How to Set Financial Goals as a Couple

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I’m writing this article to vent my frustration on trying to establish financial goals as a couple. Take my situation for example, I have very specific goals that involve:

  1. Paying off my mortgage quickly
  2. Having two fully paid automobiles
  3. following a very tight budget for 5 years

But my fiance on the other hand has the following goals:

  1. Travel as much as possible
  2. Have lots of clothes
  3. Buy lots of stuff for the house

As you can see we have conflicting financial goals as do most couples. There is always a guy who wants that big expensive car and there is always that girl that wants a closet full of shoes, hats, etc. Goal setting for couples is challenging but can be done if you use communication and patience. Try these tips on for size and see if they help your situation as much as they did my fiance and I.

Step 1

Write Down your Financial Goals - Both parties should write a list and present it to each other explaining why such financial goals should be set and how important they are on a scale from one to 10. Once both parties have presented their lists, it’s off to the next step.

Step 2

Compromise - Have a civilized talk about key things in each others life. Having the ability to understand another person’s viewpoint will go a long way in financial goal setting. Try not to turn your nice peaceful conversation into a debate. This isn’t about whose right or wrong, it’s about establishing financial goals that will help the couple in the future. Go through both lists together and see what is achievable and what is important to both parties.

Step 3

Create a Plan to meet your Financial Goals - Both parties have written their list, presented it, and goals have been modified, removed and approved. Now it is time to make a plan of action. You want to be able to achieve all the realistic goals that the couple have made. The plan can be as simple or as complex as you’d like it to be. The end result is trying to achieve those financial goals. Set yourself a time frame so you watch your goals progress through time.

Step 4

Maintain and Supervise your Financial Goals - You’ve created your goals as a couple (congratulations) and you’ve created a plan that has been put into action. Now it’s time to watch over your plan to make sure that your budget, spending habits, etc are all going according to plan to meet your goal objectives. You created the goals as a couple and you should monitor your goals as a couple.

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