Investing and relationships

Money has traditionally been a taboo subject in our society, not to be discussed for fear of arousing negative feelings, such as greed, jealousy and so on.

Wednesday, August 10th 2005, 7:37AM

by The Landlord

However, there are times when talking about money management is really important, and one of those is in a relationship.

Since the introduction of the Property (Relationships) Act in 2002 people have become more aware of the need to address financial issues in a relationship before they become an issue. However, just considering the legal issues is not enough.

Money has a very strange effect on our emotions, and when our finances become entangled with another person's things can get very messy and complicated.

Different attitudes to earning, spending, saving and investing are a major source of arguments in a relationship. There are plenty of resources available that discuss the things that people should discuss and resolve before they start having being financially involved, such as defining your goals, discussing any debts you have outstanding (such as credit cards and student loans), and even how you want to manage your money together on a day to day basis.

But when it comes to investing, there are some particular things that couples need to consider that can often be overlooked for the day-to-day stuff.

Goals and objectives form the basis of any financial plan, but are you certain that you are working towards the same goal? For instance, you might be saving every penny thinking you are going to buy a holiday home, while your partner thinks that the money is going towards upgrading your current home or retirement savings. You may also have very different expectations about what your retirement lifestyle is likely to be, and therefore very different ideas about when you will retire and how much you will need to save to support that lifestyle.

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