discuss just one question Ask further questions to better understand what your partner means by there answers and take notes This is the perfect place to start! You will better understand what is important to your partner You will know the things you see differently And you will better understand what your partner wants in the future It will allow you both to communicate about your current scenario, in a way that help you move forward and won’t be confronting Just remember you were given two ears and one mouth… Listen twice as much as you speak!
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