Do you and your spouse have an agreed upon budget? How often can you operate w/in that agreed upon budget monthly?
Did you know that the #1 reasons listed by MEN for divorce in 2016 was Money? (it was #2 for WOMEN) Strategic intentionality is necessary for us to arrive together in regards to finances.
And one of the elements that factor into the challenge of finding Agreement is a difference of MONEY PERSONALITIES. Each of us have a Money Personality: 1) Enjoyment; 2) Security; 3) Status; 4) Control.
The quick test is this: If you walked into work today, and were handed $1,000 bonus, what would you do?
- … book the vacation?
- … put it in the 401K?
- … buy that new watch?
- … keep it to yourself and wait until you felt like it was time to use it?
This will give you a quick idea of your Money Personality. My wife and I are very different. My personality is enjoyment and hers is security. Therefore, it takes constant communication and a willingness to stratigcally work towards common goals to eliminate as much conflict as possible.
One of our exercises we use w/ clients is to really dive into the details of discovering your Money Personality and Developing 3 agreed upon Short-term (next 6 months) and 3 agreed upon Long-term goals (next 24 months).
