By We can all benefit from someone to hold us accountable.
A neutral third party is a good idea in many situations – right? Take personal training. Telling my significant other to work out more and eat better probably wouldn’t go over well, would it? She’d either ignore me, take offense, or get mad. Really mad! But a personal trainer is supposed to do all those things. That’s what they get paid for, after all.
Most of us would probably be mad if they didn’t tell us to eat healthier foods and get more exercise. Same thing goes for your finances. I hear many spouses say that their husband or wife spends too much money, doesn’t save enough, etc., and they can’t get them to change. But just like telling your spouse to exercise, telling him or her to stop spending will likely result in arguments and offense – and could even exacerbate the problem.
This is where our team comes in. We always encourage couples to come in together to talk about their finances. We do this for several reasons. First, it keeps both partners in the loop about what’s going on with their money, and second, it helps avoid the scenario where one spouse feels like the other one is constantly telling them what – and what not – to do.
It’s imperative to know what your partner is doing with his or her money. Now, I’m not saying to review every receipt or nitpick every purchase. But if a husband takes out a loan to buy a fishing boat, his wife should know about it. They say money is the number one cause of marital strife, so it’s crucial to work together – not against each other, or in a trainer/trainee relationship.
We’ll sit down with you and your beloved and create a plan that works for you both. Then, we’ll serve as the neutral “financial fitness trainer” to keep you both accountable and help find a win/win situation. And finally, just as you don’t meet with a personal trainer one time and expect to see results, it will take an ongoing relationship and commitment to make financial progress.
Take some time after your first meeting to let everything marinate and sink in. Then come back in for a follow-up meeting with questions, and we’ll develop an ongoing meeting schedule that works for you, long-term.
Here’s to healthy 2017 – financially and physically!