If you have a different money style than your partner – well, you are certainly not alone.
In fact, more often than not, we end up partnered with someone who has a contrasting approach to money.
That is according to Scott Rick, an associate professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and author of a new book, “Tightwads and Spendthrifts: Navigating the Money Minefield in Real Relationships.”
“People with different money approaches can find each other interesting and novel – but that can be tricky,” says Rick.
“You need to find a way to manage information – decide how much you want to share, and how much you want to keep private,” he advises. “Some information can be available on request. You don’t need to be actively looking over each other’s shoulders all the time, because that will lead to a lot of unnecessary arguments.”
IDENTIFY YOUR OWN MONEY STYLE
As much as you should try to understand your partner’s money style, start at square one: Figure out your own. Many of us have not done the hard work to discover what makes us tick, and why we feel the way we do about money.
Lucky for you, Rick has a quiz to help with just that. Once you better understand yourself, you can be more thoughtful about meshing money styles with your significant other.
A final prescription for Valentine’s Day: “Whatever you do, don’t just ask what they want,” Rick says. “Try to learn more about them, and figure out what they might like. Moments like this can profoundly shape where the relationship is headed.”
