Know Your Money with Bronwyn Waner and Craig Finch
Know Your Money with Bronwyn Waner and Craig Finch
84. Couples and Cash: Wheel of life 8
How can managing your finances together as a couple improve your relationship? In this heartfelt episode of Know Your Money, Craig, Warren and Bronwyn dive into the profound connection between emotional and financial partnerships. Join us as we share personal stories and practical tips on how to keep both your love life and financial plans in harmony. From the romantic streets of Paris to the everyday challenges of budgeting, learn how transparency and shared responsibilities can strengthen your bond.
Craig and Bronwyn offer insights into the critical role of collaboration in financial planning, emphasizing the importance of mutual involvement to avoid future complications. We discuss the value of regular financial check-ins, where couples can review their budgets, bank statements, and goals. By the end of this episode, you'll understand why open communication about money matters is essential for a healthy and happy relationship. Tune in and discover how to nurture both your emotional and financial partnership for a more fulfilling life together.
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www.growthfp.co.za
Welcome to Know your Money, where we will explore our relationship with money and how the psychology of it impacts our financial decisions, as everyone thinks about money differently. In our podcast, we'll be presenting a variety of financial topics in an easy to understand way, which we hope will assist you with managing your money. Hello everybody, welcome to Know your Money. Craig Warren, how are you today?
Speaker 2:Good thanks, bronwyn you.
Speaker 1:I'm very well, thank you.
Speaker 2:Warren, another episode. Hi guys.
Speaker 3:Very well, thank you, looking forward to today's episode.
Speaker 2:Another slice of the pie of that wheel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, I think this one can be an emotional one for some people because it's partner in love, and some people spend their whole lives trying to find someone. And how do you kind of move up on that if you haven't found a person? I think that's quite a bit of a rabbit hole. But I think having someone by your side definitely makes a difference in how you enjoy life.
Speaker 3:Absolutely.
Speaker 2:Sharing experiences with somebody is a lot easier than being on your own. I mean, when I was in my early 20s, I did a short trip around Europe and I was in Paris one evening and it was a clear, beautiful night, even though it was cold, and I saw the Eiffel Tower and the beauty of Paris. But I was on my own. I couldn't share it with anybody. You know, it's a memory that I'll never forget, but it would have been so nice to be with somebody and share that moment. But that's what's important.
Speaker 1:I do think it's important and I think really having a look at your partnership can also be important. If it is good, trying to keep that connection and keep it going and help that partnership by learning a bit more about yourself so that you can understand your partner or communicate better or differently, or, if it's not working, trying to fix it.
Speaker 3:I think there's quite a few elements to this Do you also consider, as financial advisors, that obviously you have an emotional partnership, a friendship, you have a emotional partnership, a friendship, you have a financial partnership with this person as well?
Speaker 2:Yeah, pretty much yes, for sure yeah.
Speaker 3:And sometimes that can be tough.
Speaker 1:And also I find in financial planning I prefer to see a couple together, but often people do do their financial planning separately and that can actually be detrimental to the partner.
Speaker 2:I agree. I think it's so important that you share everything and if you start hiding some money and having parts of your money that you don't want to share with somebody, that's a real, a real warning flag for the, for the future and the relationship. And if the relationship gets to difficult times, you don't, you want to be there together, you want to be, have a that you're in it together. You've got your finances are important, you're always together with us and, whatever happens, you can make a plan together. But if you start hiding money from your partner, I think that's a big problem.
Speaker 1:And also if you leave it up to the one partner to just handle all the finances. That can be detrimental to you if something happens to the one that handles all the finances.
Speaker 3:Also the burden of it, because I've got to be honest. I mean I pretty much handle the finances in my marriage and it's a lot. I think it's a lot.
Speaker 2:We find most marriages like the one person will take the lead role there and what we try and say is why don't you have a monthly meeting? It sounds crazy, but you sit down for an hour quietly, the two of you, and you go through your finances, go through your budgets, your bank statements, your spending plans, your goals, your aspirations, all those good things that you want to do as well. How are we going to get to? What do each of our plots look like with our money? How are we progressing? It doesn't have to be a real in-depth argument kind of scenario. It can be a fun hour spent together and then you know what's going on both of you, even if the one does take the lead. The other one knows what's going on.
Speaker 1:And it's about being open and being able to feel comfortable that you can share all of that stuff. I know in our practice we have our onboarding form, so if it's a couple, they both fill out certain things.
Speaker 3:This is like a separate form for that.
Speaker 1:Yes, so it's when they're starting. We gather information and then some of it like ask questions like. So rate the below from one to five of importance.
Speaker 3:Right.
Speaker 1:And things are there on like specific goals holidays, retirement, leaving a legacy, all of those kind of things and there's one couple they both did it separately, obviously, and the one couple the most important thing to them was retirement and the other couple the most important thing to her was holidays and on his holidays didn't even feature as one of the things that are important. So if you don't talk when you try to put money away for your future and the other partner is trying to put money away for your future and the other partner is trying to go on holidays every single month, that is going to cause some friction between the two of you. So having a financial conversation with your partner and just trying to find consensus of what is important and how to balance it, I think can change your relationship, because finances is the major cause of divorce.
Speaker 2:I agree with you, but you can avoid it, I think, if you openly speak about it and maybe that once a month hour meeting chatting about your finances will do the world of good.
Speaker 1:Or even chatting to your financial advisor. So setting up a meeting to bring your partner to the meeting, so the financial advisor asks the questions and you don't have to necessarily get into this battle, it's just doing that together can change your partnership and change all those other areas, because now you know that fun and recreation for that couple. They can now start a holiday pot but also save for retirement. So be able to find that balance. So I do believe that the most important take home from this episode is to, if not, try to have financial planning meetings together.
Speaker 2:Together. I agree with you fully, yeah, and also enjoy your time together. It's not just about money. So, that's important.
Speaker 3:But taking the stress of having or not having will allow you to enjoy that time together. Yeah, exactly Because it really does. People say money can't buy happiness, and I don't think it can. But a lack of money can ruin happiness.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it can, it really can, yeah, it can impact your happiness for sure.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so have that meeting.
Speaker 1:Yes, Thank you everybody.
Speaker 2:Great day, thank you, bye. Thanks, guys. Thank you for listening. If you have enjoyed this podcast and would like to subscribe, please visit our website, wwwgrowthfpcoza. The information we have provided in this podcast is our personal opinion. For more detailed information, please discuss your financial situation with a financial planner.