Smart Cookies' Guide to Couples... | Buy

Summary

This hip and accessible guide addresses all of the nagging money questions and thorny situations that come up when you're in a relationship, whether you're just starting to get serious or you're already married. This book gives couples the perfect excuse to break the silence and start talking about...money! Staying on top of your finances when you're single can be tough enough add another person to the mix and it can seem downright daunting. Even if you've got your own finances in order, there are inevitable money issues that come up when you're part of a couple, not just because one of you may be in better shape financially than the other, but because you may each have very different perspectives on money and how to manage it. The principles the Cookies set out in their first book about the basics of life planning and investing can work for couples, too, and this guide offers simple techniques that will help readers with everything from dealing with "money baggage" to getting out of debt to planning for retirement. Again they draw practical advice and meaty anecdotes from their own financial escapades, as well as readers' queries and the personal experiences of five focus couples.

Author Biography

ANDREA BAXTER is the Debt Buster, ANGELA SELF is the Money Magnet, KATIE DUNSWORTH is the Number Cruncher, ROBYN GUNN is the cash counselor and SANDRA HANNA is the Savvy Spender. Just a few years ago, they were all drowning in consumer debt. Inspired by an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show on personal finance, they formed a money group to developed strategies for turning their finances around. Just one year later, they had dramatically improved their financial situations — and had made major advances in their careers, relationships, and life goals. This is their second book. JENNIFER BARRETT also co-wrote The Smart Cookies' Guide to Making More Dough and Getting Out of Debt.

Supplemental Materials

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Excerpts

Chapter One
The Other “M” Word
Why Money Is So Hard to Talk About

Admit it. It’s been on your mind since you realized you might be falling in love, even if you wouldn’t dare say it out loud: Is he (or she) in good financial shape? Will we be able to build a future together? Forget about marriage, money is thereal“M” word.

No matter how often we tell ourselves that money doesn’t matter when we’re in love, we know it does. Love can bring us joy and companionship. But as the Motown song made famous by the Beatles goes, “Your loving gives me such a thrill, but your loving don’t pay my bill[s]!” To actually build a life together as a couple, you need more than love. You need a financial plan.

But here’s the good news: Being in a long-term relationship can be as good for your wallet as it is for your heart. With a plan in place, you have the potential to achieve your financial goals a lot sooner as a couple than you could on your own.

Pool your savings, for example, and you can buy a home much sooner than with only one income — not to mention a bigger one. Together, you may also be able to qualify for lower mortgage rates or interest rates on a car or bank loan, saving you thousands of dollars in interest. And by combining your savings into one account, you are more likely to meet the high minimum balance required to qualify for some of the best-yielding money market accounts.

You can cut costs in other ways, too. How about a date nightin?Cook something yummy for dinner or share some cheap takeout and snuggle on the couch with a movie — it can be just as enjoyable as an evening out, and a lot less expensive! All of this translates into more money for both of you. If you and your partner already live together, you know that you can also dramatically cut your expenses by splitting the rent or mortgage and the bills, and maybe even by selling one of your cars and sharing the other. Katie and her husband, Nick, have done both, and saved thousands of dollars in the process.

Being part of a couple can also mean you’ve got another source of financial support if you need some short-term help, and someone who won’t charge you interest on a loan. (At least, we hope not!) And over time, your incomes are likely to fluctuate and there will be periods when one of you has to lean on the other. Being able to do that can actually help you reach your goals even faster than you could on your own. Robyn helped her former husband out financially when he went back to school, and then he returned the favour when she started a graduate degree program and cut down her shifts at work. With his help, she was able to take additional classes and get her degree much sooner than she would have otherwise. That also meant that she was able to increase her income faster, now that she qualified for higher-paying jobs with the additional degree.

When Angela and a former boyfriend moved in together and decided to combine their finances, he had double the debt that she did from school. Nonetheless, they consolidated their balances and worked together to pay the debt off faster. Then, when she graduated and took a freelance position that offered her the chance to hone her skills but without a steady paycheque, he helped support her financially between projects so she could get the experience she needed to land a more stable, better-paying job.

There are less tangible advantages to being in a committed relationship, too: It often forces you to take a hard look at your own financial habits. When you know that your actions affect your partner, too, you’re more likely to pay attention to what you’re doing with your money. And you’ve got extra motivation to set aside money for future goals if you know your partner is doing the same.

Excerpted from The Smart Cookies' Guide to Couples and Money: Earn More, Argue Less, Achieve the Life You Want ... Together by Andrea Baxter, Katie Dunsworth, Robyn Gunn, Sandra Hanna, Angela Self
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.