It is a wonderful thing to have love. It is also a wonderful thing to have some money saved up and put away. But what happens when you combine the two? It is no secret that money can be a huge cause of conflict in most couple relationships. The jokes in the TV shows only reflect what researchers already know: Money arguments are very common in couple relationships.
If you and a partner are thinking about, or have already made, the leap into combining your finances, you may already have seen the beginnings of awkward conversations, some resentment about a partner’s debt, or challenges with knowing what the best ways are to merge your finances. Powercat Financial to the rescue!
On February 11th at 6:30 pm in Union 227, we will be hosting our annual “Love and Money” workshop where we go over the basics of merging finances and managing financial conflict in relationships. Emily Koochel, a PhD student who studies finances in marriage and Nate Astle, a Masters student who studies financial therapy, will be presenting on this taboo topic of money. You can expect an engaging presentation, opportunities to practice some communication skills, and even some free dessert for this date night.
Several studies show the impact of being honest with your money situation with your partner. Financial transparency, or honesty, has been linked to increased marital satisfaction, increased shared goals and values, and positive communication patterns (Koochel, 2017). Not only does sharing your finances increase your marital satisfaction, not doing so has some dangers of its own. The Financial Therapy Association also has research indicating as many as 27% of couples have admitted to keeping a financial secret from their partner (Jeanfreau, Noguchi, Mong, & Stadthagen, 2018). However, couples who create and review their budgets and plans together increase their financial communication and marital satisfaction (Jeanfreau et al., 2018).
So hurry and RSVP for our “Love and Money” event where you and your partner can learn some great skills, have fun, and make your relationship better. RSVPs are mandatory! Both partners can come, even if only one is a student. RSVP here:
https://powercatfinancial.wufoo.com/forms/s1n3h0ey0pa8x3c/
See you there!
Sources:
Jeanfreau, M., Noguchi, K., Mong, M. D., & Stadthagen, H. (2018). Financial Infidelity in Couple Relationships. Journal of Financial Therapy, 9 (1) 2. https://doi.org/10.4148/1944-9771.1159
Koochel, Emily. (2017). Financial Transparency: A Scale Development Study.
